capstone project nyuad

NYU Abu Dhabi Capstone Archives

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Scope and Contents

The Capstone Archives is an accumulating collection of NYU Abu Dhabi undergraduate senior research projects. The archival colletion includes project files primarily comprised of text-based essays, but may also include filmed performances, interactive media files, and supplemental documents submitted by NYU Abu Dhabi graduating seniors, from 2014 to the present. Submitting their senior Capstone project is a required step for students to complete their undergraduate education at NYUAD and collect their diplomas.

• Creation: 2014-2022

Conditions Governing Access

The Capstone Archives Online Collection lives in the NYUAD Library Preservica Repository. Open projects are avaialble to access with SSO authenticated sign on.

Biographical / Historical

Conducting Capstone research is a significant part of the undergraduate experience at NYU Abu Dhabi, which every student will engage during their fourth year. Marking the final step before graduating, the year-long research endeavor may result in pursuing an important research question or creative idea, which may take the form of an historical narrative, musical composition, performance, invention, documented experiment, scholarly thesis, or other form appropriate to the student's goals. To prepare for their Capstone research, all students enroll in a Capstone seminar, led by assigned faculty in each major or program. Some student research, particularly within the Engineering Division, may be conceptualized as a group project, and may build upon research that was conducted by members of an earlier Class, or be a small part of larger research initiative on campus. No matter the pursuit, as the program description states, the student is in charge and challenged "to enter unmapped terrain and to extend oneself in making knowledge, reframing conventional approaches to an issue or creating something new." At the end of each spring semester, each of NYU Abu Dhabi's four academic divisions acknowledge and celebrate Capstone Projects in a variety of ways. These celebrations themselves have become traditions. For example, the Division of Arts and Humanities hosts an annual Capstone Festival; the Engineering Division hosts a special website showcase; and various programs and departments across campus celebrate with senior dinners, acknowledgement, and congratulations events. An annual Capstone Projects anthology is also produced and widely shared. As a condition of graduation (as of 2018), students must submit their project to the Library, where the collections is managed as part of the University Archives.

5 Gigabytes (in over 1400 individual project files)

Language of Materials

Additional description, arrangement.

The collection is arranged in series by the four academic divisions: Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Science, and Social Sciences. Students at the time of submission will identify which Division their project belongs in. Projects are not organized by major, due to the fact that many students will have dual majors. Major programs are identified in each project record in the subject fields, and the collection may be filtered and sorted by major.

Processing Information

Metadata about each project is created and submitted by student authors at the time they submit copies of their projects. This information is then reviewed, curated, and prepared by the University Archivist, who maps submission metadata to the Dublin Core schema. That metadata is then prepared and ingested into the Library's preservation repository by Digital Content Specialist. The archivist will then make any necessary minor corrections, working with a dedicated student assistant. This workflow was developed as part of the Library's implementation of our Preservica repository, and is continuously being reviewed and updated.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Repository details.

Part of the NYU Abu Dhabi, Archives and Special Collections Repository

Collection organization

NYU Abu Dhabi Capstone Archives, AD-rg-9999. NYU Abu Dhabi, Archives and Special Collections.

Cite Item Description

NYU Abu Dhabi Capstone Archives, AD-rg-9999. NYU Abu Dhabi, Archives and Special Collections. https://archivesspace.nyuad.nyu.edu/repositories/2/resources/153 Accessed September 20, 2024.

• New York University Abu Dhabi

Published December 15, 2023

Film and New Media: A Home of Interdisciplinary Expression

Staff Writer

• Film and New Media majors at NYU Abu Dhabi explore every aspect of the field, from practice to production.
• Capstone Projects, the culmination of students’ studies, take myriad forms, including screenplays, curated exhibits, and films.
• Grants allow Film and New Media majors to spend their summer experimenting and creating their own meaningful projects.

