Basketball-Shooting Robot Inspires at Design Day 2024
University of Arizona engineering students competed for $49,000 in prizes, with projects ranging from the winning basketball robot to a smart energy grid and a disaster relief system that turns plastic into fuel.
Team 24045’s basketball-shooting robot, nicknamed Hoopster, is designed to compete in a free throw competition with a Wildcat basketball team player.
The atmosphere was electric as thousands of members of the public, local high school science classes and industry judges were wowed at the College of Engineering’s 2024 Craig M. Berge Design Day.
The annual event is an opportunity for engineering seniors to present the efforts of their yearlong capstone class to the public and hundreds of judges. Seniors from majors across the college made up 91 multidisciplinary teams who completed projects requested by industry and university sponsors.
Students had two semesters to design, prototype and test their projects to compete for $49,000 in prizes on April 29. The teams this year persevered through novel challenges and challenging setbacks to find solutions to some of society’s toughest problems.
“It’s about designing, prototyping, testing, failing, trying again, and leaning on your teammates. But ultimately, it’s about making the world a better place. I’m really proud of all our engineers, mentors and sponsors,” said David W. Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean of the college, to open the award ceremony.
Taking Shots for STEM Education
The $7,500 top prize, the Craig M. Berge Dean’s Award for Most Outstanding Project, went to Team 24045 for Hoopster, a basketball-shooting robot. It was designed to demonstrate engineering concepts in a way that inspires K-12 students to consider careers in the field.
The fully autonomous robot can repeatedly score shots from the free throw line with 90% accuracy. The team continued the work of a group that began the project last year and completely redesigned the plan.
Hoopster automatically detects basketball hoops with the help of an in-house camera and computer vision algorithms. It then calculates the precise trajectory and power needed to land inside the hoop.
But project lead Eric Meyer said the robot has loftier aspirations than just making free throws.
“The purpose is to inspire middle school and high school students in Tucson to become the next generation of engineers and STEM professionals,” said the systems engineering senior.
The team used a video game controller as Hoopster’s navigational tool to make the robot more personable and engaging to young people. They also demonstrated their robot to students at a local school before Craig M. Berge Design Day.
“We worked for the past nine months to create something that’s a high-precision robot and excites students through science and sport,” Meyer said.
Raytheon Technologies sponsored Hoopster to address what project adviser Luke Baer called the “profound purpose” of nurturing an engineering pipeline.
“The team far exceeded all expectations,” said Baer, Javelin applications technical lead at Raytheon and UA electrical and computer engineering alum. “By connecting engineering concepts to sports, they truly have created a means to teach and inspire our next generation of engineers.”
Meyer said his experience leading the project has prepared him for the workforce. He’s interning with Interdisciplinary Capstone program sponsor Northrop Grumman and plans to complete the accelerated master’s program in engineering management.
Team 24052 also completed a project to bolster student success in engineering, winning the $1,000 Mark Brazier Award for Best Biomedical System Design. The MediBrick 2000, or modular biomedical sensor board, is a cost-effective device designed for biomedical engineering students to measure vital signs like oxygen saturation.
Similar devices BME students use now are expensive, averaging $4,000, said project procurement lead Muad Alsayar.
“It’s pretty outdated, hard to fix, and it’s not user-friendly for students. But this [MediBrick 2000] only costs $500, and it’s easier to fix and modify,” said Alsayar, who plans on continuing his education in the UA electrical engineering graduate program.
Creative Problem-Solving
Design Day is the capstone to the college’s four-year design program. Both are named in honor of Craig M. Berge, an engineering alum and longtime supporter who died in 2017. His wife, Nancy Berge, said Design Day reflected Craig’s passions, as he always loved doing hands-on projects and solving problems.
But some projects this year took more perseverance than others, challenging students to overcome problems they will encounter as they enter the workforce after graduation.
“There was a lot of red tape to cut,” said Daniel Hutton, chemical engineering lead for Team 24011.
Hutton’s team earned first prize for the Bly Family Award for Innovation in Energy Production, Supply or Use. They built a small-scale pyrolysis plant that turns plastic waste into fuel.
