Students take on industry challenges for their capstone projects
Industrial engineering and entrepreneurial engineering and engineering management students Rachel Millett, Nate Neubauer, Bridget Arnesen, and Paige Roden pictured at Good Trade Depot.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Each fall and spring semester, graduating seniors display their skills, innovation and creativity at Western Michigan University’s Senior Engineering Design Conference. Join us for this semester’s capstone presentations on Tuesday, April 15, at Floyd Hall, home to WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Continue reading to learn more about some of the amazing work engineering Broncos have been up to.
Streamlining Production Capacity of a Start-up Beverage Co.
Graduating industrial engineering and entrepreneurial engineering and engineering management students Bridget Arnesen, Rachel Millett, Nate Neubauer and Paige Roden are making a big impact in the future growth of Good Trade Depot, a start-up beverage co-manufacturer and third-party logistics provider specializing in small-batch drinks.
“Good Trade depot allowed us to walk in with a blank whiteboard to find opportunities within the company. There was no data, processes or guidelines to the project that laid ahead of us,” explained Millett. “We quickly realized that over-communicating was essential to staying aligned, ensuring that our project remained consistent.”
This project gave the group experience-driven learning while helping expand the positive impact of a business within the Kalamazoo community.
“Our team has been lucky enough to work with a WMU industrial and entrepreneurial engineering alumna (Amber Johnson, B.S.E.’18), who strongly related to our experiences and mindset throughout the project,” says Millett. “Overall, it was rewarding to work with industry professionals that encouraged our success.”
Optimal Starch Properties for Improved Oil and Grease Resistant Coatings
Marisa Oppedisano, Drew Pastoriza and Jacob Warner, all from the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering, worked with industry professionals from NALCO Water, Ecolab to help redesign an environmentally friendly version of oil and grease resistant packaging.
The complexities of the environmental conditions in a paper mill have made this project challenging but the group is confident in their ability to improve sustainability within the paper industry.
“Paper industry standards for barrier properties of paper packaging are stringent and require rigorous testing. These tests include air/oxygen permeability, water and oil absorbance, moisture transmission rates, and coating quality,” says Pastoriza.
“The application of coatings is difficult to create a ‘one solution fits all’ answer as the environment and needs of a paper mill are specialized and requires real time adjustments,” he says. “These are the challenges sustainable coatings face to become viable replacements for synthetic polymers that have been used as reliable solutions across the industry.”
Design and Develop an Immersive Mixed-Reality Anatomy Lab Lesson
Computer science students Iskandar Kholmatov, Aiden Kim, Aylin Aytemiz, Martina Acosta, Cassidy Norkett and Jin Park are working to enhance medical education through an interactive, immersive and efficient 3-D learning environment on the Apple Vision Pro that improves engagement and knowledge retention for students.
This experience includes anatomy models, multimedia content such as explanatory text, customizable lessons that allow professors to customize content and voice command functionality for seamless hands-free control.
“Additionally, we are integrating a Large Language Model (LLM) that will enable users to ask questions using voice commands,” says Park. “This AI assistant will provide real-time explanations and support, enhancing the overall learning experience.”
Park along with his group members have not only learned new industry skills, but also the importance of communication and adaptation as they collaborate on their project.
“We also learned that having the right mindset is essential for completing a project, especially when unexpected changes occur. Being flexible and adapting to new challenges is just as important as technical skills,” says Park.
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