Enterprise Teams

The current underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) built by the SOAR team are proof-of-concept prototypes and have outlived their life expectancy. The team has set a course to redesign and replace two classes of team-built ROVs. For the Isle Royale National Park service ROVs, the improved design features will focus on reduced size, decreased thruster power consumption, and rapid in-field power pack replacement. For the demonstration ROVs used by the team during student demonstrations and community festivals, enhancement features will include a cleaner driver’s station with operator controls fitting for young hands, a bright screen for outdoor viewing, and a compact size for operation in the demonstration tank.

Joshua Gaunt, Engineering

Ben Black, Math + Computer Science

Matthew Zimmer, Dollar Bay High School`

Dollar Bay K12 Schools

Multiplanetary INnovation Enterprise (MINE) is an aerospace robotics team at Michigan Technological University focused on extreme-environment robotics for Earth and lunar applications. MINE provides hands-on experience in robotics, controls, and autonomous systems. Current projects include: Lunabotics Astro-Huskies, a competition team designing a new rover each year for NASA’s Lunabotics competition; Lunar Trencher, a collaboration with MTU’s PSTDL to test a bucket ladder system for lunar environments; DIVER, an underwater ROV for mapping flooded mines for pumped hydro-storage; and LunaRecycle, exploring recycling solutions for NASA’s Artemis Program to enable sustained lunar presence.

Kade Nielsen, Mechanical Engineering

Kassidy Vanover, Mechanical Engineering

Paulus Van Susante, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

General Motors Foundation (EMI), Michigan Space Grant Consortium, Intelligent Futures Foundation

AERE provides a collaborative space for students passionate about aerospace to design, test, and innovate on projects that mirror industry practices at a scale suited for emerging engineers.  AERE is involved in propulsion research with autonomous flight systems as well as participating in SAE Aero Design and the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC).

Riley Van Zeeland, Mechanical Engineering

Jase Edwards, Computer Science

Dr. Kazuya Tajiri, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

ITO Vulnerabilities Management - 

The objective of this project is to develop a cyber health reporting tool specifically for a national laboratory. This tool will provide the laboratory with a comprehensive view of its network’s security posture by aggregating data from multiple reporting tools, both commercial and open source. The tool will deliver an overall health score for the network, with the ability for users to drill down from the summary page into detailed information for groups of hosts and individual hosts. Critical information such as vulnerability criticality, patch levels, BIOS levels, OS versions, installed software, hardware details, and Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) compliance will be readily accessible.

Steven Garrett, Software Engineering

Nagesh Hatti, Enterprise

Internal, A National Lab

The Medical Tent Environmental Control (MTEC) team is working to find a way to control key environmental factors within portable medical facilities. The team discovered that these facilities are not conducive to a healing environment for patients or practitioners in regions with extreme temperatures. To maximize effectiveness and minimize unused space, the team created a radiator-like system within divider curtains that can heat or cool the tents depending on the user's preference. The curtains would be modular and adaptable to meet the needs of medical tents of all sizes. The MTEC team plans to focus on the heating/cooling aspect of the project during the Spring 2025 semester, with plans to add additional features in the future.

Ella Merklein, Biomedical Engineering

Simon Arnold, Biomedical Engineering

Nathan Manser, Geological and Mining Engineering

Plexus

The Wireless Communication Enterprise is currently supporting six projects from various sponsors. Our sponsored projects include a Bluetooth battery management system for Stellantis, a historian software for Pfizer’s control systems, and an infrared, machine-learning-based early alert system for snowmobiles with support from Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club. We also have three internally sponsored projects. Blue Laser Communications is focused on prototyping a digital communication system through the medium of salt water. User-Friendly LED (UFLED) is developing a product and process to allow users to chain together multiple LED matrices and program them using an application. The webcam emulator team is developing a device that stores visual media and presents it as a camera feed to a host computer.