“Our project is designed to provide disaster relief to island nations where fuel is scarce, so we are recycling plastic and turning it into a crude, diesel-like fuel that can be used by generators,” said Hutton, who will join the Stanford University chemical engineering doctoral program in the fall.
However, the pyrolysis process involves heating plastic to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Safety concerns left the team in a fourth-month lull – awaiting approval from university units to prototype their design.
“We have emissions of toxic gas that need to be stabilized, so we had to create an extremely thorough job safety assessment, and we had to work with multiple departments and administrations to get that approved,” said project lead Jamie Holmstrom.
Holmstrom said the experience gave her a new perspective on the industrial engineering process.
“There was problem after problem we had to solve with things I never thought we would do before,” said the chemical engineering senior. “I learned to keep an open mind and be creative.”
Engineering Creates Numerous Solutions
A wide variety of projects garnered awards, including Smart Energy Grid Simulation, an artificial-intelligence-powered energy grid that can automatically redirect power when a line goes down. This project earned Team 24039 the $2,500 BAE Systems Award for Best System Software Design.
Team 24005 walked away with the $1,500 Coherent Award for Best Optical Systems Design for its spectrometer that can identify someone wearing camouflage up to 500 yards away.
View the Design Day booklet and project videos.
Craig M. Berge Design Day 2024 Winners
Craig M. Berge Dean’s Award for Most Outstanding Project – $7,500
Team 24045: Basketball Shooting Robot Phase 2
Saul Durazo Martinez, Julia Christine Otto, Katelyn Rees, David William Ruddell, Eric Meyer, Caleb Cook
Project Sponsor: Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Award for Best Overall Design – $5,000
Team 24009: Autonomous Multi-Legged Robot for Crop/Turf Management
Rebekah June Cutler, Gabe Eleazar Maldonado, Kory Pearson, Ziyan Wei, Daniel Folse, Annalisa Minke
Project Sponsor: UA Biosystems Engineering
RBC Sargent Aerospace & Defense Voltaire Design Award– $2,500
Team 24020: Wearable Mechanical Device for the Wrist
Samuel Gonzalez, Jacob A Mondry, Valeria Maria Villarino, Thomas Zachariah Murickan, Brandon Bounds
Project Sponsor: UA Biomedical Engineering/UA College of Medicine
L3Harris Commercial Aviation Solutions Award for Most Robust Systems Engineering – $2,500
Team 24018: Understanding the Normal Aging Brain So That the Puzzle of Alzheimer’s Can Be Solved Phase 2
Guntaas Singh Chadha, Max Duque, Jason Freeman, Ritik Makhija, David Polk
Project Sponsor: McDonald/Watt Projects
BAE Systems Award for Best System Software Design – $2,500
Team 24039: Smart Energy Grid Simulation
Sebastian Govea, Adam Weida Hoffmeister, Ian Johnson, Gloria Romero, Jamie Newhall, Felipe Parra Polanco
Project Sponsor: Tucson Electric Power
Bly Family Award for Innovation in Energy Production, Supply or Use (First Prize) – $2,000
Team 24011: Plastic Recycling, Carbon Capture and Disaster Relief Through Pyrolysis
Ben Hunt, Daniel Hutton, Reina Kelley, Gracie Reinholz, Jamie J Holmstrom, Celeste R Cortez
Project Sponsor: PeakView Solutions
Bly Family Award for Innovation in Energy Production, Supply or Use (Second Prize) – $1,000
Team 24014: Mechanical Energy Storage System
Matthew English, Cecil Mrstik, Ryan A Sunga, Jaime Jose Valencia, Connor M Perkins, Gavin Tampa
Project Sponsor: Resolution Copper
Roche Tissue Diagnostics Award for Most Innovative Engineering Design – $1,500
