Robert Lee, senior computer engineering major, presents PwnBoxer – a device that detects vulnerabilities in a network and gives a plan on how to fix it – to Senior Design Showcase attendees on Friday. He and his teammates won the Best in Computer Engineering Award.
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Engineering and computer science seniors filled the Engineering Building II atrium on Friday, presenting gadgets and software while mingling with judges at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s semesterly Senior Design Showcase.
More than 200 projects were judged during the week leading up to the showcase, with the top 45 selected to be judged at the event. The showcase gave students the opportunity to network with industry professionals and UCF alumni.
Camila Torres, senior electrical engineering major, and Jordan Merkel, senior computer engineering major, embrace after receiving their Best in Show awards at the Senior Design Showcase on Friday. “We’ve been there in the lab multiple hours every day, all day, all night,” Torres said.
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A group from each of the CECS disciplines, like computer science, material science and mechanical engineering, was given an award, with one group being dubbed Best in Show. This year, that honor was given to Blocks o’ Code, which removes the barrier to entry for elementary and middle school students to learn to program.
Jordan Merkel, senior computer engineering major, is the Blocks o’ Code’s team leader. Her all-female team was met with cheers and applause when they took the stage and accepted the award.
“All of our work was worth it,” Merkel said. “I’m so proud of my whole team, and everyone else helps me.”
UCF alumnus JC Perez has been a judge since he graduated in 2016. He currently works at Blue Origin as a Manufacturing Engineering Manager and said that UCF is placed in an advantageous position on the Space Coast.
“All of those are big hitters that spawn or sponsor some senior design projects in areas of need that they might need,” Perez said.
Senior mechanical engineering major Kaitlyn Thurner explains her team’s surface-cleaning plasma pen at the Senior Design Showcase on Friday. Thurner’s project offered a solution to the inconsistent surface treatment when sandpapering smaller surfaces.
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Kaitlyn Thurner, senior mechanical engineering major, and her team were sponsored by Blue Origin to create an easier way to clean and prepare surfaces for installation. They created an atomic plasma pen that shoots out ionized gas that helps clean a surface. Blue Origin set out a few expectations, but allowed the team to take the project into their own hands.
“For me, just going through that process and learning the manufacturing behind it and the steps at all stages in the workforce, I think that’s what I learned most from this project that I could use moving forward,” Thurner said.
Knightro approaches Knightsaurus cautiously at the Senior Design Showcase on Friday. “We wanted to represent UCF pride, so we designed a Knightro-themed robot,” senior mechanical engineering major Liam Russell said.
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Liam Russell, senior mechanical engineering major, and his team worked on a lightweight robotic dinosaur dubbed “Knightsaurus.” They aim to use it in theme parks or STEM education. This project is the next iteration in the “Bring Roar to Life” challenge created by Senior Design Director Kurt Stresau. The team based the design on a stegosaurus plushie from the Chicago Museum of History that Stresau’s daughter received as a gift.
Knightsaurus is piloted by a standard Bluetooth gaming controller. It’s outfitted with over 15 sound effects and three emotes. During the showcase, Russell’s team donned ties with a dinosaur pattern to match their project.
The Tron Bike team poses in front of their project at the Senior Design Showcase on Friday. “We may not have been voted in, but we’re here, and we deserve to be here,” Tristan Haack, senior electrical engineering major, said.
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Two additional teams were selected to present and not be judged because they were “too cool to not put on display,” Tristan Haack, senior electrical engineering major, said.
Haack’s team recreated the bike from the 1982 film Tron, complete with fully hubless wheels. The battery, a 72-volt battery that can consistently push 300 amps, was so strong that it was not allowed in the Electronics Laboratory until proven to work.
Jason Gay, senior mechanical engineering major, came up with the idea to recreate the bike and called it a childhood dream come true. The Tron bike team was one of the many interdisciplinary teams featured.
“Working on an interdisciplinary team, being able to understand the different perspectives of the different people on the team and being able to mesh in that way,” Gay said. “I was really grateful that the team was able to do that.”
Senior aerospace engineering major Ryan New describes his ramjet engine to a Senior Design Showcase attendee on Friday. Engines like New’s would power supersonic missiles and jets.
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At the front doors of the atrium, a ramjet engine takes up two tables. A sign inviting attendees to talk to group lead and senior aerospace engineering major Ryan New about his journey with imposter syndrome was on display at the end.
“I was good in math in elementary school, but when I got to middle school, I started struggling with pre-algebra,” New said. “I was just like, ‘I guess I’m not good at school. I’m not good at math.’ I just gave up on my dreams.”
After 10 years of being a massage therapist and obtaining his associate’s degree, COVID-19 inspired him to go back to school. For his senior design project, New wanted to choose “the most ambitious one.”
New did not consider himself a leader before taking on that role in his Senior Design class. After seeking help from UCF Counseling and Psychological Services, he was able to fulfill a childhood dream of pursuing aerospace engineering.
“I did not only do this thing that I thought was really hard, but also had the character growth that I wanted my whole life,” New said. “Even if I don’t succeed as an engineer or do anything else, I’m just so proud of myself.”