222 Palisades Creek Drive
Richardson, TX 75080
Phone: 972-952-9393
Fax: 972-952-9435
Email: [email protected]
Project: GO BaBy Go—MROC
Project: GO BaBy Go—MROC
Electrical and Computer Engineering students: Steve Whatley, E.I., Judit Aubets Macia, Noah Vongphit, Daniel Nguyen, Brandy M. Washington, Felipe S. Cervantes, Jesus Flores-Valladares, Min-Seo Song, Mishal T. Alqattan, Nicholas R. Ireland, Rosemarie G. Wiethop, Stacy L. Okai, and Sylvester R. Dzimiri
Mechanical Engineering students: Melissa Tammi, Sean C. Williams, Tia C. Pearson, and Allison K. Sorette
Faculty at Christian Brothers University: Michael Sean June, Ph.D.; Chad Baker, Ph.D.; John Ventura, Ph.D., P.E.; Eric Welch, Ph.D.; Divya Choudhary, Ph.D.; Hussin K. Ragb, Ph.D.; Falih H. Ahmad, Ph.D., P.E.; James Aflaki, Ph.D.; Jose Davila, Ph.D.; Faris A. Malhas, Ph.D.; Yeu-Sheng Shiue, Ph.D.; and Siripong Malasri, Ph.D., P.E.
Faculty at University of Tennessee Health Science Center: Dr. Kunal Singhal, Luisa Ramírez de Lynch, Dr. Stephanie Lancaster, Susan E. Anderson, and Dr. Richard J. Kasser
Professional Engineers: Tim Herndon, P.E.; John Ventura, Ph.D., P.E.; Patrick McGinnis, P.E.; Falih H. Ahmad, Ph.D., P.E.; Joseph Johnson, P.E.; Frank A. Niedzwiedz Jr., P.E.; Tom Stoll, P.E.; and Siripong Malasri, Ph.D., P.E.
Additional participants: Elizabeth Hayes, E.I., Amy G. Siebenmorgen, Dr. Leslie J. McAbee, Robert Moats, Henry Rhodes, Thomas Podesta, Steve Pickett, and Renee Stoll
What did you like best about participating in this project?
Definitely seeing the children receive their cars and enjoying it. Knowing that our work will be used to help the children and have a lasting impact is a fulfilling feeling. It was also great to see the hard work of the team come to fruition. With this being said, the camaraderie with all the team members was also a great experience.What did you learn?
As a team, I think one of our learning points is how we can apply the engineering principles we learned from our classes to real-world applications. We were able to take the theoretical knowledge and apply it to help the medical students and faculty create solutions for physical therapy to improve the quality of life of the children we are helping.How did the participation of professional engineers improve the experience?
Certainly, it helped us with best practices as well as quality for long-term use. Sometimes the solutions we had were good but not the best in terms of quality and safety. For example, with a professional engineer, we were able to understand why a particular circuit layout would be better for long-term use and why a specific design may fair better with typical wear and tear. These are just tips and knowledge that is really only gained by an experienced engineer.What do you think the engineers learned from working with students on this project?
I believe it is the different approaches to specific problems. I like to think of it as having a set of fresh eyes or a new perspective. For the engineers, I believe this is an excellent way of also learning new techniques that are being taught and reinforcing concepts. I also believe that it is an excellent experience for young engineers to learn how to advise or teach.Why did you get involved with the project?
As a CBU alumna, I enjoy volunteering for my alma mater, particularly the engineering eepartment. It had such a positive impact on my life that if I can continue to help in the success of others there, I will lend my time and expertise when I can. Additionally, I enjoy learning about new and innovative projects that young engineers have chosen. Often, it is interesting, and many times I come away very impressed at the next generation of engineers.How did you assist the students in the project?
I attended student presentations in February and completed the oral presentation scoring rubric. I attended an online review of the project poster with Joseph Johnson, vice-president of the Memphis chapter of TSPE, in May 2021. Finally, during the IEEE EXCOM meeting, I was present when we discussed the assistance the IEEE Memphis section could provide, while setting up the Go Baby Go blog (//gbgdatalogger.ieeecbu.org/).What did you learn from working with the students?
I learned about the need for a Go Baby Go car for children with special needs, a little about data logging and more electronic specifics, and observed the excellent work ethic of the students at CBU.What did you want students to learn from working with you?
Hopefully, the students could take away different innovative questions to ask during fabrication and an eye for detail on report deliverables.