Armour College of Engineering students, alumni, faculty, staff, and industry representatives gathered in the Atrium of The John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center for the 2nd Annual Armour R&D Expo 2016 on April 7, 2016. The poster exposition showcased the work of undergraduate students who participated in the Armour R&D program during the 2015-2016 academic year.
Armour R&D is part of the Armour College of Engineering Distinctive Education Program and promotes the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst our undergraduate engineering students. Participants have the opportunity to gain valuable research experience working in the lab with an Illinois Tech faculty member.
Forty-one Armour R&D participants presented posters representing research and development projects within the four Engineering Themes (Water, Health, Energy, and Security). Winners were selected by a panel of judges that included Armour faculty members, as well as Ph.D. students from all engineering departments. The judges rated projects based on context, clarity and overall visual presentation.
An awards ceremony was held after the poster competition to award the highest scoring presenters during each semester. Each of the winners received an award that was laser engraved in the Armour College of Engineering Machine Shop by Craig Johnson, head of Machine Shop and coordinator of Student Fabrication and Design Studio.
Pictured: 2nd Row (Left to Right) Omar Alhaj Ibrahim, Conner Wiebell, Padriac Chronowski. 1st Row (Left to Right) Wesley Lo, Dean Natacha DePaola, Vasunhara Agrawal.
2nd Annual Armour R&D Expo Winners
Conner Wiebell (BME, 4th year) – High Score Summer 2015
Wiebell worked with Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Kenneth Tichauer on their Health-themed project “The Optimization of Imaging Agents in the Progression of Noninvasive Lymphnode Biopsy Towards Clinic.”
Omar Alhaj Ibrahim (BME, 4th year) – Runner-up Summer 2015
Alhaj Ibrahim and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Kenneth Tichauer worked on their Health-themed project “Moving Noninvasive Lymph Node Biopsy toward the Clinic: Optimization of Imaging Protocol and Analyses.”
Wesley Lo (BME, 2nd Year) – Overall High Score 2nd Annual Armour R&D Expo, High Score Fall 2015
Lo teamed up with Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Papavasiliou, to work on their project Health-themed project “Estimation of Pro-Angiogenic Peptide Diffusion Coefficient from Crosslinked Hydrogel Nanoparticles.”
Padriac Chronowski (CE, 5th year) – Runner-up Fall 2015
Chronowski and Assistant Professor of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Mehdi Modares, worked together on the Security-themed project “A Data-Drive Investigation on Reliability of Temporary Structures.”
Vasundhara Agrawal (BME, 3rd year) – High Score Spring 2016
Agrawal worked with Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Kenneth Tichauer, on their Health-themed project “Solutions to Mathematical Models Governing Diffusion of Imaging Agents in Healthy and Cancerous Breast Tissue to Study Their Effect on Quantitative Accuracy in Lumpectomy Margin Assessment.”
Sungjin Park (ME, 5th year) – Runner-up Spring 2016
Park partnered with Assistant Professor of Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering, Carrie Hall, on their Energy-themed project “Applying Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition on Multi-Cylinder Engines.”