A documentary about the climate crisis. A short fiction film drawing inspiration from Palestinian culture. A Capstone Project delving into the lives of Latin American migrant women. A class of young girls in Mumbai learning to share their lives through film. For students majoring in Film and New Media at NYU Abu Dhabi, no topic is too big and no medium is off-limits. Against a backdrop of vibrant creativity and captivating stories, students interested in pursuing filmmaking can take advantage of world-class instructors and top-of-the-line equipment as they access some of the largest and oldest film industries in the world. There, they can begin their journey as artists and leaders in the field.

Artists in Training

Classes focus on all aspects of film and media, from practice to production. “Many of our classes work to give students not only technical skills but also the ability to think about film as a medium of expression,” says Surabhi Sharma. She’s the program head and an associate professor of practice of film and new media. “We frame film as an approach, a mode of perspective. As a result, students find their own unique relationship with the art.”

In addition, Film and New Media majors explore other interests and experiment with their relationship to filmmaking. All students are required to take at least one class from another arts major, like Art and Art History , Music , or Theatre . Moreover, many students pursue a second major, such as Psychology , General Engineering , or Political Science . Consequently, the Film and New Media program emerges as a nexus of interdisciplinary learning and inspiration.

“The course Immersive Audio Storytelling for Motion Picture gave me a lot of experience and knowledge in the sphere of sound design,” says sophomore Kate Ezubova. She is majoring in both Film and New Media and Music. “For example, it allowed me to certify as a Pro Tools specialist and even helped me get an internship at NYU Prague . Plus, Professor Matteo Marciano is very experienced and knowledgeable. So I enjoyed listening to him and learning from him. All in all, the class provided me with industry-oriented and eye-opening knowledge.”

Capstone and Beyond

Students’ training culminates in a yearlong Capstone Project , resulting in a significant piece of research or creative work. This can take the form of a paper or screenplay, a curated exhibition, or a film or multiplatform new media object.

Senior Ibad Hasan’s Capstone Project is a short narrative fiction project called “Aathvi” (“Eighth”). It explores the life of a young 7-year-old boy and his relationship with his mother as the two navigate an uncomfortable moment in their lives. “The project is a culmination of everything I have ever worked on within the program, from stories of migration and language to lighting and composition,” he says. “With this film I pay a purposeful homage to several of the settings and places I previously shot in. As such, there are themes of adolescence, familial dysfunction, and migratory alienation.”

Students seeking additional opportunities to create can apply for one of 10 summer grants. These grants provide recipients with money and equipment to shoot a film. Then, they get to experiment outside of the classroom and create meaningful projects in their home countries. Additionally, many Film and New Media majors spend a semester studying away. Some take film classes at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, while others pursue their interests across the globe, in cities such as Prague, Madrid, and Berlin.

Ibad received two summer grants at the end of his sophomore and junior years. “The first grant enabled me to make a 10-minute experimental documentary called ‘Thoughts in Transit.’ It is a compilation of my personal and poetic reflections across four seasons and cities,” he shares. “Then, the second brought me to an art studio for students with disabilities in Dubai. There, I worked as a visual arts intern and explored visual anthropology as a medium for creating video-related projects.”

Postgraduation, some film and new media students build careers in advertising, television, and film production. At the same time, others use their film training to break into new fields, like design, interactive media, museum curation, and education. Still, wherever they end up, one thing is certain: Film and New Media majors are changing the world.

Film Classes at NYU for Film and Non-Film Majors

Explore NYU's dynamic film classes for both majors and non-majors. Discover practical knowledge, diverse courses, and career prospects in an exciting cinematic journey at NYU's Film and Open Arts Department.

Dynamic Design Takes Shape at NYU Abu Dhabi

Gerald Jason Cruz, Yi-Jen (Jennifer) Tsai, and Roudhah Hamad Al Mazrouei, NYU Abu Dhabi students, designed an award-winning sculpture installation.

Why I Chose NYU Abu Dhabi

Current NYU Abu Dhabi student Amina shares her journey to applying to NYUAD and how she came to realize it was the right school for her.

