School of Computing & Engineering Projects Day 2022

Bridges on Woodin Street in Hamden were recently inspected and found to need replacement. Woodin Street is a major route for commuters entering New Haven to the south. Our client, the Town of Hamden Engineering Department, tasked the team with designing the replacement of the bridge that spans Belden Brook. The scope of work includes structural design of the bridge replacement, a hydraulic analysis of the brook, traffic detour plans including multiple scenarios, schematic design of the considered bridge options and a final design report.

• Student Team Members: Michael Neumann, Chris Flannery, Luke Desilva, Kyle Somogyi, Stephen Porobija, Colin Stephenson and Eugenio Buccini

• Advisers: Professor Kimberly DiGiovanni and Professor Ari Perez-Mejia

• Client: Town of Hamden

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The current drainage system for the Highwood Newhall neighborhood located in Hamden needs to be redesigned to address flooding that occurs during storm events. Using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), our team designed, analyzed and recommended specific replacement options for the drainage system using Trenchless Technologies for the surcharged and flooding areas throughout the neighborhood. The proposed redesign considers site conditions and minimizes the disturbance of contaminated soil contained at the site.

• Student Team Members: Joscalyn Gallo, Dominique Minerva, Connor Becerril, Daniella Balsano, Zachary Mykytiw and Eddie Baiocco

• Advisers: Professor Kimberly DiGiovanni and Professor Ari Perez-Mejia

• Client: Town of Hamden

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My thesis is about access to AI technology in game engines. I have done research on different types of game engines available to the public, learned how difficult it is to implement AI technology into games and explored how the game engines provide information to the users. All this research is designed to help people figure out what game engines will allow them to integrate this technology as AI continues to grow in the gaming industry.

• Student Team Member: Jenna Saleh

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This paper will touch on a multitude of topics with the intention of showing the benefits of gamification in higher education, and more specifically, the improvements that it can bring to the computer science curriculum. By delving into the model computer science curriculum, I work to determine the standards for teaching as well as the difference between the ability to gamify the concrete versus the abstract sections of the curriculum. These points are supported by a look into different learning styles and their effectiveness along with case studies of the effectiveness of gamification in high-level education.

• Student Team Member: Christian Colaiezzi

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In this thesis paper, I briefly go over the history and importance of codes of ethics before diving into the complexities and capabilities of reflective coding. The paper concludes with a comparison between the implications of reflective coding and the rules and regulations outlined in two or three of the major computing codes of ethics (ACM Code of Ethics, Code of Ethics for the Computing Professional, IEEE Code of Ethics).

• Student Team Member: Conor Smith

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ArQUade (aar · kayd) is a web-based simulation video game based on Quinnipiac University's School of Computing and Engineering map. ArQUade simulates what the first day of classes looks like and assigns tasks so the player gets a sense of where classrooms and resources such as printers and labs are located. The goal of ArQUade is to help incoming/prospective engineering students get familiar with the School of Computing and Engineering and all the engineering classrooms located throughout Quinnipiac University’s Mount Carmel Campus.

• Student Team Members: Lauren Atkinson and Harrison Dominique

• Advisers: Professor Ruby ElKharboutly and Professor Christian Duncan

• Client: Professor Lynn Byers and the School of Computing and Engineering

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Budget Buddy is a gamified budgeting web application that allows users to manage a budget and track all their transactions, both expenses and income. The application uses advanced mathematical models to recommend budget goals and forecast future spending behavior. It alerts users when they’re expected to overspend for the month. Unlike competing budgeting platforms, our application is gamified to enhance the user’s experience: users can make friends, engage in competitions, complete challenges and customize a personal avatar. Lastly, as a web application, the tool is always available around the clock on a plethora of mobile and desktop platforms.

• Student Team Members: Charles Rescanski, Karalyn Kachmar and Stephen Ippolito

• Advisers: Professor Ruby ElKharboutly and Professor Christian Duncan

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The Pocket Ranger Android smartphone application was created to be a handheld trail guide for Brooksvale Park. Pocket Ranger’s goal is to give hikers, new and experienced, an enjoyable time at Brooksvale while teaching them the history of the park. The application displays the park trails and provides various other information, including information about the trails and a tree identification quiz. Furthermore, the application displays the user’s location with respect to the current trail and allows usersto report problems or issues in the park.

