Previous ASME Award Winner
Recent Departmental Runner Up Awards
Capstone Design Projects
Hamud Universal Upright Vehicle Rack
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 29
The purpose of this project was to develop a universal vehicle equipment rack that could accommodate various types of sporting equipment. The problem statement was to design and manufacture a modular rack that was: versatile with many types of equipment, durable to withstand a maximum load of 430 lbs, and cost-efficient to be less than current competitors.
Formula SAE Traction Control
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 12
UC San Diego’s Formula SAE team, Triton Racing, has been improving the power output of their engine year after year, making it difficult for student drivers to control the car. A traction control system was implemented to assist amateur drivers in maximizing the car’s performance by electronically controlling the engine output to ensure tire wheel grip remains in the optimum range throughout various driving scenarios.
XLence AM 3D Inertion Printer
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 27
Team Members
Team Member 1: Adan Ruiz
Team Member 2: Puning Zhu
Team Member 3: Kennan Gonzales
Team Member 4: Bradley Robison
Team Member 5: Martyn Lizarraga
The XLence AM 3D Inertion Printer team focused on a novel method for metal 3D printers using argon and a fluidics loop to replace the vacuum chamber and maintain less than 1% oxygen concentration in the printing area. Successful completion of the project greatly reduces the cost of metal 3D printers and allows smaller engineering companies easier access to them.
Improving Automated COVID-19 Testing Workflows: Pipette Challenge
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 32
The goal of this project was to optimize COVID-19 testing workflows, allowing for more daily testing and faster results. The problem was boiled down to test tube orientation. The status quo at the EXCITE Lab was for technicians to manually align the test tubes' barcodes in a rack before placing them into a machine that scans the tubes. This wasted about two hours daily. Our solution is a detachable piece that forces the correct alignment of each tube, removing the manual alignment step entirely.
Cohu Temperature Control
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 20
Team Members
Nathan Zager
Matthew Soohoo
Harrison Lew
Emmanuel Gharehbekloo
Ronald Law
The Cohu Temperature Control project, sponsored by Cohu Inc. and in conjunction with the project sponsor, Steve Wetzel, aimed to create a marketable flow control module for the Cohu Delta MATRiX semiconductor handler.
Development of Advanced Hose Clamp
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 18
This project focuses on the development of a new hose clamp to be used in Wildland firefighting to stop the high-pressure flow in a fire hose to attach more hoses. The project achieved this goal through testing and modeling the hose used by firefighters to get a better understanding of the force needed to restrict the flow of water. The team designed, analyzed and prototyped a newer hose clamp. This clamp will be less expensive, durable, and easier to use than existing hose clamp models.
Solar Turbines: Ancillary Quick Disconnect
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 16
A vacuum test platform was designed and manufactured in order to test both installation/removal times of clamps and bolts as well as ensure the connection solution maintained a vacuum of up to 4 in Hg. Undermount toggle clamps in combination with a neoprene foam gasket is a proposed solution to replace the current use of bolts and Sikaflex.
Cerebellar Dependent Learning
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 19
An improved apparatus utilized to measure cerebellum dependent learning via delayed eyeblink Pavlovian conditioning for UCSD neuroscience researcher Dr. Cole Ferguson. The system administers an LED flash stimulus followed by a puff of air to the mouse’s eye, then measures its blink response time with Matlab image processing software.
Automated Control of Material Structure with Electrical Impedance Monitoring
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 4
The objective of this project is to automate the heating process for a metal-salt nanocomposite material given a target impedance spectra. Our controller makes data analysis and the sintering process more efficient for the lab in terms of time and result replication.
UCSD Medical - Blood Pressure Cuff
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 9
Team Members
Austin Chung
Albert Hernandez
Jeffrey Onuma
Jordan Wong
Three mechanical shields have been designed to prevent external forces from affecting blood pressure readings during surgery.
Articulet: An Articulating Endotracheal Tube Stylet
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 36
A lightweight, single-use stylet that gives users real time control of an endotracheal tube, ARTICULET can bend up to 90 degrees on its distal end to reduce intubation time while minimizing complications.
Precious Plastic
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 17
The Precious Plastic team is working on improving the user experience of machinery to be used in an upcoming plastic makerspace. These machines will help the local community repurpose their plastic waste into new plastic products. The WI21 team was able to implement several components into a plastic injection machine for this makerspace and suggest future improvements to be worked on. With all the added components, the machine session time was reduced by an average of 43% so far.
Endoscopic Tissue Stapler
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 34
An specialized tissue stapler designed to close hard-to-reach wounds in the throat region following endoscopic procedures by deploying stainless steel staples similar to traditional skin staplers. Accompanying the stapler are a staple die for stamping the specialized staples, a staple cartridge for sanitary and efficient loading, and a staple removal tip allowing for easy staple extraction once the wound has healed.
Endoscope Torque Applicator
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 35
The objective is to design, build, test, and document a device that can reduce the stress on a doctor’s body when performing an endoscopy by applying mechanical advantage while exerting the necessary forces to perform a colonoscopy. The device must be a cheap, disposable tool or a durable, easy to clean tool that can replace the current hand and towel combination. Finally, the device must not alter the overall procedure as that will impose a training cost on the hospital.
Adjustable Head Mount for Augmented Reality Facial Motion Tracking System
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 15
Augmented Reality is used for face-to-face conversations with another digitally projected person in a shared virtual space. A crucial element for this experience is the ability to digitize the users’ facial expressions and body motions authentically. The Augmented Reality Head Mount serves as a self-contained, wearable system for facial and body tracking. It consists of two cameras, IMUs, a battery and a StereoPi attached to a Microsoft HoloLens 2 main frame using 3D-printed component mounts.
