#austem

Zach Reichert shares how he spent his summer as an undergraduate researcher at the prestigious Mayo Clinic.

Nina Lassonnier is working with Robert Jewett and Brian Booth on their senior design project. They are designing an automated rod cutter for Physics Enterpises (click to see previous post about PE). Nina is designing the conveyer, a part of the handling system, which will transport the rod to be cut. 

When asked what she has learned from this project, Nina said, “So far, I have learned how to correspond with different companies to obtain quotes and order materials or systems. I've also learned to find the balance between cost, ideal mechanism, and clients specifications. One crucial skill that has to be mastered for this project is time management, without it, it is impossible to get anything done. Finally, designing and building this system helps me improve my technical hands-on skills, my CAD skills, as well as my simulation skills.”

The next step in their project is to send their designs to a manufacturing company to be built. The company will use Nina, Robert, and Brian’s CAD (computer-aided design) drawings to manufacture their finished product. Then it will be sent back to them to assemble the finished product to give to Physics Enterprises. 

About working with Physics Enterprises, Nina said, “Partnering with PE has given us the opportunity to complete this project from idea to final product. Without their sponsorship, we wouldn’t have been able to do a project of this magnitude.”

Senior Highlight with Tommy Zirkle!

Senior Engineering student, Tommy Zirkle, was recently accepted to doctoral programs at Notre Dame, Michigan State and Purdue University. Read on for an interview about his experience at Andrews! 

What are your career goals?

I want to focus on research & design at a major industrial firm concentrated in computer chips. For example, either transistors or spintronics (transferring info using electronic spin) or some sort of magnetic based memory; I want to increase capacity, reliability, speed and improve computers at the fabrication level.

How would you say your experience at Andrews University/studying engineering prepared you for your future?

The math and science have been very strong and beneficial, especially because I want to go into the more fundamental side of engineering. My engineering classes have helped to give a more practical application of both the science and the math.

Describe some valuable experiences during undergrad (so far) inside/outside of the classroom.

Specifically for my internships – the one this past summer; I applied things I learned from my engineering courses directly to what I was doing. The year before that, I was dealing with rotating magnetometer which uses a rotating coil and a magnetic field to determine the fields strength or flux. To understand how this works, I needed to have a physics background. It helped make my internship smoother. Everything ties back into what I am learning eventually, some way or another. I also appreciate Dr. Lovhoiden’s look on life: that there is work and also play. That is why you get a job, so you can provide for yourself and actually live; not be stuck at work all the time.

Are you involved in any special projects ie. a senior capstone? If so, what is the project and how will it help you further hone your skills?

An automated grain moisture control system correlated with a dyer with Jason Ruiz (faculty advisor – Dr. Degroot and Dr. Lovhoiden). Farmers need a way to store grain for a long time. It has to be maintained at a certain moisture content so it won’t deteriorate in quality or spoil. That is about 13-15% moisture content depending on how you want to store it (this is normally for corn). The way the system will work is 1)measure the moisture content 2) feed that temperature/moisture content to a labview virtual system 3) control the dehumidification system (dryers). So the labview control system will control that system and will allow the user to interact with the system as well – data updates, past history, etc. The end goal would be for it to send text messages if it turned the system on or off, so the farmer will be updated from a remote location.

The problem that our system is addressing is cost. Current models commercially run for $6K or more. We are looking to produce a system for under $300. This is the prototype, so mass producing it may be a different cost. We should be able to produce these an order of magnitude less than the most basic commercial models.

Please explain a bit about your previous summer internship/research experiences.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an eleven week program in which students work alongside professional researchers to complete a research project. There are six different laboratories, including a Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and a Center for Neutron Research. The projects span a variety of disciplines including applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, material science and engineering. Overall, the program accepts around 130 students from across the country. The students are selected based on G.P.A, research interest and their plans for graduate school. The program includes a stipend, housing and travel expenses. At the conclusion of the program, the students are required to give a formal presentation of their research project to their peers. I was accepted into the program in summer 2012 and again in summer 2013 as a part of the Physical Measurement Laboratory and worked on "electronic instrument construction and testing". Summer 2012 I worked on building and characterizing a rotating magnetometer for NIST's next generation Watt Balance.

This summer, I’ll be going to Argon national laboratories near Chicago, working with nano materials and electrical characteristics of thin films. 

What advice would you give to future ENGR students?

AndrewsSTEM recently visited the growing business within the Physics Department. Founded in 1977, Physics Enterprises has been active within the university, assisting multiple facets of the school by giving technical experience to the various student workers and contributing financially to the department. When asked about the benefits of Physics Enterprises, Ron Johnson, Director of PE, gave input saying, “PE benefits students with income and experience in a technical business. It benefits depts. of the University with financial support of their projects. It benefits the science education community by supplying quality, affordable equipment for laboratories and demonstrations. And it benefits our distributors by providing a reliable source of this equipment for them to sell to their customers.” 

The most in-demand product is the Force Plate, “a bathroom like scale”. This device allows students to measure static forces or display the wave-shape of dynamic forces applied to the unit. David Kang, a student worker in charge of assembling and testing the Force Plates can be seen in the pictures above showing off the preliminary parts that are later soldered and inserted into the force plates. "We assemble and test them here, then we send them off to a distributor who sells them to educational institutions."