• Student Team Members: Henok Ketsela, Bryan Sullivan, Dylan Irwin, Jack Zemlanicky and Colin McNeill

• Advisers: Professor Christian Duncan and Professor Ruby ElKharboutly

• Client: Town of Hamden

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The WioNav is a system that provides indoor location services utilizing multiple ESP 32 Gateway clients that scan for RSSI values using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon signal strength emitted by a Seeed Wio Terminal to triangulate its location. Coordination is managed by an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network using messages passed through an MQTT broker hosted on an Onion Omega 2+. The system is implemented using three different embedded systems architectures, each specifically chosen for functionality.

• Student Team Members: Ashley Mills, Amanda Gil and Nikolai Orekhov

• Adviser: Professor Jonathan Blake

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This project provides a deep machine learning approach to understanding drivers’ cognitive reactions during a head-on driving scenario. The team used the miniSim Driving Simulator with analyzed data from 32 participants. This analysis will enable traffic experts to implement proactive safety strategies more effectively.

• Student Team Members: Stephanie Appow and Rachel Von Zwehl

• Client: Crash Safety Research Center

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Automated data analysis dashboard creation for Brook & Whittle press machines' production using Visual Basic for Applications in Microsoft Excel.

• Student Team Member: Peter J. Skibin

• Client: Brook & Whittle Ltd.

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Optimization and facility redesign of a five-floor clinic located in the Bronx, N.Y., by incorporating patient, staff and item flow.

• Student Team Members: Ryan Burns and Liliana Gomez

• Client: Union Community Health Center

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This project focuses on making enhancements in optimization within ITW Drawform operations. Although most of this project is focused on two of the 15 departments, it will serve as a springboard to implement 5S standards and automation throughout the plant.

• Student Team Member: Donald E. Claude

• Client: ITW Drawform

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Optimization of machine utilization planning for a label manufacturer by incorporating production strategies with cost-benefit analysis

• Student Team Member: Erin Schuler

• Client: Brook & Whittle Ltd.

Design and build a scanning system for the School of Computing and Engineering that uses the Creaform scanner to obtain a fully detailed scan of a part. The team will develop the process to print the scanned part on one of the school’s 3D printers. A detailed user guide will also be developed. The team will work with a consultant from CCAT Advanced Design and Automation. Project success will be determined by the ability of a novice to successfully scan and print a 3D part.

• Student Team Members: EJ Hohmann, Dylan Nguyen, Erin Schuler and Emily Tardiff

• Adviser: Professor Grant Crawford

• Client: Dennis Hanlon

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Design and build a single-seat recreational vehicle intended for sale to off-roading enthusiasts. The vehicle must meet all Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) rules and be rugged, safe, easily transported, easily maintained and fun to drive. Students will compete in competition evaluations such as technical inspection, cost, design, sales, acceleration, hill climb, specialty (rock crawl, suspension) and a 4-hour endurance race. The primary goals for this second-year team are to pass inspection and to compete in and finish all events at the SAE Baja 2022 competition.

• Student Team Members: Sam Deleel, John Murray and Zak Polak

• Adviser: Professor Jose Riofrio

• Client: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

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Design a front suspension geometry that improves upon the current Baja performance. The new suspension must eliminate existing bump-steer, maximize overall travel, maximize contact patch between tires and ground and optimize the location of the roll center. The design must be adaptable to the existing Baja frame and manufacturable with current School of Computing and Engineering resources.

• Student Team Members: Jake Fitzpatrick and Brandon Held

• Adviser: Professor Jose Riofrio

Design and implement a measurement system for the QU Baja car, which must accurately collect data for engine speed, car speed and fuel level. The team must design an instrument cluster with gauges to display these values to the driver in real-time. In addition, the system must have a data-acquisition (DAQ) device that can log these and other data for testing and diagnostic purposes. The system must be low-power and be able to work off of the car’s on-board 12V battery. The whole system (sensors, displays, DAQ, wires, etc.) must be cleanly integrated into the car and have adequate protection from the harsh elements of the racetrack (mud, rain, etc.).

