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Sep 11, 2015
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The 53 biological systems engineering students in the senior design course got an early of what to expect from their senior design projects when they competed on Sept. 11 in the Rapid Design Challenge at Splinter Labs.
The students were assigned to 13 different teams and given the same task -- in a three-week span, to design a device that would deliver 60cc of water through a syringe over a five-minute period, consistently delivering 12cc per minute. They were given a budget of $25 per team and allowed to shop for the materials needed to build the device.
Teams were graded on the functionality and innovation of their design and on how well it performed in both average amount of water delivered per minute and the standard deviation from the goal rate.
Taking first place, and gift certificates to the UNL Dairy Store, was the team of Christopher Davidson, Samantha Nelson, Jai Sahni and Halle Swann. Their device - featuring a sprinkler head and housing unit with a spring inside - was mounted on a pole. It conveyed an average of 11.654cc per minute and was the most consistent of all the entries.
"We were thinking of using a spring-loaded plunger and actually came across this in a garage," Swann said. "The housing was perfect for what we were doing and it held the spring in place."
Learning the amount and types of organization that are necessary in design projects will be beneficial for each student as they go through the yearlong process of designing their senior project and, eventually, in the professional world, Sahni said.
"Good record keeping, that was one of the things that was our focus, and it really paid off," Sahni said. "I could see in a company how that would be beneficial because you have to be able to be able to explain to your superiors what's going on."
The students were assigned to 13 different teams and given the same task -- in a three-week span, to design a device that would deliver 60cc of water through a syringe over a five-minute period, consistently delivering 12cc per minute. They were given a budget of $25 per team and allowed to shop for the materials needed to build the device.
Teams were graded on the functionality and innovation of their design and on how well it performed in both average amount of water delivered per minute and the standard deviation from the goal rate.
Taking first place, and gift certificates to the UNL Dairy Store, was the team of Christopher Davidson, Samantha Nelson, Jai Sahni and Halle Swann. Their device - featuring a sprinkler head and housing unit with a spring inside - was mounted on a pole. It conveyed an average of 11.654cc per minute and was the most consistent of all the entries.
"We were thinking of using a spring-loaded plunger and actually came across this in a garage," Swann said. "The housing was perfect for what we were doing and it held the spring in place."
Learning the amount and types of organization that are necessary in design projects will be beneficial for each student as they go through the yearlong process of designing their senior project and, eventually, in the professional world, Sahni said.
"Good record keeping, that was one of the things that was our focus, and it really paid off," Sahni said. "I could see in a company how that would be beneficial because you have to be able to be able to explain to your superiors what's going on."
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Christian Jewett, Mackenzie Miller, Kyle Olson, Kevan Reardon and Paula Sandoval watches as its device's performance is displayed on a screen at the Rapid Design Challenge. -
Christopher Davidson (from left), Halle Swann and Samantha Nelson watch as their device's performance is displayed on a screen during the Rapid Design Challenge. The team, which also included Jai Sahni, had the winning entry and a little inspiration from a sticker photo of senior design course instructor Angela Pannier. -
Team nine - which included Mary Hernandez, David Marshall, Jacob Meyer, Lukas Samuelson and Jared Thomsen -- prepares its entry in the Rapid Design Challenge. -
Rapid Design Challenge judge Santosh Pitla, assistant professor of biological systems engineering, discusses the deign of a device with the team of Zachary Duncan, Nicole Schwery, Dillon Soukup and Zhichen Wang. -
Micah Bolin, Sydney Gard and Ryan Hanousek prepare their device for the competition at the Rapid Design Challenge as Roger Hoy, professor of biological systems engineering, looks on. -
Zach Janecek attaches a tube to a syringe as teammates (from left) Michael Moeller, Kate Watts and Brinson Chapp watch at the Rapid Design Challenge. -
Ashley Eure, Megan Tucker and Danni Liu watch their screen as the performance of their device is displayed during the Rapid Design Challenge. -
teammates Mitchell Maguire, Karissa Brehm and Julia Franck carefully observe while Justin Herting (right) makes and adjustment to the team's device during the Rapid Design Challenge. -
The entry from Team 10 - (from left) Christopher Davidson, Samantha Nelson, Halle Swann and Jai Sahni - was chosen as the winner at the Rapid Design Challenge. Each member of the winning team received a gift certificate from the UNL Dairy Store.
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