As the end of the year approached, Texas A&M University's College of Engineering celebrated its students at the 2021 fall Engineering Project Showcase awards ceremony.
"The showcase demonstrates the amazing talent of our engineering students," said Magda Lagoudas, executive director of Industry and Nonprofit Partnerships and instructional associate professor.
To participate in the showcase, students must submit a video of their project and a written analysis to provide insight into their extensive research. Judges, representing companies from all over the country, can then comprehensively review the projects based on the quality, how they can be applied to their industry and more.
With over 1,200 students participating this year, the competition was challenging; however, teams such as the Electric Vehicle Autonomous Assistant (EVAA) rose to the occasion.
The team's project aimed to develop an autonomous electric vehicle charger and make it commercially viable. They used their background in the mechanical engineering curriculum and a detailed business plan to win the Emerson Overall Capstone Award and $1,000.
"Being on a project like this has helped me feel more confident and prepared to join the workforce," said Sharon Pearlnath, a senior mechanical engineering student.
The projects allowed students to celebrate their ideas and test their knowledge within the industry, which is especially helpful since 90% of showcase participants were graduating seniors.
"They have the skills to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems and the ability to communicate complex engineering designs through engaging videos," Lagoudas said.
The 2021 Virtual Project Showcase winners are listed below.
SENIOR CAPSTONE DESIGN TEAMS
EMERSON SHOWCASE AWARD
- Best Overall in Showcase: $1,000 — EVAA
COMPUTER SCIENCE and COMPUTER ENGINEERING
- 1st Place: Baker Hughes Award: $1,000 — BRL-CAD Innovations
- 2nd Place: $500 — Product Matching via Unsupervised Machine Learning by Team DRHM
ELECTRICAL and COMPUTER ENGINEERING
- 1st Place: Bechtel Award $1,000 — Solar Powered Air Cooler
- 2nd Place: $500 — Modeling Partial Discharge
- 3rd Place: $250 — Soil Sampling Rover
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY and INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION
- 1st Place: $1,000 — TJCC Mobile Robotics
- 2nd Place: $500 — BIVOT System
- 3rd Place: $250 -— ROCKET
INDUSTRIAL and SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
- 1st Place: $1,000 — Rochester Gauges 1
- 2nd Place: $500 — Chart Industries 2
- 3rd Place: $250 — Production Planning Automation
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
- 1st Place: Anderson Showcase Award $1,000 — Extreme Truck Platooning Smart Towbar ReDesign
- 2nd Place: $500 — 3D-Printed Journal Bearing
- 3rd Place: $250 — Baker Hughes Shear Ram Blade