Illustration by Alexandra Najm.

NYUAD's Capstone Requirement Needs Greater Flexibility

While NYUAD's capstone requirement is a testament to its academic rigor, the pandemic has exhibited the need to rethink the requirement such that it's flexible, accommodative and serves to truly advance students' academic and professional goals.

Tom Abi Samra

Feb 28, 2021

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Joshua Isaac

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Menstrual Leave: A Step Towards Equity or a Double-Edged Sword?

Tanya Kapur

When it comes to gender issues, the idea of menstrual leave days is often overlooked. Various approaches have been implemented across the globe, some...

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• Code of Ethics
• Previous Issues

Capstone Archives Online Collection , 2014 - ongoing, inclusive

Scope and contents.

Individual open projects are accessible online for the NYUAD/NYU community, with SSO authentication.

The online collection is primarily the written essay, paper, or report. Users may refer to the series "Capstone Festival Materials" and/or contact Archives and Special Collections for information about holdings related to practical media, posters, recorded presentations, and other supplemental data related to projects, that are not the written paper.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in series according to the four academic divisions: Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Science, and Social Science. Students at the time of submission will identify in which division their project belongs.

Projects are not organized by major, due to the fact that many students will have dual majors. Major programs are identified in each project record in the subject fields, and the collection may be filtered and sorted by major.

Conditions Governing Access

The Capstone Archives Online Collection lives in the NYUAD Library's Preservica Digital Preservation adn Access Repository. Open projects are avaialble to access with SSO authenticated sign on.

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Capstone Project for Study on Value for Money ratings

skyliner36/skytrax_value_for_money

Folders and files.

Repository files navigation

Skytrax_value_for_money.

Project Objectives To identify the main factors that influence passengers' perceptions of "value for money" in airline services, aiming to help airlines like Skysafe Airlines improve their offerings based on these insights.

Problem Statement Airlines receive a wide range of feedback and ratings from passengers, but the "value for money" rating is often undervalued in analysis. This project seeks to identify the most significant factors contributing to a high value-for-money rating, which will help airlines allocate resources effectively to improve this rating.

Project Plan

• Data Extraction and Cleaning
• Tools: Use Python with libraries such as pandas and numpy for data handling and matplotlib or seaborn for visual inspection.
• Process: Extract the dataset, remove null values, standardize formats, and handle outliers.
• Correlation Test
• Tools: Use scipy or pandas correlation functions to measure the relationship between variables.
• Process: Run correlation tests (Pearson, Spearman, or Kendall) to determine which factors have the strongest relationship with the "value for money" rating.
• Factor Selection
• Process: From the correlation analysis, select the three most significant factors that contribute to the value for money rating.
• Dataset Split
• Process: Split the dataset into 80% for training and 20% for testing using train_test_split from sklearn.
• Machine Learning Model
• Linear Regression (to quantify the contribution of each factor),
• Decision Trees (to model the non-linear relationships),
• Random Forest or Gradient Boosting (for robust prediction and feature importance analysis).
• Process: Train the model using the training dataset and focus on the three selected factors.
• Model Testing
• Tools: Use accuracy metrics such as R-squared, MAE (Mean Absolute Error), or RMSE (Root Mean Squared Error) to evaluate the model's performance.
• Process: Apply the trained model to the test dataset and analyze the predictive accuracy of the three selected factors.
• Conclusion and Presentation
• Summarize the results, focusing on the three most influential factors affecting passengers' value for money rating.
• Present these findings to the airlines, providing actionable insights to improve their services. Post-Implementation Monitoring and Re-Evaluation
• Monitoring Real-World Results (6-Month Period)
• Process: After the model's initial deployment, monitor actual "value for money" ratings and other key performance indicators from passengers for the next 6 months.
• Data Collection: Set up mechanisms for continuous data collection to ensure up-to-date feedback is incorporated.
• Re-Test and Model Update
• Re-run correlation tests to validate the chosen factors.
• Retrain the model using updated datasets if significant changes in factors are observed.
• Tune hyperparameters (e.g., learning rate, tree depth, etc.) of machine learning models to optimize performance.
• Objective: Improve model accuracy and relevance to current trends, providing Skysafe Airlines with a dynamic, data-driven approach to improving passenger satisfaction.
• Data Source
• Skytrax User Reviews Dataset (August 2nd, 2015)
• Link: skytrax-reviews-dataset/data at master · quankiquanki/skytrax-reviews-dataset (github.com)

