Sankee Maringanti, a 3/5 Mechanical Engineering major, placed second in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s first annual Engineering Innovation for Society: Student Design Competition.
This year’s inaugural competition included 31 students from colleges and universities in the Northeast, including Stevens Institute of Technology, Columbia University, George Washington University, Parsons School of Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the United States Military Academy, University of Buffalo, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of New Hampshire, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Yale University, and York College of Pennsylvania.
Engineers apply the principles of science and mathematics to develop economical solutions to technical problems. Their work is the link between scientific discoveries and solutions that meet societal and consumer needs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) encourages its students to address a problem and find solutions to create a positive change in the world. Now, RPI has launched the Engineering Innovation for Society Undergraduate Student Competition (EIS), to encourage undergraduate students from other institutions to explore innovative technological solutions. Funded in memory of RPI’s beloved engineering professor, Professor Burt Swersey, EIS is intended to be a “…way of teaching the next generation of innovators how to identify problems and seek creative solutions so that they can have a positive impact on people’s lives,” according to Suvranu De, head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer.
Students were placed in teams with students from other colleges, and the teams worked on various projects for individuals with disabilities, provided by the Center for Disability Services (CDS) of Albany, NY. Some projects included developing a dental stability device, designing a Parkinson’s writing assistant, improving a feeding tube device, and creating a canopy to protect patients who use wheelchairs from the elements during transfer to a vehicle.
John Tichy, a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer who led the EIS organizing committee, talked about the benefits of different college students working together. “We learned from them, they learned from us, and we all made contributions to aid people with disabilities,” he said.
At the end of the competition, the top three designs received awards. The first-place team designed a hand splint that can change size and shape. The device would be beneficial to individuals who are hypertonic, those who find it difficult and painful to stretch their hand and wrist and position it appropriately. The second-place team created the Autism Chair for students to accommodate increased sensory stimulation and vigorous movement. The goal was to propose an affordable design for a classroom setting that would be similar to existing chairs used in the classroom and not stand out. Team members included Stevens Institute of Technology’s very own Sankee Maringanti and students from Columbia University, George Washington University, and the United States Military Academy. Third place went to a team that developed a convertible wheelchair bed to enable the transition of a quadriplegic individual from the bed to a chair without aid from another person.
For Maringanti, the competition allowed her to do what engineering is all about. “I remember one of the first things I learned in Design was that engineering is a caring profession. I saw that idea in action at the design competition. Yes, we were all competing, but we all focused on improving the lives of the people at CDS, and I hope that our solutions will help them in the future. It was great to be placed second, but I feel honored just to be a part of this!” she exclaimed.
Be First to Comment