Undergrad Expo April 17

What do “Agua,” a sustainable water pump system for developing countries; “Winrobo,” the automated window-washing robot; and the "Energy Dashboard," a conservation monitor for homeowners, have in common? They’re all student projects on display Michigan Technological University's Undergraduate Expo on Thursday, April 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom on campus.

Presentations, projects and posters will on display throughout the day. Other highlights include a blended hydrogel to help heal spinal cord injury, and the buried forest of Little Traverse Bay. Refreshments will be served, and the event is free.

Competing for cash prizes this year are participants in the University’s Enterprise, Senior Design and Undergraduate Research programs, as well as independent student research teams. More than 50 student presentations will be made, and close to 100 student posters will be on display, encompassing a variety of disciplines.

A panel of judges made up of University faculty members and corporate representatives critique the projects. Many of the projects are supported by industry sponsors—more than 70 this year.

This year's Undergraduate Expo has two new features, the High School Enterprise and the Elevator Pitch Competition.

Michigan Tech has expanded its Enterprise Program to three Michigan high schools, Calumet High School, Utica High School and Cass Tech. All three teams will compete at Expo. Calumet students are building a scaled-down yurt; Cass Tech students are creating a computer game based on ninth-grade math; and Utica students are building an underwater remotely operated vehicle.

While the judges' scores are being tallied, prepare to be entertained by 15 Michigan Tech student teams competing for cash prizes totaling $1,750 in the first annual CenTILE Elevator Pitch competition, in which they attempt to promote their business ideas in 30 seconds.

Afterward, everyone is invited to the Undergraduate Expo Social Hour and Awards Ceremony from 4 to 6 pm. in Fisher 135. At the ceremony, a keynote address will be delivered by FedEx corporate account executive Marie Cleveland, who earned a BS in Business Administration from Michigan Tech in 1982.

The Expo is a combined effort of Michigan Tech's College of Engineering, the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and Educational Opportunity. For more information, contact Kim Geiger, 906-487-4317, kmgeiger@mtu.edu.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.