Technology's Future Promise on Display Today

Better.  Stronger.  Faster.  Smarter.

Those are the watchwords of “Tech Expo,” the extravaganza exhibit of tomorrow’s tools needed to build a better world today.  About 100 displays by UC College of Applied Science seniors – working prototypes to help build better knees…give new life in medical emergencies…or to just give cleaner dishes – debut on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17 inside and out of the college located at 2220 Victory Parkway.

Tech Expo, free and open to the public, runs from 2-6 p.m. on Friday, May 16, and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. 

Defining and solving pressing problems is the point of "Tech Expo."  Seniors in mechanical engineering technology, chemical technology, architectural engineering technology, construction management, electrical and computer engineering technology as well as information engineering technology work on their creative capstone projects for almost a year prior to the event to show what they can do.  All ideas are rigorously designed and tested before they’re displayed.  Below are examples of three projects among the medical technology, exercise equipment, automobile improvements and computer technology advances.

• As a full-time Cincinnati firefighter/paramedic, Jamiel Trimble designed a better way to help emergency patients breathe freer.  Currently, patients experiencing breathing problems might receive a tracheotomy – a small tube is inserted into the trachea located at the base of the throat.  “It’s sometimes difficult to place the tube correctly,” explained Trimble, adding that he’s designed an insertion tube capped by a tiny camera.  The paramedic can then use an accompanying video screen to ascertain that the tube is entering the trachea at the correct angle and placement.

• Michael Cordray has designed a bioreactor fixture to help UC’s Biomedical Engineering Department research how to replace knee cartilage, the loss of which causes osteoarthritis. 

In its incubation chamber, the research team will grow tissue which could, potentially, replace eroded cartilage.  This new tissue first needs to be cultivated in an environment of controlled heat and humidity.  The current incubation device is very limited in that it can hold only one culture dish at a time.  However, Cordray’s addition to the incubator will allow the lab to test up to 12 culture dishes at a time, significantly increasing their productivity and allowing them to simultaneously test numerous treatment variables.   

• Eric Randall is trying to solve a problem everyone can identify with:  improving the dishwashing process.  He’s designed a hand-held scrubber (for all those homes out there without machine dishwashers) that attaches to the faucet via a tube.  The scrubber also contains dishwashing soap that can be released at the touch of a button on the scrubber’s grip.  “I wanted to resolve an issue everyone can identify with.  I don’t have a dishwasher, and I don’t like doing dishes.  This is a tool that makes it easier to get the dishes done faster and more efficiently,” said Randall.

For more information on "Tech Expo," call UC’s College of Applied Science at 513-556-6567.