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Interdisciplinary Capstone Design Program

The University of Idaho College of Engineering is ranked by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) as top seven in the nation for infusing real-world experiences into undergraduate engineering education through its interdisciplinary Senior Capstone Design Program.

Engineering students work in interdisciplinary teams on creative projects sponsored by industry partners, private individuals or U of I departments.

Courses in the program emphasize the design process and the creation of a thoughtfully engineered, tested and validated outcome or prototype.

Our annual Engineering Design EXPO , the longest-running student engineering innovation showcase in the Pacific Northwest, is the culmination of the capstone program. Seniors present their work at EXPO through professional exhibits and technical presentations.

Sponsor a Capstone Project

Interact with students, observe potential student hires to meet recruitment needs and introduce students to best practices in industry for design and manufacturing.

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Important Dates

Interdisciplinary capstone design.

Includes Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Biological Engineering, and Computer Science Fall/Spring sequence Aug. 1 - Project Submission Deadline

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Spring/Fall sequence December 15 - Project Submission Deadline

Computer Science

Capstone highlights, uief timber bridge and stream restoration, low-cost, controllable hypoxia chamber for exploring stem cell behavior, infrasonic wildfire detection, replacing bridge built in 1939, improving safety and mobility, satellite attitude determination, communication and control with ai, raspberry pi real time image processing, electroencephalogram headset for human and rat, ember generator for forest fire testing, anaerobic digester, band platform, bonners ferry wastewater pipeline, darwins demons vr, helping bp to net zero, improving scientific instrumentation and optical research, monitoring system for elderly care, park my ride: cda parking spot locator, robotic arm for the discovery science center, transactive energy, treadmill for early muscle development research, virtual fencing ('18-'19), virtual fencing ('19-'20).

Big Meadow Creek at the University of Idaho’s Experimental Forest, on the south side of Moscow Mountain, is going to get a new pedestrian timber bridge thanks to Vandal engineers. Civil engineering seniors Bence DaRe, Jacob Laraway, Nikole Lorvick and Justin Pitcher are designing a bridge to replace the previous crossing, a culvert that was washed out, leaving behind an unstable stream bank and unsafe crossing. The new timber bridge will allow for pedestrians as well as equestrians to safely cross, and the stream restoration plan at the bridge site will promote steelhead passage to their upstream habitat. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Instagram Post

A crucial component to conducting stem cell research is maintaining a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, growing environment where cells can thrive. Current commercial devices, known as hypoxia chambers, are expensive. Our interdisciplinary team of Vandal engineers, Andrew Hartman, Jacob Knudson, Colin Marchus, Alexandra Morrison and Isabell Strawn are working toward developing a functional, simple and low-cost hypoxia chamber for stem cell research that is specifically designed to be customizable and more accessible for researchers. The team also plans to publish a paper on the project by the end of the semester so other researchers can utilize their design. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