Sophia Abraham, Computer Engineering

Brendan Marshall, Computer Engineering

Christopher Cischke, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Stellantis, Pfizer, Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club, ECE Department

A 2D fighting gaming experience set within various martial arts training locations from the serene dojo to the school parking lot. Play as a fighter made of glass as you work your way up a line of comedic opponents to become a combo master. The goal is to fight opponents, focusing on long strings of attacks to form big combos, earn cash for the performance, and use that cash to buy new weapons and items to enhance and switch up your fighting style to land the best and biggest combo possible and defeat your rivals.

Aidan Sanders, Computer Science

Josiah Parrott, Software Engineering

Scott Kuhl, Computer Science

Yooper Game Studios, Michigan State Police

MECC is a competition through the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) aimed at creating a wave energy device while applying it to an economically feasible market.

NEEC is developing a robust autonomous surface vessel system, while optimizing thruster controls and developing a modularity for onboard systems.

OISTAR utilizes Ocean Infinity’s ASV (Armada 8) to conduct subaquatic research using a Sound Velocity Profiler (SVP)

MEOWS is collaborating with the industry to create self-driving technology for a forklift.

RAUB modifies a BlueROV through sensor addition and autonomy development/testing.

RJ Slater, Mechanical Engineering Technology

Maci Cornish, Mechanical Engineering Technology

Timothy C. Havens, Computer Science

MECC (Marine Energy Collegiate Competition): DOE (Department of Energy) and NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab)

MEOWS ( Mechatronic Electro-Optical Warehouse Systems): Magna    

RAUB(Robust Autonomy in an Underwater BlueROV): BlueROV and Dr. Timothy Havens   

NEEC(Naval Engineering Education Consortium):  Naval Consortium   

OISTAR(Ocean Infinity Subaquatic Terrain Autonomous Research): Great Lakes Research Center

This year Velovations is working on three bicycle-related projects:

• Adjustable Pull Ratio is a new project with the goal of creating a small device to allow mixing gear shifters and derailleurs of different manufacturers.  This gives a bike builder the ability to mix and match various gear-shifting components.
• The Voodoo Hub/Clutch project is a multi-semester project that is starting to test competitor hubs, which will allow us to compare the results to the highly anticipated first testable prototype of the Voodoo Hub!
• The Trailblazer project continues with a heavy-duty bike trailer intended for hauling tools and equipment for trail builders. It will be made lighter using aluminum instead of steel, reduced in width, and converted to one wheel to allow easier use on trails. A brake system is also in the works to help slow down a trailer with a heavy load.

Katelyn Lammi, Mechanical Engineering

Carter Elmy, Mechanical Engineering

Steve Lehmann, Biomedical Engineering

Senger Innovations, General Motors, Milwaukee Tools, Pavlis Honors College

The goal of the Casting Simulation of Noble Alloys in Certain Mold Geometries project is to simulate the casting of Paliney 1100, Pt-Ir, and Cu-Ni to identify and verify issues regarding Deringer-Ney's noble alloy casting processes. The team is focused on assisting Deringer-Ney with porosity issues in the center of their castings. Currently, the team is simulating Cu-Ni casting and preparing to do physical Cu-Ni castings in MTU's foundry.

Dante Kopah, Materials Science and Engineering

Logan Thompson, Materials Science and Engineering

David M. Labyak, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology

Deringer-Ney

The off-road electric skateboard project aims to design a skateboard to be used in “off-road” conditions.  To do this, we have decided to redesign the skateboard so that it can accommodate the adequate suspension required to comfortably ride outside of dedicated parks and streets.  The main components of the skateboard are the wheels and the shocks.  These have been improved to 8" inflatable tires with treads designed for off-roading as well as close to 3 inches of travel on the suspension.  This will culminate in a smooth ride off road.

The goal of the snow bike kit is to create a functioning rear track system and a stabilized front ski system to mount on a 200cc dirt bike. This kit should be tightly budgeted, and adaptable to other bikes with bushing or spacing additions. The project is currently in its first phase, and manufacturing will happen in its second phase.

