Innovative student projects highlight Ontario Tech’s Engineering capstone competition

The hard work and ingenuity of more than 450 undergraduate students were on display at the recent Ontario Tech University Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science’s (FEAS) Engineering Capstone Exhibition and Design Competition.

The annual event marks a significant milestone in the academic journey of final-year Engineering students. Throughout the eight months they spend working on their ‘capstone’ project, students collaborate in groups and apply what they've learned in their respective programs to tackle open-ended, real-world, industry-driven engineering problems. Students present their research and development achievements at the end of the semester.

Capstone projects expose Engineering students to the engineering design process. They use the newest available engineering tools and incorporate engineering standards. Their solutions must also consider a broad set of constraints and conditions, including economic, environmental, ethical, health and safety, social, political, manufacturability, and sustainability.

Students also improve their ability to work in teams, participate in project planning and scheduling, give presentations, and deal with uncertainties in a professional manner.

This year’s event was made possible in part through the generous support of:

• Lead sponsor:
  • The Society of United Professionals
• Supporting sponsors:
  • Lake Ontario Chapter of the Professional Engineers of Ontario
  • Elexicon Energy
  • AtkinsRéalis

Awards were presented to the top three teams from each of the following departments:

• Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering (AME) and Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME)
• Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering (ECSE)
• Department of Energy and Nuclear Engineering (ENE)

AME/MME Awards 

First place: Design and Development of an Auto Sun Visor for a Vehicle

• Faiza Khurshid
• My Le
• Aisha Sarwar
• Hyungsuk Seo
• Sana Umerwadia
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ghaus Rizvi 

Second place: Immersion Cooling of Battery Modules for use in a Formula SAE Competition

• Tarek Abouchakra
• Kyle Cannon
• Joseph Caruana
• Fiona Man
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Greg Rohrauer

Third place: Robotic Assistive Cane

• Yousif Fadl
• David Ibrahim
• Amallan Jayaganth
• Bolu Owoyeye
• Ajenthan Rajajeyakumar
• Rudra Vala
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shabnam Pejhan

ECSE Awards

First place: Design and Development of a Smart Medicine Cabinet

• Massimo Albanese
• Abida Choudhury
• Lyba Mughees
• Hima Paul
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ramiro Liscano

 Second place: Design and Development of an Integrated Phase-cut Dimmable Power Supply for LED Fixtures

• Ameera Abboobakar
• Mathieu Cote
• Kirti Godbole
• Anthony Gonsalves
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vijay Sood

Third place: RA11Y: An American Sign Language Recognition Solution

• Mazen Massoud
• Thomas Menegotti
• Johnathon Tannous
• Sarah Wedge 
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Khalid Hafeez

 ENE Awards

 First place: Design of a Collector of Radioactive Liquid Wastes Generated During Decommissioning

• Meryam Al-Khalaf
• Shadi Dahrouj
• Labiba Tasnim
• Lucas Taylor
• Paul Tran
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Glenn Harvel 

 Second place: Design of a Nuclear Plant Work Planning Tool

• Roman Carvalho
• Calvin Ng
• Valery Senka
• Janice Silva
• Yibin Wang 
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Glenn Harvel

 Third place: Effluent and Emissions Monitoring System for the BWRX-300

• Alyssa Cinerari
• Danton Kellington
• Sam Maksymyk
• Tanner McBride
• Faculty Advisor: John Froats

Thank you to the judges who took the time out of their day to evaluate the capstone projects. The judge panel included Professional Engineers and alumni.

AME/MME judges:

• Brian Riess, Senior Co-ordinator, Technical Services, Cameco Fuel Manufacturing
• Mo Bina, Scrum Master, General Motors
• Pierre-Xavier Roy, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Hydro Cool Systems
• Ryan Finn, Senior Systems Developer, Xtract One Technologies
• Ted Maulucci, President, SmartONE Solutions
• Mo Gholami, General Manager, Trench Canada

ECSE judges:

• Catherine Cottrell, Senior Director, Product Development, AtkinsRéalis
• Chris Effinger, Senior Team Lead, Alithya
• Khodr Chehade, Instrumentation and Control Engineer, Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
• Rohan Service, Supervisor CNG & RNG Operations, Enbridge Gas (with Professional Engineers Ontario)
• Ali Ariburnu, Principal Consultant, SEMP
• Harsh Singh, Section Manager, OPG
• Falguni Shah, Director, Customer Connections and Key Account Services, Toronto Hydro
• Leon Simeon, Senior Officer, SEP Unit Director, OPG (with Society of Professionals)

ENE judges:

• Richard Ireland, Senior Manager of Simulator Services, OPG (Ontario Tech alum)
• Chantal Yacoub, Canadian Licensing Technical Leader, Regulatory Affairs, GE-Hitachi (Ontario Tech alum)
• Akira Tokuhiro, Professor, FEAS, Ontario Tech University

Quotes

“I am inspired by the dedication and ingenuity showcased by our final-year Engineering students. Their tireless efforts over the past eight months demonstrated our commitment to advancing innovation and excellence. This year's event holds special significance as we celebrate our university's 20th year and the 20th Capstone Exhibition, highlighting our dedication to shaping future engineering leaders.”
- Dr. Hossam Kishawy, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

“It was so exciting to see all the projects the students spent the whole year designing and implementing. Their creativity and ingenuity is so inspiring. It is really a great way to wrap up the university experience and to see all our hard work pay off.”
- Fiona Man, Mechanical Engineering, class of 2024, and second-place AME/MME award recipient