Tongue Touch Mouse & Keyboard
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 8
The Tongue Touch Mouse and Keyboard device was designed with 5 tongue-responsive capacitive touch sensors to provide computer accessibility for our client, Stacy Bibb, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy Spastic Quadriplegia. The main objective of the project was creating a comfortable, reliable, and reusable headset for Stacy’s use.
UCSD MED - Autoinjector for Ultrasound Guided Nerve Blocks
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 31
This project focused on the development of a medical device to streamline and improve ultrasound guided nerve blocks. These procedures currently require two medical personnel, an anesthesiologist and an assistant. Ideally, this procedure would be performed by the anesthesiologist alone as the forces felt throughout the injection provide valuable sensory information about the state of the operation. Thus revealing the need for an Auto-Injector device enabling this desired one-person operation.
Temperature Control of Rugged 3D Printer
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 2
Temperature control system for a rugged 3D printer. The system is designed to heat printing chamber to 50°C and maintain that temperature regardless of external conditions. The system is resistant to shocks and vibrations and can operate between -15°C and 50°C ambient temperature.
DIII-D DiMES Port Rod Ablation System
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 17
Team Members
Michael Hanson
Jason Escalera
Hadith Taheri
Daniel Zubovic
Caitlin Villareal
We present the design of ATJ graphite rods developed for ablation experiments under high heat flux (up to 50 MW/m2) in the lower divertor of the DIII-D tokamak.
Bike Helmet Task Light
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 15
This bike helmet task light is meant to facilitate field repairs, adjustments, or other needs for close-range illumination while riding in nighttime, twilight, or other low-light conditions. This project is compact, lightweight, has a low-profile housing, and utilizes a universal mounting mechanism which allows the light housing to be removed to recharge its battery. It is durable for shock, vibration, and other rugged mountain biking conditions.
Hair Snag Project
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 28
Researchers studying animals in the wild often use “hair snags”, devices placed in a habitat to collect hair samples when animals interact with them, to collect and study animal DNA. More often than not, current hair snag designs capture hair from more than one individual animal, which makes it harder for researchers to inspect the DNA samples. To correct this issue, we have created a prototype for a single-sampling hair snag that successfully collects and isolates a sample from a single animal.
Automated Solubility Measurement
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 25
Team Members
Owen Cruise
Yaxin (Cindy) Guan
Kristin Hartsfield
Brandon Lansang
Cade Wohltman
This device automates the process of mixing a solute in a solvent to reach its saturation point. It includes solid dosing and liquid dosing capabilities; light scattering analyzes turbidity and settled solids, reducing the human burden of a common lab experiment.
Wearable Countermeasure Device
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 30
Team Members
Nicholas Ashforth
Nathan Burdick
Keva Chin
Nathan George
Mario Miguel
This project seeks to create a working prototype for a flexible and mobile Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) device for use in extended microgravity environments, the purpose of which is to partially simulate the effects of gravity to mitigate the deleterious effects of prolonged microgravity exposure on human physiology. Such systems have already been flown on orbit, but all have been stationary. A mobile and flexible system is necessary to maintain the astronauts' operational schedules.
Wearable Lower Body Negative Pressure Pump
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 23
Currently, the constant exposure of astronauts to microgravity in space has the potential to cause lasting negative effects on the human body, which include muscular atrophy and even some cardiovascular deconditioning. To combat this, a mobile wearable circulation pump was designed to simulate gravity by creating a negative pressure of 20 mmHg within the suit and reverting fluid shifts in the body.
Dermal Cooling Vest
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 33
Active outdoor workers exposed to hot and humid environments face the threat of developing heat related illnesses. The dermal cooling system uses thermoelectric cooling in the form of battery powered Peltier devices to cool circulating fluid throughout a network of tubes surrounding the user’s torso. The system is completely portable and can deliver more than 200W of heat removal from the user.
Spar Mooring for Ocean Turbulence Measurements
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 10
Team Members
Eliran Q. Lenard
Ayesha Riaz
Horim Yu
Erik Zamarripa
Geno Pawlak and the EFD Lab are conducting a research study seeking to quantify the hydrodynamic mechanisms in kelp forests. The spar mooring for ocean turbulence measurements was a design solution for securely housing the acoustic doppler velocimeters that record flow data during deployments.
Tracheostomy Support System
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 7
Nearly 85,000 Americans receive a tracheostomy annually. Amongst them, about 12.5% develop skin deteriorations and pain due to prolonged contact with ventilation tubing. Our project addresses this issue through the use of an inflatable silicone support that can automatically adjust based on force sensor readings. This device aims to tackle an unaddressed global problem in the hospital with a novel design idea centered around biocompatible materials, control automation, and air flow mechanics.
Brain Organoid Advanced Research Development in Space (BOARDS) Launch Acceleration Simulation Tool
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 14
The pursuit of space as the next frontier of human exploration raises the question of how space microgravity affects the human brain. To study these effects, brain samples will be sent to the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. However, the high G-forces of a rocket launch may damage the samples. As a result, an acceleration centrifuge simulator was designed to simulate a rocket launch profile to account for these high G-forces.
NIWC Drag on Inline String of Spheres
2020-2021 - Spring
Team: 26
An empirical characterization of the drag coefficient of on a line of multiple spheres as number and spacing between spheres changed. This was primarily done for two in-line spherical floats at various separation distances between floats; tests were also preformed on a single float to set a baseline, and 2-5 floats with zero separation distance.
Intraoperative Tissue Biomechanics Sensor
2020-2021 - Winter
Team: 14
Intraoperative, handheld devices designed to provide real time values of stress and strain within nerve tissue.