James Potter, Mechanical Engineering

Jaden Bayer, Mechanical Engineering

Jenna Ziemelis, Mechanical Engineering

Cameron Hadden, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Circular Solutions Enterprise team has partnered with the Sustainability Demonstration house to provide them with another composting bin. This rotating compost bin gives the house the option to move the compost inside during the winter months to continue the aerobic decomposition process. This compost bin will replace an older bin that is prone to vermin and weathering. The compost generated will be used toward local gardening projects and be given to local farmers to fertilize their fields. The compost bin is made of recycled materials from the SANDs building. Another team is also working on a project focused on plastic ocean pollution recovery. This initiative aims to recover fishnets from the waters around the Galapagos Islands and transform them into sustainable surf accessories, like fins.

Irelynn St. Louis, Environmental Engineering

Emily Costigan, Sustainable Bioproducts

Mark Rudnicki, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Helen of the Sea - a startup founded by Alexandra Vasquez

Auris: The Auris mission is a satellite project based on demonstrating the technical feasibility of a CubeSat’s ability to provide situational data. In collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the objectives of the Auris mission are to enhance Space Situational Awareness (SSA) by providing activity and location knowledge of space-based assets from on-orbit. This is achieved by measuring and characterizing radio frequency (RF) emission patterns of a target satellite, as well as by providing an estimate for the location of that target. The Auris mission is intended to serve as a pathfinder toward increasingly complex space systems that leverage the low cost and small form factor of CubeSats to achieve the performance of traditional, monolithic systems.

Stratus: The Stratus mission is a satellite project based on demonstrating the collection of atmospheric and weather data from a CubeSat. In collaboration with NASA, the Stratus spacecraft utilizes a RGB imaging sensor to examine the activity of clouds in the upper atmosphere for the purpose of better understanding weather over short timescales. Images generated by the mission will be analyzed on the ground to determine properties of the clouds, such as overall coverage and average coverage over an area. The Stratus mission is intended to serve as a pathfinder toward increasingly complex space systems that leverage the low cost and small form factor of CubeSats to achieve the performance of traditional, monolithic systems.

Descensus: The descensus mission is an in atmosphere satellite project based on demonstrating the gyro capabilities of an auto-gyro system utilizing a CanSat architecture. Competing in NASA's CanSat competition, the Descensus mission will utilize a payload that will slow its descent while maintaining video footage from the payload module. The Descensus mission is intended to serve as the first of a line of CanSat missions which are part of an annual competition to further enhance different techniques for spacecraft.

Sean Bennink, Electrical Engineering

Alex Wright, Electrical Engineering

L. Brad King, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA

Green Campus Enterprise’s (GCE) Aquaponics Team is developing an on-campus aquaponics system as an educational tool for students and the surrounding community. Aquaponics is a relationship between fish and plants, in which nutrients cycle through fish tanks and into grow beds that plants can then use to grow while filtering the water to create a clean environment for the fish. GCE’s Waste Heat Team is dedicated to capturing and repurposing heat that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere by implementing heat integration into campus HVAC systems. This year, the team is researching and modeling energy recovery systems, including enthalpy wheels, heat pipes, and energy recovery loops to be installed in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building.

Caroline Brown, Chemical Engineering

Ray Buenzli, Chemical Engineering

Robert Handler, Chemical Engineering

MTU Facilities

There are two main projects that HIDE would like to highlight this year. Firstly, HCHS is an Android application for a kiosk that will allow the Houghton County Historical Society Museum to display its photos in a slideshow format. It will ultimately allow patrons and visitors to search their extensive database for veterans, wars, and other important historical events to see what the museum has to offer. Secondly, SERC is a project with goal to create a portable device that can visually monitor an area, watch persons/points of interest, and identify anomalous activities within the field. Additionally, this device should be able to accomplish all of this even if dealing with a confusing visual background such as camouflage.

