CEAS Expo showcases engineering capstone projects
The second annual CEAS Expo doubles in size from previous year
The second annual College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Expo featured the capstone projects of senior engineering students from the University of Cincinnati. College faculty, staff, students, alumni and industry professionals attended the event organized by CEAS Tribunal, the college student government, and held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati.
Students present their capstone project to a judge at the 2023 CEAS Expo. Photo/Corrie Mayer CEAS Marketing.
The 200+ projects on display represented student work from all of the departments in the college and included robotic devices, environmental innovations, computer programming systems and more, split into four categories for judging. Projects were judged by volunteering alumni and industry professionals in the poster, presentation/pitch, product/device and software/application categories. Winners were also named for crowd favorite and judges' favorite.
"The goal for this year's Expo was to increase the number of capstone groups, judges and general attendees," said CEAS Tribunal President Taylor Morgan. "I am proud to announce we accomplished all of these goals!"
In 2022, 93 student groups registered their projects for the event. This year, that number more than doubled, with 215 teams. Additionally, there were nearly 100 judges, more than four times last year's number. Alongside senior capstone projects, select first-year engineering students also presented at the CEAS Expo to get a glimpse of what's to come in their time at UC.
The best part of this year's Expo for me was seeing all of the family and community members in attendance
Taylor Morgan, CEAS Tribunal President
John Weidner, CEAS dean, had the goal to bring back a large-scale showcase event. More than a decade ago, before the two colleges merged to form CEAS, there was a similar event open to all students, but was scaled down to showcase only the top projects in recent years.
In only the second year of this college-wide showcase, the numbers are steadily increasing.
Engineering students at UC complete a rigorous five-year journey before earning their degree, and the goal of the Expo is to recognize all the hard work of the seniors and put it on display for industry partners, alumni, community and family members.
"Even in a larger event hall than last year at Duke Energy Convention Center, the event felt more crowded and buzzing with energy," Morgan said. "The best part of this year's Expo for me was seeing all of the family and community members in attendance."
Family and community members gathered to see what the senior engineering students of the college have spent their final year working on, and even experience some of the projects firsthand. Students created a robotic card dealer, combat robots and flying drones that Expo-goers were able to test out at the event.
The second annual CEAS Expo exceeded the goals set forth by the leaders, both faculty and student, of the college. For next year, the primary goal is audience retention and sponsorship growth. Ideally, the Expo will become an event officially named by a partner of the college.
The 2023 CEAS Expo winners can be found below. List provided by CEAS Tribunal leaders.
| Program | Number of Winners | Winning team/project |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering | 1 | AeroCats |
| Chemical Engineering | 2 | Continuous Fermentation and Distillation of Rum from Cane Sugar AND Corn Stover Biomass and Zymomonas mobilis: An Environmentally Conscious Alternative to the Production of Ethanol Biofuel |
| Electrical Engineering | 3 | Error Detection and Localization of VLSI Design AND Active RF Power Detector AND onRoute Android App |
| Computer Engineering | 1 | Automatic Double-Arm Prosthetic Technology (ADAPT) |
| Electrical Engineering Technology | 1 | Frictionless Satellite Prototyping Platform |
| Mechanical Engineering | 3 | Folding a Better Future AND Solar Fridge Cart AND Chilled Water Loop Isolation” |
| Mechanical Engineering Technology | 1 | Adjustable Racing Seat Rails |
| Place | Project |
|---|---|
| 1st | UC Combat Robotics - VOODOO |
| 2nd | UC Combat Robotics - Drumatic |
| 3rd | Automatic Double-Arm Prosthetic Technology (ADAPT) |
| Place | Project |
|---|---|
| 1st | Was a poster, awarded judges' favorite |
| 2nd | Playlign |
| 3rd | Hepatic Heroes |
| Place | Project |
|---|---|
| 1st | Improving Optimization Algorithms in Maximum Likelihood Fits |
| 2nd | RealCashFlow |
| 3rd | Corn Stover Biomass and Zymomonas mobilis: An Environmentally Conscious Alternative to the Production of Ethanol Biofuel |
| Place | Project |
|---|---|
| 1st | Folding a Better Future |
| 2nd | Frictionless Satellite Prototyping Platform |
| 3rd | Robotic Card Dealer (RCD) |
| Category | Project |
|---|---|
| Crowd Favorite | Better Batter |
| Judges' Favorite | A Bioprint Model of Glioblastoma |
| Judges' Favorite | Forefront Consulting/PFAS Removal at the Charles M. Bolton Water Treatment Plant |
Want to sponsor next year's EXPO?
Get involved with the Expo and learn more about the event.
Featured Image at top: An aerial view of the 2023 CEAS Expo. Photo/Corrie Mayer CEAS Marketing.
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