Design Expo Celebrates 25 Years of Experiential Learning Innovation

Michigan Technological University's Design Expo rang in its 25th anniversary in an atmosphere of nerves, excitement and celebration. Students, faculty, staff, industry sponsors and local community members witnessed firsthand the innovation and industriousness of Michigan Tech's discovery-based education.

More than a thousand students on Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcased their collaborative projects during Design Expo on April 15. Their projects represent years' worth of work, study and interaction between team members, faculty advisors and industry. Sponsored by Michigan Tech's Enterprise Program and the College of Engineering, Design Expo continues to be a national beacon of hands-on, experiential education. The event parallels the life cycle of a Michigan Tech student, from presentations by first-year Engineering Fundamentals students to capstone Senior Design projects, along with Enterprise teams composed of students at all stages in their studies at Tech.

For Nagesh Hatti, director of the Enterprise Program, this year's 25th anniversary is a celebration of the future.

"This year's Design Expo was more than a showcase — it was a celebration of what happens when education meets experience," said Hatti. "The energy, creativity, and professionalism displayed by our students left a lasting impression on everyone in the room."

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Enterprise Program and its unique project-based curriculum. "The Enterprise Program remains one of the most distinctive programs of its kind, bridging the gap between academic learning and industry experience in a way few others can," said Hatti.

Engineering students may satisfy their capstone requirements by joining an Enterprise Team or through a traditional Senior Design project to earn their degree. The requirement demonstrates the University's commitment to preparing Huskies to tackle the real-world challenges that await them following graduation. What resonates most with the student participants is the sense of choice and collaboration. With 37 Senior Design teams and 25 Enterprise teams, students find projects that fit their expertise and interests.

Sponsored by national corporations, local businesses and on-campus entities, teams put their Michigan Tech education to the test by developing and implementing real solutions to meet their sponsors' needs. Michelle Scherer, dean of the College of Engineering, said these are vital skills for all Tech students.

"Senior Design projects mimic industry settings, with students working in teams to solve actual challenges faced by companies, government agencies and society," said Scherer. "The design, build and test cycle is a hallmark of a Michigan Tech education and we see its impact reflected in the success of our graduates."

Design Expo serves as both the culmination of Huskies' remarkable work and a competition recognizing their outstanding achievements. During the event's showcase, teams present their work to judges, made up of Michigan Tech faculty, staff and industry representatives. The demonstrations are an integral part of Design Expo's history, and this year was no exception.

"Industry judges were deeply impressed by the complexity and innovation behind student projects, and students walked away with meaningful feedback that will shape their future careers," said Hatti. "The 25th anniversary of the Design Expo was a powerful reminder of how far we've come."

Personal Experience Meets Community Impact

Students who join Enterprise teams are eager to dive into hands-on projects. Their work is continuous from year to year, with new team members joining as others graduate, extending the life cycle of their projects. JoAnn Henry, a senior chemical engineering student and member of Alternative Energy Enterprise (AEE), wanted to be a part of Enterprise from the very beginning.

"I joined Enterprise as a freshman because I wanted to gain project experience," said Henry. "I knew that hands-on experience would be something I could leverage for an internship and career after graduation."

As a member of AEE's plastic pyrolysis subteam, she's focused on developing a process to recycle plastics into a viable fuel source. Joining AEE meant joining a team already in motion. "We had our own lab, and team members were getting real results and making real products," said Henry.

Many Enterprise students are interested in making a local impact as well as furthering their education. Other AEE subteams include solar consulting on campus and in the Keweenaw Peninsula, energy generation and storage for local communities, and heat energy harvesting from Quincy Mine. Members of Green Campus Enterprise work to assess Michigan Tech's carbon footprint and implement sustainable projects around campus.

For junior chemical engineering student Owen Stauffer, joining Green Campus Enterprise was a perfect balance of passion and impact.

Stauffer's project is as close to home as it gets. As part of Green Campus' heat waste subteam, he is working to implement sustainable solutions to the new HVAC system being installed in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, the home of his academic department.

"Our project takes heat that would otherwise be wasted on campus and reutilizes it for a different process," said Stauffer. "This saves money, energy and is better for the environment."

"I wanted to pursue something I was passionate about and there's so many Enterprises to choose from. And then on Green Campus Enterprise, there were different projects, so I got to choose the project that suited me most. It's very interesting and applicable to the work I want to be doing."Owen Stauffer, junior, chemical engineering

Green Campus Enterprise member Emily Johnson is working on an entirely different project right next door. The second-year environmental engineering student is on the aquaponics team, which works to promote the symbiotic relationship between fish and plants used in sustainable agriculture. They are currently developing an aquaponics demonstration lab in the greenhouse between the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building and the R. L. Smith Building.

