Winners of First Annual Armour R&D Expo Announced
Armour College of Engineering Students, Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and industry representatives gathered in The John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center for the First Annual Armour R&D Expo on April 15, 2015. The event showcased the work of undergraduate students who participated in the Armour R&D program during the 2014-2015 academic year via poster presentations.
Armour R&D is part of the Armour College of Engineering Distinctive Education Program and promotes the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst our undergraduate engineering students. Armour R&D consists of two programs, PURE and MIND. Students selected to participate in PURE (Program for Undergraduate Research Education) had the opportunity to gain valuable research experience working with an IIT Faculty member. Those selected under the Mentored INovation and Development (MIND) program developed new technology based on research findings.
Forty-four Armour R&D participants presented posters representing research and development projects within the four Engineering Themes (Water, Health, Energy, and Security). Winners were selected by a panel of judges that included Armour Faculty members as well as Ph.D. students from all engineering departments. The judges rated projects based on context, clarity and overall visual presentation.
Click here to view our photo gallery from the Expo
An awards ceremony was held after the poster competition to award the highest scoring presenters during each semester. Each of the winners received a trophy from Dean Natacha DePaola and the Armour Distinctive Education Council. Awards were laser engraved in the Armour College of Engineering Machine Shop by Craig Johnson, Head of Machine Shop & Coordinator of Student Fabrication and Design Studio.
A call for proposals to participate in the Summer 2015 Armour R&D program will go out on May 11. Students can get an early start by searching their department website to find out what Faculty members are conducting research in their area of interest. Students that plan on participating in Armour R&D are strongly encouraged to attend the Spring 2015 Proposal Writing Workshop on April 30, in order to receive feedback and tips on how to write the best possible project proposal.
Award Winners with Dean DePaola and members of the Distinctive Education Council
Spring 2015 Winners
The team of Szu-Chun Chen (BME/ChE, 4th year) and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Papavasiliou received the Highest Overall Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project Effects of Angiogenic Peptide Loaded Nanoparticle on Scaffold Neovascularization.
The team of Bader Jarai (ChE, 3rd year), S.C. Johnson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Center for Complex Systems and Dynamics, Fouad Teymour and Part-time Faculty, Omar Khalil received a High Score Award for their Energy-themed PURE project Development of a Method of Quantitative Fractionation of Algae Bio Composites.
The team of Isabel Arias (BME, 4th year) and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Eric Brey received a High Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project Role of Growth Media Conditions on the Mineralization of Vascularized Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering. The team had also won the high score award during the Fall 2014 Armour R&D Expo
The team of Hang Yin (EE, 5th year) and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Joohee Kim received a High Score Award for their Security-themed MIND project A Vision-Based Vehicular Distance Measurements System.
Fall 2014 Winners
The team of Joaquin Lares (ME, 4th year) and Matthew Spenko, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received the Highest Overall Score Award for their Security-themed PURE project, Vehicle-Terrain Interaction. The team had previously won a High Score Award during the Summer 2014 Armour R&D Expo.
The team of Cameron Ketchmark (EE, 4th year) and Joohee Kim, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering received a High Score Award for their Security-themed PURE project, Improving Feature Descriptors for Pedestrian Detection.
The team of Yanxin Li (ChE, 3rd year) and Vijay Ramani, Hyosung S. R. Cho Endowed Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering received a High Score Award for their Energy-themed PURE project, Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Catalyst for Solid-State Alkaline Water Electrolysis.
The team of Isabel Arias (BME, 4th year) and Eric Brey, Professor of Biomedical Engineering received a High Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project, Role of Growth Media Variation in the Formation of Mineralized Tissue In Vitro.
Summer 2014 Winners
The team of Aparna Singh (BME, 5th year) and BME Assistant Professor Kenneth Tichauer received the Highest Overall Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project Mapping molecular heterogeneity in tumors for advanced personalized cancer therapy.
The team of Jihad Zeid (ChBE, 4th year) and CAEE Assistant Professor Brent Stephens received a High Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project Transport of Outdoor Air Pollutants into the Indoor Environment.
The team of Yusra Sarhan (BME 3rd year) and BME Professor David Mogul received a High Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project Finding Improved Protocols for Using Deep-Brain Stimulation for Treating Epileptic Seizures in Rats.
The team of Uguumur Burentugs (BME, 5th year) and BME Assistant Professor Georgia Papavasiliou received a High Score Award for their Health-themed PURE project, Investigation of Maleimide Crosslinking for incorporation of multiple biofunctional Cues Into PEG hydrogels.
The team of Mark Ito (MMAE, 3rd year), Johnson Leung (MMAE, 3rd year), Heewoong Yang (MMAE, 3rd year), and MMAE Associate Professor Francisco Ruiz received a High Score Award for their Energy-themed MIND project Design, Analysis, and Testing of Human Powered Commuting Vehicle.
The team of Joaquin Lares (ME, 4th year) and MMAE Associate Professor Matthew Spenko received a High Score Award for their Security-themed PURE project Vehicle-Terrain Interaction Modeling.
The team of Sylwia Odrzywolska (ChBE, 5th year) and CAEE Associate Professor Paul Anderson received a High Score Award for their Water-themed MIND project Open-Source Water Quality Monitoring Sensors.