In 2020, 10.3 million acres were burned by wildfire, up from 4.7 million in 2019. These disasters cause major destruction, yet our primary tool for detecting wildfire is simply smelling smoke. The scientific world only recently discovered large wildfires generate infrasonic waves, or sound below the frequency of what the average human can hear, under 20 hertz. Our interdisciplinary team of engineering and computer science seniors, Meridian Haas, Cory Holt, Andrew Malinowski and Carlos Santos, are developing a device that uses infrasonic detection and signal processing to detect wildfires. These devices, deployed in batches, can be used to create a communications network to relay detection information to responders along with GPS coordinates and timestamps at regular intervals. “The ability to signal to firefighters to pinpoint a wildfire location when it’s still small could help save thousands of acres and homes,” Haas said. “We want to make this device as cheap as possible and have as many as we can.” Using a long-range and low-power data transmit network, Holt said the team has verified device communication up to 12 miles so far, well past their ½ mile goal. The team has developed a compact, low-cost, prototype that could eventually be constructed from decomposable materials to reduce environmental impact. The long-term goal would be to drop these devices on a location by air. Materials testing is ongoing. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Instagram Post YouTube Video

The current bridge over Deep Creek near the City of Potlatch, Idaho, is well-aged and no longer up to current safety and design specifications including bridge width, shoulder width, guardrail, and more. The bridge will be replaced this year, and civil engineering seniors Daniel Brands, Anthony Clay, Cody Peters and Jade Williams are designing a new, up-to-spec, safe and affordable bridge to help the public and all who drive US-95 daily. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Vandal engineers are helping improve NASA satellite communication by building better CubeSats! These miniature satellites are expensive, but individual components are less so. Our large team of computer science, electrical and mechanical engineers are reducing cost by integrating commercially available orientation control and communication systems. Another focus is on radiation shielding materials to enable the use of advanced processors on subsequent space flights. The solutions created will allow for more advanced features onboard CubeSats and higher rates of data transmission with ground. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Computer science seniors Victoria Gehring, Isabel Hinkle, Jon Gift and Oshan Karki are building a pre-trained artificial neural network to detect various types of crops and weeds to improve agricultural weed control using artificial intelligence. The small computing system, atop a drone, is more cost-effective, accurate, and requires brief human interaction. This device could be used to replace personal plane flights currently used to spray pesticides, and eliminate fuel consumption and cost. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Seniors Jake Varney, Mohamed Hasan, Kate Antonov, Grace Frazier, Kiran Pelluri, Shubhangi Kaushik and Max Moore are constructing and programming an electroencephalogram, or EEG, a device to measure human brain activity that will be cheap and easy-to-use. Their goal is to produce a device that high school teachers could use to easily get students interested in STEM fields. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Superheated embers can travel up to a mile away from a wildfire, starting smaller fires near homes and property along the way. Biological and mechanical engineering students Garrett Borth, Kaitlyn Lindholm, Jacob Roy, Zach Schirado and Addie White are designing and prototyping an ember-generating device to mimic these glowing wood materials to help students in the U of I College of Natural Resources better study means to stop wildfire spread and design better fire-resistant construction materials. "The damage and destruction wildfires cause create a great impact on our economy and more importantly, our safety,” said mechanical engineering senior Jacob Roy. “Constant work is being done to mitigate the billions of dollars per year and lives lost to these disasters, and our project has the goal of adding to that effort.” Their device provides a realistic way of testing different wildfire scenarios using a scaled down and safe method. Their current design of metal stove pipe in an “S” shape utilizes a blower at the bottom to push embers through the pipe. The "S" shape allows for an effective and efficient airflow path for the embers to follow while creating a horizontal flow that mimics that of natural wildfires. The system will also be connected to a wind tunnel in the future for more advanced testing and research. A fuel source – wood chips, pine needles, etc. – are introduced above the lower elbow via a hopper, and prevented from escaping the pipe via a mesh trap. A large torch also at that lower elbow generates embers to be lifted and blown horizontally from the top exit. The team is currently testing at CNR’s Idaho Fire Lab to finalize their design and verify what fuel sources generate the best embers. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Currently, 80% of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels, leading to harmful emissions and pollution. Because of their fast growth rate, microalgae are an increasingly attractive replacement. Breaking down algae through anaerobic digestion, or the breaking down of organic material without oxygen, produces a biogas that can be used for energy, but large-scale production remains unfeasible due to technical restraints. Biological engineering seniors Maggi Laan and Kyle Yates, along with computer engineering senior Amani Al Fulaiti and electrical engineering senior Michael Nguy, are designing a four-phase anaerobic digester based on a compound stomach. The device is similar to a cow’s ruminant stomach, which optimizes specific microbes to break down plant material. Their device will allow the Department of Biological Engineering to perform research important to studying the steps of anaerobic digestion of algae and biogas production. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Football half-time performances are getting another lightshow upgrade thanks to our engineering student capstone teams! An interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineering and computer science students are continuing a collaborative effort to bring an electrically-driven, remote-controlled stage to University of Idaho Vandal Marching Band halftime shows. This year’s capstone team includes Cole Brusven, Annika Esau, Ben Randall, Zachary Laymon, Kaitlin Tabaracci and Jacob Thorngate. The team is working to expand and improve previous designs to build a platform capable of moving forward, backward and diagonally, as well as spinning in circles. The platforms would allow band performers, as well as large instruments like their piano and drum kit, to easily move about the field. Since 2011, our college has collaborated with the Vandal Marching Band to bring performances to life with light-up glasses and triangle instruments, and more. In 2012, student teams developed the Band-Beesten, a robotic drum set balanced on a ballbot, a common basketball fitted with three motors, enabling the robot to move in any direction. Over the years, the design was updated with a triangular platform and directional wheels. In 2016, the platform was modified to support both the drum kit and piano.

