Freshman and Senior Engineering Students Showcase Technology, Inventions This Thursday

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Senior aeronautical engineering students (from left) Ivan Dusper, Zach Webster, Greg Padgett, Elliot Howell, Jacob Allenstein and Nicholas Higgons apply a vinyl coating to their quarter-scale model vehicle, which they designed for improved fuel efficiency in a capstone project for Honda R&D Americas Inc. (Photo by Jo McCulty)
Senior Engineering Capstone Design Showcase
Critter Clipz, a children's novelty product designed by senior capstone engineering students. The students came up with the concept, designed the production process and are marketing the items.

Judges will give awards to the top three projects at the showcase, which is sponsored by Ohio State’s Engineering Education Innovation Center and ArcelorMittal.

The Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Microfluidics Research Competition also takes place during the showcase event. Twelve first-year engineering student teams have designed and fabricated silicone polymer microfluidics lab-on-a-chip projects to study the effects of surface features on cell adhesion. Teams display summaries of their projects through poster presentations to judges.

First-Year Engineering Honors Robot Competition
Time: 4-5:30 p.m.
Location: The Ohio State University, St. John Arena, 410 Woody Hayes Dr., Columbus

Freshman students Shawn Lee (left), computer science and engineering, and Colleen Bird, electrical and computer engineering, make the finishing touches on their robot for the 2011 Robot Competition. (Photo by Katelyn Vitek)

Forget about tractors and horses; engineering students are using robots to do farm work this year.

FARM, or the Facility of Agriculture and Rural Machinery is the course name for this year’s College of Engineering Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Robot Competition. The event marks the culmination of a yearlong, coordinated program in engineering, physics and mathematics.

Participating honors students worked for the past eight weeks to develop 9-by-9 inch autonomous robots that must complete three tasks on the 12- by-12 foot course created to simulate an actual farm, barn and all.

The robots must navigate to and harvest a stalk of corn and then deliver it to a storage bin. Next, the robot must locate and load a bale of hay onto a conveyor belt used to transfer the hay into the barn. Finally, each robot is tasked with moving a John Deere Gravity Wagon from the barn to the starting position in the field. The robots have just 2 minutes to successfully complete all three designated tasks.

The competition requires each of the 71 teams of three to four students to design, build and program an autonomous robot using creativity and engineering principles. A significant portion of their assignment involves planning, managing and documenting their work on the project.

News media:For more information, contact Katelyn Vitek, Engineering Communications