• Student Team Members: Ryan Johnson, Will Nocar and Joe Peck

• Adviser: Professor Jose Riofrio

Design a device that alerts the client when a feeding tube becomes disconnected from the access port. The device must be safe for the patient and client, reliable and easy to use. The client has a son who is reliant on a feeding tube for all of his nutritional needs. The tube is connected to a port that goes directly to the patient’s stomach and is in operation 24 hours a day. At times during the night, the tube has become dislodged, resulting in the nutrition dripping onto the patient’s clothes and bedding. There is no device to alert the client that this has occurred.

• Student Team Members: Kaitlin Mines, Zachary Souza, Anthony Tapia and Scott Wilcox

• Adviser: Professor Grant Crawford

• Client: Carolyn Torello

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Create a prototype of a robot that can tie simple knots using Arduino microcontrollers or other electronic prototyping platforms along with electromechanical components. The robot will pick up pre-cut strands of suture and tie the simple knot. This will improve consistency of the knots, efficiency of the process, and ergonomics for the engineers prepping the samples.

• Student Team Members: Harrison Dewhurst, Gina Greco, Hope Kavulich, and Emily Strauss

• Advisers: Mary Phillips, Ashley Leung (Medtronic), Brittney Severino (Medtronic), Saleem Ibrahim (Medtronic), Joel Goncalves (Medtronic), Kenneth Espinal (Medtronic) and Joe Festa (Medtronic)

• Client: Medtronic

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Some of the new makerspace’s 3D printers use water-soluble PVA as support material. One must remove the support material after printing a part, and sometimes, one cannot accomplish this mechanically. The requested device must reliably and rapidly remove PVA support material from printed parts without endangering the device’s user or damaging the part.

• Student Team Members: Gillian Barrins, Robert Cross, Michael Delzio and Zachary Fellows

• Adviser: Professor John Reap

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Design a mobile walker to assist patients who have retropulsion and impaired mobility on one side of the body. This situation can come from a person who was born with cerebral palsy and then suffers a traumatic brain injury. Normal equipment on the market does not work well for these types of patients.

• Student Team Members: Sean Budowsky, Zach Manabat, Cyrus Movassaghi and Grant Phillip

• Adviser: Professor Lynn Byers, Interim Dean of the School of Computing and Engineering

• Client: Professor Lisa Kaplan

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The goal of this project is to create a standalone system for School of Computing and Engineering advisers and their advisees to plan, schedule and verify the courses that the advisees will take for the upcoming semester. The system will be used as an alternative to the current paper-based method of planning courses for the advisee and will be able to identify discrepancies between planned and registered schedules. The system will only be used for managing and planning the courses and will not be responsible for registering the advisee for the planned courses.

• Student Team Members: Timothy Carta and Victoria Gorski

• Adviser: Professor Ruby ElKharboutly

• Client: Professor Corey Kiassat, Associate Dean of the School of Computing and Engineering

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The goal of this project is to improve existing features and add new features to the Quinnipiac Perfusion Simulator. The simulator allows perfusion students to practice cardiovascular perfusion outside of the operating room through a web application. A faculty user can control the simulation by altering the simulated parameters so a student user can respond accordingly by administering simulated medications or manipulating the simulated heart-lung machine. The current iteration of the project improves the fidelity of the simulation and adds support for different cardiovascular perfusion scenarios that prepare students for common and uncommon situations that may arise during cardiovascular perfusion.

• Student Team Members: Ryan Hayes and Nicolas Vazquez

• Adviser: Professor Stefan Christov

• Client: Professor Michael Smith, Program Director of Cardiovascular Perfusion

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The goal of this project is to develop a web-based application that allows the School of Nursing to track the number of hours each student has dedicated to service activities. The app allows faculty to create a list of eligible service-related events, students to log their service hours and event attendance, and both students and faculty to track those service hours. This application will support the Service Distinction award that the School of Nursing is implementing. Students will receive that award upon graduation.

• Student Team Members: Thomas Gadacy and Christian Mele

• Adviser: Professor Stefan Christov and Professor Ruby ElKharboutly

• Client(s): Heather Pastir, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Professor Erica Mumm

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