Team 24004: The Development of a Device to Record Spinal Cord Blood Flow During Surgery
Omar Amanullah, Ryan Chen, Nicholas Elijah Matthews, Yumou Wan, Abhiman Gupta, Preston Joseph Leigh
Project Sponsor: Neurovascular Research and Design
School of Mining & Mineral Resources Lundin Award for Innovation in Mining– $1,500
Team 24076: Phase 3 Pit Design
Reyna E Clark, Esteban Guerrero Murrieta, Ethan Lathrem, Savannah M Stewart, Joseph A Welch, Shayne Elise Zadro
Project Sponsor: Capstone Mining/UA Mining & Geological Engineering
School of Mining & Mineral Resources Lowell Award for Interdisciplinary Solutions for Mining – $1,500
Team 24014: Mechanical Energy Storage System
Matthew English, Cecil Mrstik, Ryan A Sunga, Jaime Jose Valencia, Connor M Perkins, Gavin Tampa
Project Sponsor: Resolution Copper
Rincon Research Award for Best Presentation – $1,500
Team 24065: WATER-SAFE - PFAS/Microplastic Water Detection System for Environmental and Human Health
Dani Balicki, Rachel Emily Nehrmeyer, Togzhan Spatayeva, Ashley Tittelbaugh, Evan Brorby, Matthew Martinez
Project Sponsor: Kidney ADVANCE Project/NIH/UA Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation
Coherent Award for Best Optical Systems Design – $1,500
Team 24005: Imaging Spectrometer for Defeating Camouflage
Brian Castellanos, Mason Eves, Lilian Naves, Cole Suddarth, Logan Pawlowski, Ross Margulis
Project Sponsor: BAE Systems
W.L. Gore and Associates Award for Lifelong Innovation – $1,250
Team 24021: PneumaBrace - A Wearable Electronic Carpal Tunnel Relief Brace
Nawaf Z Almutairi, Zack Amstutz, Michael Cesar-Torres, Christian A Vanasco, Wakil Ur Rahman, Aydin Saucier
Project Sponsor: UA Biomedical Engineering/UA College of Medicine
Sharon ONeal Award for Software Development With Emerging Technologies – $1,000
Team 24040: Model Based Electrical Diagram and TID Generation
Jesus Garcia, Julia Rima, Chase Craver, Richardo Larez, Rafael Pacheco
Project Sponsor: Northrop Grumman
Steve Larimore Award for Perseverance & Recovery – $1,000
Team 24028: Rotating Detonation Engine Rocket Design and Launch
Raul Beltran, Henry Chambers, Henry Overbeck, Kevin D Strout, Andrew James Lefcourt, Leah McAdams
Project Sponsor: Nobel/R3 Aerospace
Honeywell Award for Excellence in Aerospace Mechanical System Design – $1,000
Team 24044: Wind Tunnel – Launch Vehicle Aerodynamic Testing
Oscar Jonathan Lopez, Konnor Benjamin Raskin, AJ Sandler, Savannah A Shah, Alex Kylie Daily
Project Sponsor: Northrop Grumman
Honeywell Award for Excellence in Aerospace Electronic System Design – $1,000
Team 24054: CubeSat Centrifuge Terrarium
Paul Shaheen Lynch, Hannah N Perez, Neo Stilson, Connor Zell, Jake Daniel Hathaway
Project Sponsor: NASA
Larry Head Award for Best Video Capturing the Project Story – $1,000
Team 24065: WATER-SAFE - PFAS/Microplastic Water Detection System for Environmental and Human Health
Dani Balicki, Rachel Emily Nehrmeyer, Togzhan Spatayeva, Ashley Tittelbaugh, Evan Brorby, Matthew Martinez
Project Sponsor: Kidney ADVANCE Project/NIH/UA Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation
The Mensch Foundation Award for Best Use of Embedded Intelligence – $1,000
Team 24067: Small Item Photographing Triage Robot (SIPhTR)
Faisal Ahmed, Rachel Ball, Julie Mason, Shriniketh Sreevatsan, Jaret Rickel
Project Sponsor: Elbit Systems
IEEE Tucson Section Award for Best Use and Implementation of Engineering Standards – $1,000
Team 24010: Integrated Grab Bar/Chair Rail System
Kurtis A Fiebelkorn, Jasiah Joseph, Ani Melichar, Evelyn Preciado, Ryan Alexander Malone, Isabellah Mayoral Ortega
Project Sponsor: Ageless Lifestyle Home
Ana Needham Award for Best External Collaboration by a Single Discipline Team – $1,000
