Senior Design Showcase Highlights Student Innovation and Real‑World Impact

Along Cripple Creek in Ivanhoe, VA, the banks have started to erode. The US Forest Service has requested Trout Unlimited create a streambank stabilization plan to help reduce the erosion of the streambank. In collaboration with Trout Unlimited, the team sought to design a stabilization solution. 

The Cucurbit Fungicide Decision Support project provides growers and extension professionals with a research‑based framework for selecting effective fungicide programs for cucurbit crops. The tool synthesizes current knowledge on major cucurbit diseases—such as Phytophthora blight, downy mildew, and powdery mildew—and organizes fungicide options by FRAC mode of action to support resistance‑management principles. By guiding users through disease identification, environmental considerations, and appropriate fungicide rotation strategies, the system helps improve treatment efficacy, reduce unnecessary applications, and promote sustainable disease management across cucurbit production systems.

The Portable Microbial Biosensor project focuses on developing a compact, field‑deployable device that uses engineered microorganisms to detect specific environmental contaminants. By integrating microbial sensing elements with a portable hardware platform, the system aims to provide rapid, low‑cost, and on‑site detection capabilities for pollutants that are otherwise difficult or time‑consuming to measure through conventional laboratory methods. The project emphasizes the design of a reliable biological sensing mechanism, optimization of signal detection and readout, and evaluation of the device’s performance under realistic environmental conditions, reflecting the broader goal of advancing accessible tools for environmental monitoring and public health protection.

The FillBot project focuses on developing an automated system for preparing NMR tubes, a process that is traditionally time‑consuming and prone to human error. The student team designed a device capable of precisely dispensing samples, handling delicate glass NMR tubes, and standardizing preparation steps to improve laboratory efficiency and reproducibility. By integrating mechanical design, fluid‑handling components, and automated control logic, the FillBot aims to streamline sample preparation for NMR spectroscopy and reduce variability in analytical workflows, reflecting broader efforts to enhance automation in research laboratories.

The Hydrologic Modeling senior design project centers on developing a quantitative framework to evaluate watershed behavior and inform stormwater and flood‑management decisions. The student team applies established hydrologic modeling tools—such as rainfall‑runoff simulation, watershed delineation, and peak‑flow estimation—to assess how land use, soil characteristics, and storm intensity influence hydrologic response. Their work emphasizes model calibration, scenario analysis, and interpretation of flow predictions to support engineering decisions related to flood mitigation, infrastructure design, and watershed resilience. The project reflects the broader goal of integrating hydrologic science with applied engineering to improve water‑resource planning.

The Kombucha Nanofibers project investigates the use of bacterial cellulose produced through kombucha fermentation as a sustainable material for nanofiber applications. The student team focuses on optimizing fermentation conditions, purifying and processing the resulting cellulose, and characterizing its mechanical and structural properties to evaluate its suitability for engineering uses. By exploring kombucha‑derived cellulose as an alternative to synthetic polymers, the project highlights the potential of biologically sourced materials to support environmentally responsible design and expand the range of renewable biomaterials available for advanced manufacturing.

The Mobile Bridge Design project develops a modular, rapidly deployable bridge system engineered to support maintenance vehicles and personnel during temporary stream‑crossing operations. The design process integrates structural analysis to evaluate bending moments, shear forces, and deflection limits under anticipated live loads, alongside material selection focused on optimizing strength‑to‑weight ratios for field transportability. Students conduct hydrologic assessments to determine design flows, scour potential, and channel constraints, ensuring the structure maintains stability under variable hydraulic conditions. The project also incorporates deployment‑mechanism engineering, emphasizing assembly efficiency, anchoring strategies, and minimal disturbance to riparian environments. Collectively, the work reflects an applied integration of structural mechanics, hydrology, and field operability to produce a functional prototype suitable for low‑impact, temporary infrastructure applications.

The Post‑Operative Pain Management Scaffold project focuses on developing a biodegradable polymer scaffold capable of delivering localized, controlled‑release analgesics to reduce post‑surgical pain while minimizing reliance on systemic medications. The student team investigates polymer selection, drug‑loading strategies, and degradation kinetics to engineer a scaffold that maintains structural integrity during the critical healing window and releases therapeutic compounds at clinically relevant rates. Their work includes material characterization, drug‑release modeling, and biocompatibility assessment to evaluate performance and safety, reflecting broader biomedical engineering efforts to create targeted, patient‑specific approaches to post‑operative pain management.

The STEM²Structure project develops a suite of K–12 instructional modules that translate core structural engineering principles into experimentally driven learning experiences grounded in quantitative analysis. The team designs classroom‑ready demonstrations that model load distribution through axial, shear, and bending force pathways; investigate material behavior using stress–strain characterization and failure‑mode observation; and illustrate structural stability via buckling mechanics, lateral‑torsional resistance, and geometric stiffness effects. Each module is engineered with defined learning objectives, controlled experimental variables, and measurable performance outputs, enabling students to collect data, analyze structural response, and compare empirical results to simplified analytical predictions. The project further incorporates prototype fabrication, safety and usability testing, and iterative refinement based on educator feedback to ensure the modules function as accurate, scalable representations of real structural systems. Through this technically rigorous approach, the team creates an outreach platform that preserves engineering fidelity while making structural mechanics accessible to pre‑college learners.