Civil engineering seniors Josh Ellingson, Erik Eyre, Christopher Holder and Emily MacCoy are designing an environmentally friendly and more efficient wastewater pipeline that could one day run across a bridge spanning 770 feet over the Kootenai River in Idaho. The city of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, recently updated the forcemain there, but student work is being used to discover a more efficient design that could possibly be used in the future. With weight an issue, the team is considering three options but is leaning toward PVC, a lightweight plastic capable of withstanding extreme cold, hot temperatures and corrosion. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

In Darwin’s Demons VR, players put on a virtual reality headset and shoot evolving populations of aliens in space. Computer science and electrical and computer engineering students Clara Cannon, Samantha Heck and Jorge Olivas created the game by adapting Polymorphic Game Studio's first release. The studio will use the game at outreach events such as conferences and STEM fairs to introduce engineering and STEM concepts to K-12 students. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

Using agriculture-based feedstocks to produce biofuels and bio-based products often requires debaling agricultural materials. Mechanical engineering seniors Yaser Alghreeb, Loren Jenkins and Sean Leonard, along with biological engineering senior Steven Mortensen, have designed and built a small-scale model to turn compressed agricultural materials into a loose, consistent density flow while reducing damage and loss via dust. Their prototype and design are sponsored by Forest Concepts LLC, a bioenergy feedstocks and environmental restoration research and development company in Auburn, Washington. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Chemical engineering seniors Clay Allred, Addyson Barnes, Sahara Waymire and Nicole Yu are working to help BP America choose the best alternative fuel source to boost biodiesel production at the oil industry company’s Cherry Point Refinery in western Washington. In BP’s quest to be carbon net zero by 2050, the refinery already churns out a biodiesel blend using 10 percent beef tallow, but has capacity for more production. Using the tallow blend as a baseline, our student team is assessing eight different feedstock options, including canola oil and tall oil from pine trees, chosen for their availability as a resource as well as reactions within the diesel unit. Last fall, the team traveled to the refinery to get a closer look at the biodiesel production process. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Lasers are being used more and more frequently in scientific instrumentation and optical research. They can be used as optical “tweezers” to grab a single atom or for noninvasive bioimaging. This type of precision and accuracy requires expensive dedicated hardware. A team of electrical engineering seniors, John Ashby and Jared Reichle, and computer engineering senior Alexis Wilson, are working to produce a cheap, modular and extendable control system for laser instruments. Sponsored by optical equipment company @thorlabs, the project is intended to allow researchers to produce high quality optical research less expensively. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