Christopher Rochon, Computer Science

Ash Baird, Computer Science

Robert Pastel, Computer Science

Keweenaw Historical Society and SERC

The Open Source Hardware Enterprise (OSHE) is a vibrant enterprise that focuses on creating diverse projects that benefit the community and follow the spirit of open-source ethics. Projects in the enterprise range from creating a miniature factory that produces custom chocolate bars to trying to recycle 3D prints to create new filaments to assisting the College of Forestry with tracking Lyme disease in the local forests. Currently, there are 10 different capstone projects in OSHE: BREAD BiOS, Digital Multimeter, Filament Flip-Flop, Husky Clean, IRL Subtitles, Multi-FX Pedal, Open Mobility, RecycleBot, Synthesizer, and Thunniform Robot. These projects cover a wide range of applications but all are united under the motivation of open-source. At the Design Expo this year, we would like to highlight three projects that emphasize the principles of OSHE: RecycleBot, Synthesizer, and Thunniform Robot.

RecycleBot is a project aimed at helping household 3D printer users cut down on costs and waste material. By melting down old 3D printer filament and mixing in a percentage of new material to maintain standards of material properties, waste can be reduced, and users can avoid buying new filament. RecycleBot is a modular design that includes an extruder, a cooling module, a rewinder, and a vacuum unit.

The Synthesizer project aims to develop a budget-friendly, musically useful subtractive synthesizer instrument with multiple base sound wave shapes and adjustable parameters for filtering and sound amplitude via direct user input or a time-varying envelope output. This project also aims to be a useful educational piece for designing every aspect of a hardware synthesizer from scratch, which involves designs for direct digital synthesis (DDS) methods, sending and receiving data using standard digital communication protocols, analog and digital signal processing, and multi-rail power delivery solutions.

Open Source Thunniform Robot (OSTR) aims to build on the OpenFish project by improving mobility, adding buoyancy control, adding wireless control capability, and adding some form of camera support. The type of swimming form utilized for this project is thunniform swimming, which uses the caudal or "tail" fin to move forward and side to side. The term thunniform swimming means to swim "like a tuna."

Georgia Heintz, Electrical Engineering

James Lovell, Electrical Engineering

Shane Oberloier, Electrical and Computer Engineering

General Motors Foundation, Techtmann Lab, Keweenaw Ecological Innovations, Dr. Tony Pinar

BMS Enterprise continues to demonstrate its ability to tackle a diverse set of projects, with seven projects spanning several industry sectors. One of two GM teams is working to develop a cost-effective vision pick point system for unexpected part detection in the manufacturing process. The second GM team is focusing on developing and analyzing a "digital twin" of a GM manufacturing cell, that can be used to simulate processes without physical parts. We have two defense-related projects sponsored by SERC, one of which utilizes various software, including Unity, to create a simulation that can be used for training applications within a submersible. The final SERC project works with the US Navy to digitize traditional paper-training documents, using a Python codebase and MySQL to manage the database. Our other defense-related project sponsored by GVSC is creating a door assist for a 700-900 lb door on a military armored truck. We also have a sustainable energy project sponsored by Faith Technologies Inc. that is working to put solar panels on the south-facing wall of the Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC) to power our lab and potentially every floor of the building in the future. A wildcard team is focusing on integrating a rechargeable battery back into a MOLLE II rucksack frame. Lastly, the Oshkosh team is developing a suspension system for a 50 - 70 ton tracked vehicle.

Zach Martin, Electrical Engineering

Brett Spanbauer, Computer Engineering

Glen Archer, Electrical and Computer Engineering

General Motors, Faith Technologies Inc., U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), Oshkosh Corporation

Consumer Product Manufacturing brands itself as the Enterprise that prepares students for industry. The project we are highlighting is the Koppers Chemical Analysis Team. Koppers Performance Chemicals has a plant located in Hubbell, MI, that manufactures chemicals for treated wood products including wood preservation technologies and carbon compounds. This project is focused on developing an inline chemical analysis method in the Hubbell plant to replace existing benchtop methods. This method will improve measurement efficiency and consistency, as well as reduce off-quality production via faster recognition of process variation. The Koppers team is assembling a pilot skid on campus for proof-of-concept so that Koppers can eventually implement a similar skid in their Hubbell plant.

