Electrical Engineering Projects Bring Students, Industry Leaders Together

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The Tyson Foods Safe Conveyor Sorter System Team received a monetary gift by Keysight Technologies. Electrical Engineering team members include Nigel Castillo, Kelly Cumiskey, Juan Gonzalez-Lopez, Edgardo Sanchez, and Mason Torgerson.

Electrical engineering students partnered earlier this year with leading companies from Arkansas and across the nation to complete capstone design projects that benefitted both the students and the businesses. These resulted in 16 posters presented at the annual Senior Capstone Design Poster Competition. Eight of the projects were sponsored by industry leaders including Tyson Foods Inc., NASA, Sandia National Laboratories, Challenge Technology, the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Core States Group, and SPF America.

This year, three industry leaders sponsored the top project designs. Keysight Technologies awarded the Tyson Foods Safe Conveyor Sorter team, Texas Instruments awarded the UAFS Large Mars Rover Controller team, and IBM awarded the ENCLOTHE Fashion Show and Biometric Monitoring team.

Juan Carlos Balda, head of the department of electrical engineering, said, "Industry sponsors are an essential part of preparing engineering students for the workforce. Industry leaders play a very important role in the senior capstone design project by providing financial support, professional guidance, and insight into industry procedures and work expectations."

The Tyson Foods Safe Conveyor Sorter team included electrical engineering students Nigel Castillo, Kelly Cumiskey, Juan Gonzalez-Lopez, Edgardo Sanchez, and Mason Torgerson. The project, sponsored by Tyson Foods Inc., consisted of designing an auto-sorting system able to sort different product boxes, according to their barcode, in a safe and creative manner. Keysight Technologies awarded the team with a monetary donation.

The UAFS Large Mars Controller Team received a monetary gift by Texas Instruments. Pictured here are electrical engineering students Duncan Starr and Brandon Dyer with the Texas Instruments regional marketing manager, Franklin Cooper. Not pictured is the third member of the team, Grant Reed.

The ENCLOTHE Fashion Show and Biometric Monitoring Team received the Rhonda Childress, IBM Fellow Award for Best Technology. Team members include Stephen Poe, Cecily Redman, Ian Sanders, and Maraam Zonfuly.

The UAFS Large Mars Rover Controller team included Fort Smith electrical engineering students Duncan Starr, Brandon Dyer, and Grant Reed. Their project, sponsored by the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, consisted of designing a motor controller with the capacity to drive a single 1-horsepower brushless direct-current motor (BLDC) for the University of Arkansas Fort Smith's Large Mars Rover. Texas Instruments awarded the team with a monetary donation.

The ENCLOTHE Fashion Show and Biometric Monitoring team included electrical engineering students, Stephen Poe, Cecily Redman, Ian Sanders, and Maraam Zonfuly. Their design consisted of a biometric monitoring device for medical applications. The device was featured in the 2018 Fashion Show as a method of translating models' body temperature into a runway light display. In addition to receiving the Rhonda Childress, IBM Fellow Award for Best Technology, the team was also featured in the 2018 Academy of Technology STEM Event live broadcast.

 "The Department of Electrical engineering would like to extend a warm 'thank you' to all industry leaders involved in the integrated design experience," said Robert Saunders, assistant department head. "This program directly supports our mission to produce reliable and competent graduates who are recruited in a competitive market, as well as our obligation to prepare students for a successful transition from student to employee."

The complete list of 2018 senior capstone projects is available here.