Student research projects seek improvements in several industries

Posted by Steven Lincoln, College of Technology senior writer/editor

This is the second year I lent my judging services to the annual Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium (April 10), featuring student research from the colleges of Technology, Science, Engineering and Agriculture.

It’s the first year, however, that I decided to visit every poster created by a College of Technology student. I’m so glad I did. The students who were able to share their research in person were engaging, excited by their projects, and, most important, working to solve problems big and small (see bolded items throughout).

Four of the CoT posters won awards.

The College of Technology Dean’s Award winner was “Modeling by Design” by Hilde Thayer, who is majoring in engineering/technology teacher education. As a research assistant to Nathan Mentzer, assistant professor in the program, she is helping identify the different ways high school students model design projects. Results of the study will help teachers understand their students better and help them craft better teaching methods to take advantage of the modeling techniques students use.

A four-person team working on improving construction safety won the College of Technology Student Award. Jeremiah D. Miller, Manuel Campos, David Foreman, Matthew Huff presented “Solutions in Construction Management Safety Applications.” These computer graphics technology students are working on a mobile app that will help construction workers track safety protocols and efforts at the work site.

Another four-person team won second place in the Innovative Technology/Entrepreneurship and Design category with their work on “Development for Construction Graphics Center.” The team — computer graphics technology students Katie Gentry, Laura Sutter, Kaylee Oliver and Wesley Young — is researching the computer-modeling needs of the construction industry. Their final report will provide the foundation for a possible University center for building information modeling (BIM).

Adam Landers won third place in the Innovative Technology/Entrepreneurship and Design category for his poster titled “Research and Development of Testing Methodology for Use in Preparation of an ASTM Guidance Material and Support of Alternative Aviation Gasoline Acceptance.” As an undergraduate researcher for Purdue’s National Test Facility for Aerospace Fuels and Propulsion (NaTeF), Landers is creating ways to test non-petroleum aviation fuels without using them in engines. He will present his findings to the American Society of Test and Measurement this summer, where he hopes to influence the creation of new fuel testing specifications.

I can’t write extensively about all of the other 14 posters, but here is an overview of what I gleaned from my 90 minutes of talking with today’s problem solvers.

• “Epiphany Link: Connecting entrepreneurs and skilled professionals together to create innovative business solutions through an online networking site,” by computer graphics technology students Christina Caldwell, Hwee Sann Choo, Derek Hill and Spencer Wolf. The team is working with a sponsor to create a social media networking site for entrepreneurs: StartupTeamBuilder.com.
• “Eastern Indian Information Kiosk,” by computer graphics technology students Jennifer M. Maxwell, Laura West, Becca Bogusz and Eric Kaiser. They are designing an energy-efficient information kiosk for residents of eastern India.
• “Novel Ink,” by computer graphics technology students Duskie Rowland, Nick Hamby, Tracie Borror, Matt Amos and Joe Kapusta. The team is researching the most effective way to display a large amount of text on electronic devices for user enjoyment and information retention.
• “Comparative Analysis Between Fish Tank Virtual Reality and Stereoscopic 3D,” by computer graphics technology students Joshua McCollum, Stephanie Malek, Eric Wright, Matthew Sackley and Kelly Fan. Using a qualitative research method, this study aims to validate fish tank virtual reality as a possible alternative to stereoscopic methods.
• “Ovation LLC” by computer graphics technology students Brian Fu, Lauren Corley, Nicholas Jacobs and Pearl Kuo. The students are working on a video marketing campaign to help their department celebrate its 20th anniversary.
• “Beyond Code,” by computer graphics technology students Amy N. Hoag, Ethan Wolfe, Cole Went, Zack Meredith, and Jow Wilcox. They are working with a construction company to translate their PowerPoint safety training into more engaging animation with hopes of proving that it is more effective.
• “GPU Raytracer” by computer graphics technology students Joe Ferfecki, Grant Windes, Kayla Steckel and Andrew Kennedy. The group is exploring the viability of an interactive GPU ray tracer in a 3-D production environment.
• “Evaluating the Effect of Using 3D Task Cards on a Mobile Platform in Aviation Maintenance,”  by computer graphics technology students Patrick McGuire, Nate Christopher, John Pourcho and Shawn Ruemler. The students are creating a prototype of 3-D product definition task cards for aviation maintentance workers increase their efficiency, accuracy, and mental workload.
• “Web and crowd funding methods in physical therapy video game development,” by computer graphics technology students Juan Carlos Orendain, Joshua Balcitis, Dalonte Keemer, Matthew Wilson. The group researched the best ways to fund-raise through online crowd-sourcing.
• “The Use of Digital Data Analysis in Flight Training,” by aviation management students David S. Turek and Jonathan Reed. To better train pilots in simulators, the students are collecting digital data from real flights and downloading the information into a flight simulator program to recreate the flight.
• “O-Ring Leakage Study for AircaftSythetic and Bio-Synthetic Fuels Development,” by aeronautical engineering technology students Rex Pan, Nathan Kaney and Tim Jeffery. The students have created an O-ring testing fixture to identify interactions between alternative fuels and aircraft seal materials.
• “Assessing performance in a high-technology, high-risk environment: A user perspective,” by aviation management student Clay Wildt. He is working to collect opinions of frequent travelers related to airline quality to identify attitudinal patterns. This information will be compared to the National Airline Quality Rating.
• “Human/User-Centered Design,” by Lisa Beckwith and Cameron Nunan, engineering/technology teacher education majors. The goal of their study is to understand how high school students use the human centered design process during an engineering design challenge.