Seven Senior Design Teams Solve Engineering Issues
Each year, gradauting seniors participate in a year long Senior Design course. In this course, students are given an engineering issue that is presented to them by a client. Past clients have included local governments, the National Park Service and local landowners.
Throughout the fall semester, students plan how to tackle the engineering issue, facilitate site visits and collect data. In the spring semester, students take all the data and information from the fall and begin working on their way to solve the issue.
Engineering β-Amyloid Nanofibers to Filter Estrogenic Compounds
Daniel Bratek, Sam Matthews, Rachel Resnick, Bentley Chen, Megan Pritchard, and Lili Zebluim
Estrogenic compounds are chemicals that mimic estrogen in gene regulation and can cause cancers, impacts in adolescent growth, and induces hormonal imbalances. Standard water filtration systems are incapable of eliminating the threat of estrogenic compounds infiltrating the water sources that people utilize for drinking and other domestic purposes. Estrogenic filtration systems would best be assimilated by wastewater treatment plants which indirectly benefits the general public. The goal is to use E.coli to create a biofilm with peptides that bind to estrogenic molecules.
Rocky Run Aquatic Organism Passage Culvert Replacement
Heather Wall, Lisa Small, Megan McCarthy, Grant Bokmiller, and Glenn Campagna
A barrier for Brook Trout passage has been identified by the US Forest Service along Rocky Run in Bath County in the form of a culvert crossing on Forest Service Road 1747. We are working with Trout Unlimited to design a new stream crossing that complies with Aquatic Organism Passage design standards to replace the existing culvert, reestablish Brook Trout passage, and restore natural function of the stream.
Lipid-Based Nanoparticle for Gene Therapy to Treat Type 1 Diabetes
Katie Orr, Julia Riley, Carly Sison, Malachi Hester, and Nicole Darling
The general pharmaceutical industry is currently using gene therapy to treat certain inherited diseases; however, certain types of cancer, allergic reactions, or damage to organs/tissues can occur with this treatment. We will design a nanoparticle that increases specificity and efficiency of gene therapy while minimizing the adverse effects of the treatment.
Norfolk Resilient Stormwater and Tidal Flooding Management
Ellie Buehrer, Gavriel Cambridge, Cyrus Li, and Parker Sullivan
A barrier for Brook Trout passage has been identified by the US Forest Service along Rocky Run in Bath County in the form of a culvert crossing on Forest Service Road 1747. We are working with Trout Unlimited to design a new stream crossing that complies with Aquatic Organism Passage design standards to replace the existing culvert, reestablish Brook Trout passage, and restore natural function of the stream.
3D Printed Biosensor for Monitoring Lactate Levels in Livestock
Vishesh Satija, Tanaya Addanki, and Kameron Martinez
As the world's population is increasing, the efficiency of agriculture is required to be at an all-time high to feed the world. A large contributor to nutrient rich foods is the dairy industry. Dairy cows living in close quarters are very susceptible to diseases, and monitoring their health is becoming increasing difficult as dairy farms are increasing their number of cows to meet demand. Dairy cows primarily consist of female Holstein bred which cows, and are well-known for their black and white coloring. Dairy cows can face many health related problems, one of which is a displaced abomasum and causes the animal's abomasum fills with gas and rises to the top of the abdomen. An early indication sign of a displaced abomasum is a high concentration of L-Lactate levels in the blood [1]. We aim to develop and test a biosensor patch that can be implanted in dairy cattle and provide timely measures of lactate levels. This monitoring device can help farmers notice changes in their cows before symptoms can begin to cause pain and decrease milk production.
Production of Sustainable Bioplastic by PHA Extraction
Shashwat Dhanuka, Fengze Han, Andrew Kayota,Steven Kenah, and Georgie Sawyer
PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) is a naturally occurring, completely biodegradable polymer, making it an eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastics. Industry needs a cost effective and time efficient method to extract PHA from halophile archaeon Haloferax mediterranei. PHA naturally occurs in the lipid material of the archaeon; however, it is difficult to extract quickly. The goal of this project is to find a way to make this bioengineering process more efficient.
RIVERE Ecological Center Parking Lot and Stormwater Management Plan
Reilly Oare, McKenna Moore and Noah LaFleur
Since its removal in 2004, remnants of the defunct Embrey Dam have laid between the Rappahannock River and downtown Fredericksburg. Although the dam was removed, the abandoned power station, canal, and underground pipe remain. Dreamland LLC and RIVERE intend to build a brewery and an ecological center on the site, respectively.
This team's mission was to design the future parking lot for the brewery and the center, incorporating sustainable stormwater practices and exemplifying RIVERE's core values of watershed conservation, research, and education.