Team 24059: Development of a Lightweight Structural Rechargeable Battery for Electric Aircraft
Andrew Nelson, Adrian Y Patron, Kathrine Kim Yuk Tham, Austin Miller, Jacob Ruhle
Project Sponsor: UA Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
Technical Documentation Consultants of Arizona Award for Best Design Documentation – $1,000
Team 24069: Leach Pad Cover Wind Mitigation Proposal
Raed Ahmed AlGhamdi, George Edward Collias, Daniel Kersey, Eric Pelto, Cole David Wolfe
Project Sponsor: Freeport-McMoRan
Henry & Suzanne Morgen Award for Best Consideration of The End User – $1,000
Team 24001: UAPD/FBI Crisis Negotiation Team - Throw Phone Phase 2
Preston Martin, Joshua Christian Reuter, Richard Joseph Tracy, Daniel Zadorozhny, Cade Douglas Seggewiss, Javid Sarkhosh
Project Sponsor: UAPD/FBI – Craig M. Berge Dean’s Fund
Mark Brazier Award for Best Biomedical System Design – $1,000
Team 24052: Modular Biomedical Sensor Board for Education
Daniel Fabricio Campana Moscoso, Michael Chase Morrett, Alec Alec Newman, Carmella Ocaya, Muad Alsayar
Project Sponsor: UA Department of Biomedical Engineering
Coherent Fish Out of Water Award – $750
Walter Rahmer (Team 24027: Rotating Detonation Engine Aerospace Nozzle Design Optimization)
Dataforth Corporation Award for Best Utilization of the Internet of Things– $750
Team 24023: Chemotherapy Port App
Adrian Daniel Corey, Oliver Beck Sjostrom, Michael Villasana, Lillian Wu, Catherine Calma
Project Sponsor: BD
Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies Award for Best Use of Prototyping – $750
Team 24032: Histopath Tissue Block Sorting Module
Cassie Queddeng Borromeo, Jack Monrean, Grace Shah, Ananya Nigam, Sam DiMatteo
Project Sponsor: Roche
AZ Technica Award for Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation – $500
Team 24090: Electrocatalytic Conversion of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Vodka Production
Laura Katherine Dunham, Sophie Elizabeth Fuller, Alexia Monae Penn, Nick Katsuji Swenson
Project Sponsor: UA Chemical & Environmental Engineering
Dragoon Technology Award for Most Unintuitive Design Driven by Physics– $500
Team 24061: Development of Solar Sail Spacecraft for Dynamic Maneuvering
Jackson W Barger, Shae Aspen Henley, Christian Lane LeClaire, Alec William Maloney, Samantha A Stevens
Project Sponsor: NASA
AZ Technica Award for Manufacturing Readiness – $500
Team 24015: Five Hole Probe for Three Dimensional Winds
John B Franklin, Ashley Holt, Glenn Sears, Carlton Martin Louie, Trevor Bailey
Project Sponsor: Dragoon Technology
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Award for Impactful Application of Science & Technology – $500
Team 24005: Imaging Spectrometer for Defeating Camouflage
Brian Castellanos, Mason Eves, Lilian Naves, Cole Suddarth, Logan Pawlowski, Ross Margulis
Project Sponsor: BAE Systems
Frank L. Broyles Award for Engineering Ethics – $500
Team 24092: Uranium Project
Alex Allred, Dylan William Clevenger, Madison R Hoff, Jordan Thomas
Project Sponsor: UA Chemical & Environmental Engineering
Frank L. Boyles Award for Best UAS Design – $500
Team 24050: Short Term Aerial Recognizance (STAR) – Phase 2
Nathan Randall Julicher, Thomas Schwab, Maximo S Ybarra, Jason Li, Chuy Talavera
Project Sponsor: Raytheon Technologies
Simpson Family Award for Best Simulation and Modeling – $500
Team 24035: Additively Manufactured Compressor Inlet Guide Vane With Fluidic Separation Control
Eric Bhe, Sidney K Franklin, Marguerite Gilman, Megan Wildridge, Morgan Goz
Project Sponsor: Honeywell
Honeywell Award for Team Leadership – $250 per awardee
Jamie Newhall (Team 24039: Smart Energy Grid Simulation)
Juan Ruben Cortez (Team 24066: Baseball Swing Rotation Trainer)