Final year engineering students will be on hand to showcase their projects ranging from a train brake sensor testing system designed for VIA Rail (Mechanical Engineering – March 22) to tattoo removal that’s minimally invasive and painless. (Nanotechnology Engineering – March 22)
Over 750 students in 13 programs will present more than 150 projects they have spent months designing and building.
On April 2, 15 qualifying teams will compete for $60,000 in a pitch presentation funded by the Esch Foundation. The winner of the Sedra People's Choice Award will receive an additional $3,000 in funding.
“Capstone Design challenges students to develop new and practical solutions, integrating what they have learned in their engineering programs and co-op experiences,” said Pearl Sullivan, dean of engineering. “I’m always amazed to see the vast range of inventive ideas turned into ready solutions that address difficult industry, health and societal problems. We are so proud of our engineering students who are truly talented and remarkably resourceful.”
Additional project highlights this year include:
- Enhanced mobility wheelchair with a novel drive system that allows the operator to go further and faster (Mechanical Engineering – March 22)
- A communication system for people who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally (Systems Design Engineering – March 14)
- An online shopping app that helps shoppers make better-informed clothing purchases (Management Engineering – March 22)
- Cuffless, smartphone-based blood pressure measurement system (Biomedical Engineering – March 14)
- A mattress designed to prevent pressure injuries, including bedsores, in bed-ridden individuals (Mechatronics Engineering – March 15)
- Eco-friendly disposable coffee cup with a water and heat resistant, biodegradable lining (nanotechnology engineering – March 22)
- Housing solution that addresses the Canadian Indigenous housing crisis in the Maritimes (Systems Design – March 14 and Civil and Environment – March 18)
- An image processing system that identifies when a fatigued driver should take breaks (Mechatronics Engineering – March 15)
- Glasses designed to indicate which direction sound is coming for people with hearing loss (Electrical and Computer Engineering – March 20)
Symposia dates and times:
Biomedical Engineering
Thursday, March 14| 1 to 4 p.m. | Engineering 7
Systems Design Engineering
Thursday, March 14| 1 to 4 p.m. | Engineering 7
Mechatronics Engineering
Friday, March 15 | 1 to 4:30 p.m. | Engineering 7
Civil, Environmental and Geological Engineering
Monday, March 18 | 1 to 4:30 p.m. | Engineering 7
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Wednesday, March 20 | 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Engineering 7
Management Engineering
Friday, March 22 | 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Engineering 7
Mechanical Engineering
Friday, March 22 | 1 to 5 p.m. | Sedra Student Design Centre, Engineering 5
Nanotechnology Engineering
Friday, March 22 | 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Engineering 7
Software Engineering
Thursday, March 28 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Great Hall, Davis Centre
Norman Esch Capstone Design Awards
Tuesday, April 2 | 1:30 p.m. | Engineering 7