Emily Breton, Biomedical Engineering

Margaret Roelant, Chemical Engineering

Jon A Herlevich, Chemical Engineering

Jeana Collins, Chemical Engineering

Koppers Performance Chemicals, H.B. Fuller, GSK, Advanced Interactive Response Systems (AIRS)

The Alternative Energy Enterprise continues to work toward finding sustainable methods for energy production, delivery, and consumption through several interrelated projects. These teams work to develop and implement new technologies that focus on making sustainable development a reality. These teams include the Solar Consulting Team, Biofuels and Pyrolysis Team, Portage Panels, Lumi Clean Team, Quincy Mines Team, and Energy Generation and Storage Team.

Kyle Carlson, Electrical Engineering

Genevieve Myers, Electrical Engineering

Adrienne Minerick, Chemical Engineering

Joe Azzarello, Chemical Engineering

Roger Crimmins, KUUF, Quincy Mines, Department of Energy, Portage Lake District Library, Swift Hardware, 41 Lumber, and Tractor Supply

The Portable Mobility Assistance Team aims to assist people who struggle to enter and exit vehicles due to age, strength, or mobility restrictions. This project will benefit the locally based charity Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly (LBFE), which provides transportation services to the area’s elderly. LBFE identified potential hazards to volunteers and the elders while maneuvering in and out of vehicles; our project seeks to eliminate these. 

Our AutoSlide design includes bearings and a track that will pivot and roll the individual into and out of a seated position within the vehicle. At the end of the semester, the final prototype will be delivered to LBFE along with a user manual and CAD files.

Miles Heskett, Mechanical Engineering

Amelia Fadoir, Biomedical Engineering

Smitha Rao Hatti, Biomedical Engineering

Visser Foundation

The Built World Enterprise participates in the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge, WERC Environmental Design Competition, ASCE Timber Strong Competition, ASCE Steel Bridge Competition, and partners with Engineers Without Borders (EWB). BWE students are dedicated to expanding their knowledge base to consider the triple bottom line in a wide range of civil, environmental, and geospatial engineering issues. For example, BWE works to remediate mining waters using fungi, reduce our carbon footprint, apply transportation engineering knowledge in underdeveloped countries, ensure safety on airport runways, and design durable, cost-efficient infrastructure made from a single material under a plethora of design requirements.

Elsa Meyer, Civil Engineering

Ryan Andrick, Environmental Engineering

Audra Morse, Civil and Environmental Engineering

U.P. Engineers & Architects; Universal Metal Works; U.S. Army Corp of Engineers; Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick; Cooper Engineering; North Star Bluescope Steel; Cleveland Cliffs; Lunda Construction; Ruby & Assoc.; Walbridge; Driesenga & Assoc.; OHM Advisors; Krech Ojard & Assoc.; Spicer Group; Urban Land Consultants; Comprehensive Engineering; ROWE Prof. Services; Maier, Adams, and Murray Accounting; Superior Graphics; Milwaukee Tool; SME; Anlann Corp.; Give ‘Em a Brake Safety; G2 Consulting Group; Hubbell, Roth, & Clark; Kieft Engineering (plus many individual contributors)

Clean Snowmobile Challenge's goal is to innovate new designs to improve emissions, improve performance, and decrease sound levels of industry snowmobiles, while maintaining the enjoyment of riding. This year we competed with a 2020 Yamaha Viper and a 2021 Ski-Doo Skandic chassis powered by a diesel motor provided by Kohler Engines.  Additionally, our team has begun conversion of a 2023 Arctic Cat Blast from an internal combustion engine (ICE) powered drivetrain to a hybrid electric drivetrain.

