The ‘perfect fit’: First-time sponsors find solutions with engineering seniors

For first-time Interdisciplinary Capstone sponsors Craft Beauty Lab and StickEcodes Inc., College of Engineering seniors are crucial to bringing concepts to market.

“Having somebody or a group of people come in who haven’t been conditioned by their environment – they have their own ideas,” said Bobby King, production floor manager at Craft Beauty Lab.

At the same time, students take on projects with real-world constraints, from workplace safety and manufacturing to cybersecurity and health care.

The local advantage

A fresh perspective is exactly what sponsor Craft Beauty Lab wanted when it decided to launch a portable sanitary pumping system. The Tucson-based manufacturing company produces creams, balms, serums and skincare products for cosmetic brands.

One of their high-volume clients orders 23,000 units per month of a nourishing balm for pregnant women. The balm must be heated to a specific temperature before it can be manually pumped into containers.

King asked team 27036 to develop a portable sanitary pumping system that maintains the balm’s temperature, is easy to clean and prevents it from hardening inside the equipment. Sensors will monitor temperature and prevent overfilling.

“We’re looking for some fresh ideas that we may not have thought about at this stage, making this partnership a perfect fit for us,” King said. “We’re looking to not only make our space more productive, but safer at the same time.”

Local access to experts was another draw. He previously worked with engineering firms to develop machinery, but those projects involved overseas manufacturers and lengthy timelines.

“We’re here in Tucson, so I’ll be able to meet with students and work with them directly,” King said. “This partnership is valuable for everyone because we get great ideas, and students get real-world experience solving a problem that matters.”

From heirlooms to health care

Teresa “TC” Mueller, the founder of StickEcodes Inc., envisioned using QR codes to help identify family heirlooms. Each code connects to a digital summary about its history and owner.

Soon after, she saw an opportunity to apply this technology to health care.

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Mueller’s design concept connects QR codes with encrypted information based on location. In a hospital, for example, a patient QR code could allow doctors to access medical information while inside the patient’s room. Once the doctor leaves, access will disappear.

Capstone Team 27012 will develop temporary security keys, a secure system for managing data and use location tracking to control access to medical information. Her project combines software, hardware, systems engineering and medical applications.

“Engineering students have learned the newest technology, and they bring great ideas, technical skills and a willingness to look at the problem in a different way,” she said. “That makes them a perfect fit for my project.”

After initially exploring other universities, Mueller contacted U of A and was surprised by how much interest her project generated.

“I was expecting one student,” she said. “But now I’ve got five and a faculty mentor, and that is beyond amazing.”

Mutual benefits

Both sponsors see the partnership as a two-way exchange.

For Mueller, after decades of working in the automotive upholstery industry, the technology concept lies outside her professional background.

“I came up with the idea, but I have no background in computer science and engineering,” she said.

Students are key to making the concept reality.

Both sponsors also want the partnership to give students a stronger understanding of what awaits them after graduation: the chance to take what they have learned and apply it to problems they have never encountered before.

This will give them a good foot in the door because they’ll be able to go anywhere with their resume and say, ‘I worked on this cool industry project,’ and show what they accomplished,” Mueller said.