Pandemic project work

CHENEY - If you ever have a burning desire to find something that accentuates any feelings of inadequacy in life, here's a suggestion on how to accomplish that - attend an Eastern Washington University Mechanical Engineering and Technology Department student capstone presentation.

On Dec. 2, seven teams composed of 6 – 7 senior students presented their solutions to a variety of problems posed to them by MET instructions Dr. Matthew Michaelis and Dr. Alex Bae - challenges ranging from brewing beer to testing the strength of composite-material airplane parts. As is fitting in the year of COVID-19 - and emblematic of additional challenges created by restrictions imposed to combat the virus' spread - the presentations were made online via Zoom as opposed to in-person at the university's Computer Science and Engineering Building.

The capstone program is a two-quarter sequence at EWU, Michaelis explained. Along with classes, students are guided through a typical engineering project, process or experimental investigation designed to tap into the breadth of their major course work.

"They are asked to find, research, brainstorm, analyze, document and build a mechanical engineering project," Michaelis said.

It's a challenge under normal circumstances. During the pandemic, additional requirements were imposed that included physical distancing, wearing masks and frequent, extensive sanitizing along with restricted access to facilities and a parts ordering and delivery process slowed both internally and externally.

"Due to the pandemic our students were limited from using the school's facilities, and they got delayed deliveries and they were limited to the face-to-face and contact meetings and despite the difficult circumstance, they did their best to do the tasks they were given," Bae said.

In making their eight-minute presentations, students explained the project background, problem or challenged posed, the solution and how that came about, detailed descriptions of the work, results and potential next steps. In a couple cases, such as developing a process for performance testing of composite materials and "revolutionizing" a medical respiratory device called a "Therapeutic Incentive Spirometer," students worked with actual clients.

Even without actual businesses, all of the capstone projects had real-world applications and yielded results capable of being utilized by individuals, such as developing an automated home-brewing system for beer under $2,000, motorization of a long-board, creation of a carbon-fiber electric scooter, an improved portable speaker system for use on the ski slopes and a combination carbon-fiber/aluminum frame mountain bike.

In each of the presentations, problems arose students hadn't anticipated, and addressing these became part of their solution. One of those involved how to test the maximum weight of the three-wheeled motorized longboard when access to equipment at EWU enabling this was limited - or even prohibited due to health restrictions.

Team member Trent Springen explained his solution, which involved adding weight to his 160-pound frame by putting 40-50 pounds of books into his backpack. Still, more weight was needed.

"Then I filled up my laundry basket with some stuff and stepped on it, so I'm assuming I had 230 pounds," he said. "There was some creaking, but nothing to be alarmed with so I would probably say the max is 250 (pounds)."

In improving the spirometer, a device used to measure lung performance, the team found themselves working with some very small parts, including soldering a sensor that measured under 1/8 of an inch in size.

"So the group had to learn some crude version of micro-soldering," team member Artur Grigoryan said.

Reflecting aspects of the project felt by all of the teams, spirometer team member Christina McNamara said another learning experience came in the form of communication - in this case, remotely from each other.

"We spent half a year working together before we finally saw each other's faces, well half of our faces, in person," she added.

Still, students were able to deliver finished projects for the most part, something Michaelis and Bae expressed pride in for their resourcefulness and dedication. That was echoed by Lung Technologies, LLC representative Kerry Curran in his remarks to the spirometer group.

"These devices take years to develop, 2-3 years is the general rule," he said. "And you guys did this in one year. What you did, especially with COVID, is essentially unheard of."

At the end of the presentation, Bae asked the 87 attendees to also acknowledge their appreciation in true COVID-era style by using the "thumbs up" or "hand clap" emoticons in the Zoom program.

The students received 87 more than adequate responses.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.