Most first-year engineering students in the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program devoted their time to working on robots, but others chose a nanotechnology project that related more to chemical and biomolecular engineering.
While students in the robot sections developed a robot as part of a design and build project, those in the nano sections designed a very small scale, portable laboratory and used it in a research project. The question that teams addressed was, “Do very fine variations in surface features affect how well cells attach themselves to surfaces?”
“The goal of this project was to determine whether yeast cells stick better to different surfaces. Our research shows that a smoother surface would be better, as it would reduce bio-film build up,” says Brian Kloepper, an aeronautical and astronomical engineering and economics student. He explains that properties of such surfaces are important for biosensors that can be used to take temperature and pH in the body.
Kloepper and his fellow team members agreed that while the robot competition sounded interesting, they picked the nanotechnology project, which has students study inexpensive medical testing methods and create portable labs, because it is more closely linked to their major areas of study.
“It’s a way to figure out what research is like and what professors will expect,” says Melissa Grigger, a chemical engineering student and member of Kloepper’s team, who jumped at the chance to do research as a freshman.
“This is the fourth time the nano version of the class has been offered,” says Paul Clingan, who teaches the nanotechnology course for the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program. Clingan cites that approximately 15 percent of engineering honors students this year chose the nanotechnology option as the final part of their first-year honors sequence.
Team X4 was one of 12 teams of nanotechnology students that showcased their findings to be judged at the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program robot competition and nanotechnology poster contest May 22 at St. John Arena.
“Additionally, nano teams presented results of their theoretical designs to a panel of on-campus experts May 29,” says Clingan.
The members of the first-place team in the nano competition were Victoria Dawson, Justin Glasgow, Nicholas McMurray and Logan Ward. Second place went to Alexander Hissong, Matthew Johanning, Laurin Turowski and Daniel Zeleznikar, while the third-place winners were James Bush, Jacob Huggins, Alex Vermejan and Robert Wensing.
For more information about the college’s Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program, visit feh.osu.edu.