While elderly care can require a level of monitoring to ensure individual safety, maintaining a person’s sense of privacy is also important. Using small, remotely accessible devices that do not use cameras, microphones or other intrusive methods, electrical and computer engineering seniors Fanghao Han, Xiao Liu, Jeremy Perhac and Yizhou Ye are building a prototype of small sensors to monitor appliances and actions within a household. These devices could sense the opening and closing of doors and track the placement of objects, things like whether or not a vehicle is in a garage or not. The studio will use the game at outreach events such as conferences and STEM fairs to introduce engineering and STEM concepts to K-12 students. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

Having trouble finding a parking spot? @uicda students can help. Computer science seniors Amanda Ward and Alex Parenti are prototyping a parking spot location app in Coeur d'Alene! Read more at KREM 2 News Article . Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

Instagram Post News Feature   KREM 2 News Article

The Discovery Center of Idaho in Boise is looking to incorporate interactive exhibits that expose K-12 students to modern robotics technology. Mechanical and computer science seniors Chaeun Kim, Evangelos Stratigakes, Austyn Sullivan-Watson and Zhihui Wang are developing code for a robotic arm that can mimic the hand motions of a user to perform a number of sorting activities. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

As solar panel roofs and wind turbines become more prevalent, companies like Avista Utilities are looking into how energy generated by these forward-thinking consumers can be bought and sold to minimize energy loss and better serve communities. Electrical engineering seniors Christine Page and Nikki Tran are working with computer science seniors Karstin Neil and James Todd to conduct a feasibility study on ways a power utility could manage transactions between prosumers, energy consumers who are also generating more power than they actually need, to others on a power grid with minimal utility interaction. The team aims to create a robust simulation of a small-scale power system integrated with automated pricing software. “In class, everything is pretty theoretical, like a toy or an example,” said Neil, “It’s amazing to think about how this study could impact real people. This is way more than just a school project.” Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

The University of Idaho and Idaho State University are partnering to study the effects of exercise on early muscle development using rats. The treadmill currently used to perform research is tedious to operate and breaks often. Mechanical and biological engineering seniors Colin Burkhalter, Stuart Sater, Stephen Schoonen and Mitchell Williams have designed a new treadmill that is robust and simple to control, allowing for less downtime and headache. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

GPS-based animal monitoring systems for cattle and other livestock can be an economical and more humane alternative to fencing methods like barbed wire. Using a long-range, low-power radio receiver, electrical and computer engineering seniors YiXun Qian, Wenhao Chen, ZiQi Zhang and Dan Zhang are building a system that could work remotely in areas with no internet connection to keep animals in or out of a pre-determined area. Check out their project and more at the Engineering Design EXPO !

All virtual fencing for rangeland cattle on the market are GPS-based, making them difficult to use in remote locations where a signal isn’t available. Electrical engineering seniors Samantha Baran, Xuyue Gu, Lauren Smith and Ziqing Zhu, and mechanical engineering senior Austin Grieve, are coding their own virtual system using signals between local beacons to keep cattle within a specific boundary without fencing. Cows within the system will wear a device allowing them to be located, identified, and if necessary, a small shock can be administered to encourage the animal back within boundaries. Students in the U of I College of Agricultural & Life Sciences and College of Natural Resources are also working on companion projects within this interdisciplinary research. Learn more about this project and all the ways U of I students are pushing the boundaries of science and technology at the VIRTUAL Engineering Design EXPO !

Capstone Program Contacts

Matthew swenson.

Program Director Mechanical Engineering [email protected] 208-885-9029

Michael Maughan

Mechanical Engineering [email protected] 208-885-1041

Bruce Bolden

Computer Science [email protected] 208-885-5422

Russell Qualls

Biological Engineering [email protected] 208-885-6184 

Electrical and Computer Engineering [email protected] 208-885-4341