Welcome to Jackrabbit Engineering Connection -May 2024
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The Jackrabbit Engineering Connection South Dakota State University Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering

May 2024

LEARN • BUILD • INNOVATE

SOLVING TOMORROW'S CHALLENGES TODAY

 

Our Vision: Premier Engineering College in the Nation, Recognized for Academic Excellence, Accessibility, Industrial Partnerships and Community Engagement

SDSU, College Celebrates McComish Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

McComishNamingCeremony

Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering leaders, faculty, staff, students and supporters celebrated a Montana couple whose investment has endowed the McComish Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at South Dakota State University.

McComish Department

SDSU a NASA finalist … again! Engineering students develop design for crater-exploring rover.

RASC-AL Team

Building on the tradition of past student entries in NASA contests, another group of South Dakota State University engineering students has advanced to the finals of a NASA contest.

This year’s group of five mechanical engineering students will appear before NASA judges to present their idea and prototype of a rover that can explore rugged and permanently shadowed lunar south pole craters searching for water, ice and other volatiles. They are one of 14 teams nationwide that will be in Cocoa Beach, Florida, June 10-12.

SDSU NASA Finalist

Kingetics Senior Design Project

Kingetics Team
Kingetics team making Adjustments

In the developing world, it is estimated that over 40 million people live with amputated limbs stemming from health complications or trauma. Unfortunately, only 2 million of them have access to prosthetics that could help them live a better and more comfortable life.
Why?
Prosthetics are expensive, and for many people in the developing world, they are far too costly to even be considered a feasible option. A team of South Dakota State University mechanical engineering students has worked to solve this problem by developing a cheap and affordable prosthetic that can be made and built with
materials that are readily available around the world

Kingetics

Jackrabbit Spotlight: Tyler Wood

Tyler Woods

Tyler Wood, a 4.0 civil engineering major, has become the first South Dakota State University student to receive a graduate fellowship from the American Concrete Institute.
The $10,000 award also includes an all-expenses paid trip to the next two American
Concrete Institute national conventions into addition to the one he attended on March 23-27 in New Orleans as part of the application process. The award comes with no strings attached, said Wood, who graduates May 4

Tyler Woods

Engineering Expo

1st place Expo Winners

Senior engineering students put their year’s efforts on display at the Engineering Expo April 23 at the Raven Precision Agriculture Center.
The winning entry was a drone battery swapping station entered by Justin Potts, Daniel Messerli, Mason Krause, Ethan Ellender and Cory Kleve. They built a modified drone and landing station that swaps drone batteries autonomously, allowing for a quick and self-sufficient swap. The portable station can be powered by wall power or a battery.

 

2nd Place Expo Winners

Second place went to the team of Marcus Decker, Riley Spade and Adam and Alan Cowl, who redesigned the drivetrain for the off-road Baja vehicle for the Society of Automotive Engineers contest.

Tying for third were a sprayer trainer stand and a wearable intravenous sleeve designed by Dalton Anderson, Nathan Lawrence, Connor Gress, Jonah Coffel. Sponsored by the College of Nursing, the objective was to create a realistic apparatus for training student nurses to insert an IV. The product was required to provide a realistic flashback response upon successful catheter insertion, mimic human skin properties, withstand repeated use without degradation and incur minimal maintenance costs.

3rd place Expo Winners
3rd place Expo Winner
Wheelchair mower Team
Wheelchair mower

Mechanical engineering majors Adam Karschnik, Spencer Lutz, Hunter McMath and Jada Mindt created the 2024 version of the wheelchair accessible mower for Agriculture Beyond Boundaries.
A similar mower was built last year, but the 2024 team's new mower design features a rigid platform for the wheelchair to ride upon to improve ride stability, replacing some electrical controls with mechanical controls to reduce lag time issues, and safety devices unique to wheelchair users.
Karschnik said this year’s version is close to becoming a marketable project for sponsor Lee Freisen, who created Agriculture Beyond Boundaries in 2022 to honor his late father. The motor, cutting deck and drive axle are from a JaZee Country Clipper. The entire front portion of the
mower is the students’ design.
Pictured, from left, are Spencer Lutz, Jada Mindt, Adam Karschnik and Hunter McMath.

Computer science majors (from left) Cole Masterson, Logan Gregg, Alex Hoy and Brady Van Overschelde built an app to control a robot arm and collect as much data as possible for artificial intelligence research. The data is then used to create a 3D model of the arm’s positions.

Project sponsor is assistant professor Kwanghee Won in the computer science department. It is envisioned that the information gleaned from this project could eventually be applied to industrial applications.

Robot Arm  Team

Upcoming Events               

May 4th                                             Graduation

                                                          Order of the Engineer

May 7th                                              Big Sioux Water Festival

May 14th                                            Transportation Conference

June 2nd - 8th                                    NSTI Summer Camp

June 9th - 15th                                   NSTI Summer Camp

 

2024 Summer Camps 

NSTI  poster
Learn More About Summer Camp
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Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, 1151 8th St, Brookings, SD 57007

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