Four MEMS undergraduates win "Best Overall" at Spring 2017 Design Expo

Four students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Science captured one of the top awards at this year's Design Expo, presented by the Swanson School of Engineering.

Undergraduates Shweta Ravichandar, Katriona Blezy, Kelly Appleton, and Roy Tan Park Sung (left to right) won the “Best Overall Project Award” at the 2017 Spring Design Expo, April 19 at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall. “A Robust Biomechanical Culture System for Tissue Engineered Corneas” was advised by Ian Sigal, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. David Schmidt, PhD, MEMS assistant professor, directed the senior design class with 22 projects this semester.

"The Design Expo allows our students to take an idea and create a tangible solution to a problem, and I couldn't be more proud of this year's winners," said Brian Gleeson, PhD, the Harry S. Tack Chair Professor and Department Chair. "The team's interdisciplinary approach to both a mechanical and biological system is superb, and I especially want to thank Ian and David for their mentorship and support of our students."

The Swanson School’s Design Expo provides an opportunity for student teams, many from the School’s Capstone Design Courses, as well as concepts and prototypes from students in product realization courses. Projects transverse the design space from problem identification, specification of objectives and constraints, conceptual development, resulting in an actual prototype in many cases. Judges from industry select the best project from each of the participating courses. 

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