Six main products are manufactured within the business, ensuring thousands of equipment being commissioned. But almost 20,000 voltage and current probes have been put together under an independent contract with one of the distributors. Physics Enterprises is hopeful that the development of the business will further expand their goals to provide effective laboratory equipment while giving students hands-on experience.

Examples of popular PE products are:

Adiabatic Gas Law Apparatus - A tool used to demonstrate the ideal gas laws simultaneously under adiabatic and isothermic conditions. Click here to watch a demonstration.

Diffusion Cloud Chamber - While most cloud chambers require the use of dry ice, PE manufactures units that work by simply being plugged into a source of cold running water. Click here to watch a demonstration.

Force Plate - A dual-acting scale that measures exerted forces from the sensitive ranges of 850 N to the more intense maximum of 3500 N. Force Plates can be seen in the pictures above. 

Wave Motion Demonstrator - This unit is designed to create mechanical waves so that students are able to learn about properties of waves in a tangible demonstration. 

After several months of planning, our Andrews University chapter application for Engineers Without Borders has been reviewed and approved! 

Andrews University Engineering students have already participated in projects that are in line with the goal of EWB. In 2012, students helped professor Hyun Kwon develop a portable water treatment system for missionaries. Last summer, Professor Boon-Chai Ng took students to Singapore to volunteer their time and abilities to refurbish a walkway for a local church. 

This semester, four seniors studying Computer Science at Andrews University collaborated together for their senior CAPSTONE project. Michael Hernandez (top left), Luke Kontes (top right), Adam Buchholz (bottom left) and Shemaiah Telemaque (bottom right) wanted to develop a system to improve efficiency and satisfaction in service at the Gazebo. Andrews STEM was able to get an interview with the four students about their project! 

1) What made you interested in Computer Science? 

Michael: My first computer experience was when father first bought our family computer in 1997. I quickly learned how to maneuver around the operating system and loved playing games on it. Ever since then I knew I wanted to work in the technology field. I didn't really think about doing computing as a major until my senior year in high school. I was interested in the medical field but also interested in technology. My hope now is to take my minor in leadership and business, combine it with my computing degree and work in the IT field of healthcare. 

Luke: Initially when I was getting ready for college I had outlined a couple of majors that had interested my greatly based on previous coursework in highschool. Computer Science was one of those and I gravitated towards it more than the others because I enjoy the theoretical-ness of it while still remaining practical enough that I don't have to "guess" if I'm right about a theory or not. That was a reason I couldn't do Physics; too much theory too little application, at least at the undergraduate level. I actually get to DO something with the skills I learn and I can gauge the level of knowledge I have gained because of it. Another aspect was that, because it is still a "baby" field in development there are lots of options with plenty of openings everywhere. I found this attractive because it meant that I don't have to be committed to one specific job title or the like. I can change specifics around with little to no issue while still remaining in the "computer science" field. I liked this because, as I'm sure anyone would agree, monotony gets extremely dull. 

2) Describe a bit about your time at Andrews

Adam: I've been at Andrews for almost 4 years now, and all of it has been a great experience. School is the main purpose that I am here, but it's the extra things that I do that make the experience here great. I've been on the gymnastics team since my freshman year and that is still my favorite thing to do with my free time here. I've also taken up weight lifting and I continue to challenge myself in the gym daily. These physical activities help me find balance from my classes and work.

3) What is your Capstone Project and why did you choose it?

Luke: Our Capstone Project is to create a web ordering system for the Gazebo to use that will allow customers to place their orders online, as well as ordering in the store (as it is done now). This way people can save the time that they usually have to wait in line during busy hours and only come after the item is done for the pick up! We chose this project because it is something relevant to all of us (since we are all students and have had many, many interactions with the gazebo over the duration of our coursework at Andrews) and we felt that it is a way that we could help do something that will have an impact for the University as a whole.

4) Have you run into any problems while working on your project? If so, what are they?

Shemaiah: So far some of the challenges that we have faced would leaning how to work with other outside of our group and leaning new programming languages and technologies.

Luke: Yes, of course! As with any project problems will arise and this forces us to re-evaluate the process we were following, adjust the scope so that the problem does not interfere, or find a solution to the problem. Some examples of problems that have come up thus far would be: deciding what development software kit to use for the creation of the application. This is something that we have played around with a lot lately since this semester is when we begin to delve into the actual coding for the project. We have found that there are certain features we need as we have progressed and because of this we have changed the development software to suit our needs and requirements best.

5)How will this project help you achieve your career goals?

Brandon Cho - Junior, Biology Pre-med: Thankful for Thanksgiving food!

Jessa Bame -Freshman, MLS Pre-med (left): Thankful to be able to go home Maranatha Odong - Freshman, Biology Pre-med (right): Thankful for being able to attend Andrews University

Christopher Kim - Junior, Biology Pre-med: "I'm thankful for my bed because I know it's one thing that will always be there for me... and also my parents. And also God!"

Dr. Robert Zdor, Professor of Biology: "Thankful for opportunities to help other people."

Dylan Zimmerman - Sophomore, Physics & Math Education; minoring in Chemistry for Secondary Education: "Thankful that we don't have to be perfect and God takes us as we are, and are teachers do too."

Justin Kim - Junior, Biology Pre-med: Thankful for family!