Jared Ott, Mechanical Engineering

Sophie Bollin, Mechanical Engineering

Jason Blough, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Scott Miers, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

General Motors, Aramco Americas, CTech Manufacturing, Halla Mechatronics, Magna International, Oshkosh Corporation, Detroit Diesel, Milwaukee Tools, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, SAE

This year, we have several projects bringing advanced technology to our future competition car. We are currently working on many projects to improve our competition car spanning all the sub-teams. This includes advanced powertrain development, an improved aerodynamics package with new validation tools, electric vehicle (EV) drivetrain development, dynamic vehicle modeling, and more. These projects will empower the team to establish a stronger competitive presence at future FSAE competitions.

Phillip Phan, Mechanical Engineering

Timothy Jorgensen, Mechanical Engineering

Steven Ma, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

General Motors, Aramco Americas, CTech Manufacturing, Dana, Halla Mechatronics, Magna International, Oshkosh Corporation, Detroit Diesel, Milwaukee Tools, SAE, SKF, Extreme Canopy, SAE

Blizzard Baja is building a new vehicle this year that highlights 3 projects: the steering system, lightweight driveline, and rear suspension system. The steering system team’s main goals are to reduce weight by 15%, manufacture 80% of components in-house, and implement carbon fiber parts. The lightweight driveline is focused on integrating carbon fiber materials into the driveline to decrease the weight and improve upon the strengths of the current system. To accommodate the chassis changes that come with the implementation of 4WD, the rear suspension project is developing a new suspension design that is lighter per unit length and equally reliable to the previous design. Many different materials, manufacturing methods, and design methods are explored throughout the course of these projects.

Lauren Carroll, Mechanical Engineering

Liam LaFave, Mechanical Engineering Technology

Kevin Johnson, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology

General Motors, Aramco Americas, CTech Manufacturing, Halla Mechatronics, Magna International, Oshkosh Corporation, Detroit Diesel, Milwaukee Tools, SAE

Supermileage Systems’ focus this year has been continuously improving the current prototype vehicle and beginning the design and development of a new urban concept class vehicle. This has included minimizing our starter losses, a full redesign on the Honda GX35 intake system, electrical harness modifications, and a rear subframe redesign. Having just remade everything but the shell of our vehicle from last year gave us a solid foundation to start looking at the more obscure efficiency losses! Finally, the team is looking towards the future, with the goal of beginning manufacturing our urban concept vehicle next fall. The design for the shell, internal structures, steering system, and electrical systems has all taken place this year.

David VanBuren, Mechanical Engineering

Jonathan Watson, Mechanical Engineering

Nicholas V. Hendrickson, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology

General Motors, Aramco Americas, Halla Mechatronics, Magna International, Oshkosh, Milwaukee, Leadfoot Engineering, Line2Line Coatings, Curbell, Gentex Corporation

AutoDrive Challenge II is a 5-year competition to create an SAE Standard Level 5 Autonomous Vehicle from a GM-donated 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV. The team is broken into Perception, Planning, Control and Simulation, Human Machine Interface, Safety and Testing, and Project Management. Main deliverables for Year 4 include creating a redundant localization system based in LiDAR to mitigate GNSS attenuation effects, optimizing the HMI to include address selection, diagnostics, and a GUI interface, the Design Your Own Challenge event that involves creating an in-house testing course to score the vehicle based on CAN logs, and optimizing collision boundaries in perception data for a cleaner and more realistic perceived environment.

Jackson Newell, Robotics Engineering

Nick Webster, Mechatronics

Darrell L. Robinette, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

SAE, GM, Intrepid, Cepton, Hexagon, Danlaw, Intel, NovAtel, Nexteer Automotive, OXTS, CTech Manufacturing, Dynamic Map Platform, Siemens