"We take fish waste and filter it through a biofilter that turns the fish waste into usable nitrates, which plants use as food," said Johnson. "And then, naturally, the filtered water goes back to the fish. It's a constant cycle, and uses about one-tenth of the water that traditional agriculture uses."

For Johnson, working with her hands on a sustainable project is why she joined Enterprise in the first place. "It's really cool to get hands-on in a project rather than just attending lectures all day," she said. "It's great to see your work on campus making a difference."

Forging New Paths, Engineering Novel Technologies

College of Engineering students who are not involved in Enterprise make the Senior Design capstone program their top priority. In small groups based on experience and expertise, students work with faculty advisors and industry sponsors to design new and innovative products. This opportunity allows engineering students to test their skills while preparing for the very real careers they'll find after graduation.

Collaboration with industry sponsors is a key aspect of Senior Design. Hope Gibbons and her biomedical engineering teammates Ryan Moreau and Daniel Bowes spent the year working with Kohler Co. to develop an application for measuring infrared and visible light absorption for future light therapy technology.

"Working with Kohler was really fun," said Gibbons. "Our team got to go and tour their facilities at the beginning of the year." Senior Design teams working with corporate sponsors have a responsibility to meet their sponsor's needs while also representing Michigan Tech in a professional capacity.

"This year was Kohler's first year sponsoring a Michigan Tech Senior Design project and we were one of two teams sponsored by them this year," said Bowes. "I think we made a good impression. They seemed really happy with the project."

The team's application is already being used by Kohler, with future collaboration between the manufacturing company and Michigan Tech already in the works. "Our project will be developed further into the next year, so future Senior Design teams will continue our work," said Moreau.

While Senior Design teams are meant to learn by doing, faculty advisors assist with instruction and coaching. For Gibbons, Moreau and Bowes, working in optical engineering meant frequently turning to their expert advisor: Sean Kirkpatrick, professor and chair of biomedical engineering.

"Professor Kirkpatrick's specialty is biomedical optics, so it was really nice to have him as a mentor," said Gibbons. "He was a big help."

In some cases, a Senior Design team's advisors and sponsors may be one and the same, as was the case for biomedical engineering seniors Kyla Huberty and Kylie Roberts.

Sponsored by Michigan Tech's Department of Biomedical Engineering, Huberty and Roberts were tasked with creating a novel device to assess cellular alignment in biomedical devices implanted in the human heart. This device will aid research in device-related thrombosis — when blood clots form around medical devices — for individuals who have received atrial fibrillation treatments.

Roberts had to use all of her training as a Tech student in order to be successful. "As biomedical engineers, our field is very broad," she said. "We worked in everything from fluid dynamics to CAD (computer-assisted design) modeling, cell culture, instrumentation, all of it."

The result was a working prototype they brought to their Design Expo table on a simulated pumping heart.

"We faced a ton of challenges, so we had to practice those problem-solving skills that we are going to use every day in industry," said Huberty. "This project was pretty essential to what we will be doing after graduation."

Roberts and Huberty worked closely with their sponsors and advisors, biomedical engineering professors Hoda Hatoum and Smitha Rao. "It was awesome to see all their expertise, and they were so involved in the project," said Roberts. "Because we were sponsored internally, we were able to hear from them all the time. They were super invested in our project."

Design Expo allows engineering students from all departments to showcase their hard work to both their fellow students and the local community.

"Obviously, we've been in the thick of it recently, spending long hours in the lab," said Roberts. "Getting to come and showcase our project and seeing everyone's reaction to actually holding the heartbeat, that's been a really rewarding part of this."

"My favorite part of Design Expo is being able to see people from the community here. It's been great to chat with younger kids who are just getting interested in these sorts of things and to see if biomedical engineering is something they might want to pursue. Being able to talk to people who have atrial fibrillation and see this project is directly applicable to them, that's incredible."Kyla Huberty, senior, biomedical engineering

Design Expo requires a lot of work from its participants — hard work that Michigan Tech students embrace and celebrate in one another.

"It's been great to see what everyone else is working on," said Moreau. "We've been so focused on our own project that we haven't had much time to hear about other projects. It's really nice to see all the different applications that Tech engineers are doing."

Michigan Technological University is an R1 public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 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, 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.