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Michigan State University
Michigan State University

College of Engineering

April 15, 2024

Spring Design Day 2024: Engineering students to unveil cutting-edge projects

MSU’s Indy Autonomous Challenge car to debut at same event

2024 Spring Design Day booklet cover
The MSU College of Engineering's Design Day will take place Friday, April 19.

Honoring a tradition since 1994, the Michigan State University College of Engineering will host Spring Design Day on Friday, April 19. The event celebrates Spartan Engineering students’ innovative spirit, is free and open to the public, and runs from 8 am to 2 pm.

This event will include nearly 1,000 Spartan Engineering students representing 10 degree programs, 14 courses and 207 teams. Among this group are 625 senior students involved in 126 teams that will present their end of the semester Capstone Projects.

“Design Day serves as a culmination of our seniors’ academic journey,” MSU Engineering Dean Leo Kempel said. “They showcase not just their technical prowess, but their ability to innovate and work together to solve challenges.

"Our Spartan Engineers are dedicated to excellence and poised to make an impact in the world.”

The lineup of student-created, solution-based Design Day projects with corporate and community sponsors include:

Applied Engineering Sciences

  • Munters FoodTech: Product Packaging Design Optimization. Packaging solution for Atlas Fans that decreases labor hours, production costs and storage space.
  • Trane Technologies: Scrap Metal Circularity. Tracking process for recycled materials involved in scrap metal processing.
  • Microsoft: Cloud IT Hardware Sustainability/Reusable Packaging Solutions. Sustainable packaging solution for company’s cloud infrastructure hardware.

Civil & Environmental Engineering

  • Consumers Energy: New Lansing Operations Center. Plans for 78-acre site to house 200 employees with tools and materials storage space.

Computer Science and Engineering

  • Team Auto-Owners: Policyholder’s Interactive Guide. Augmented reality app that enables users to interact with vehicle parts and associated coverage information.
  • Team Ludus: Digital Playbill Builder. App that consolidates creation and distribution of programs for performing arts shows & events.
  • Team TechSmith: Enhanced Video Assistant. App to make video editing easier with help from an artificial intelligence-based assistant.

EGR 100

  • Collaboration with Eli Lilly on drug manufacturing requirements.
Design Day project
Design Day includes student projects focusing on a variety of disciplines. 

Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • MSU Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Laboratory: Aerial Drone for nondestructive evaluation of infrastructures in construction, energy, automotive and aerospace industries.
  • MSU D-Cypher Lab: Design of Hardware-in-the-loop Fire Simulator to analyze nature of fires, how they can be suppressed.

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

  • Power to gas: Use of excess electrical energy to generate fuel gases that can be stored cost-effectively.

Mechanical Engineering

  • MSU Adaptive Sports & Recreation Club: Three-Wheel Drive System for Scooter.
  • MSU Combat Robotics Team: Combat Robotics vehicle design and development.
  • MSU Formula Racing Team: Electric outboard motor assembly prototype.

Materials Science & Engineering

  • Snowboard Snow Problems: Study of sports equipment materials to ensure quality and safety.
  • Brake Down: Study related to bike pads, cables and calipers to improve quality and safety.
  • Death by a Thousand Cups: Study of polycarbonate “unbreakable” cup failure.

Corporate sponsors of student-led projects and awards include Amazon, Auto-Owners Insurance, General Electric, General Motors, Google, John Deere, PPG, Eli Lilly, NASA, Texas Instruments, Fraunhofer USA, Meijer, MSUFCU, WK Kellogg Co., Whirlpool, United Airlines, Lockheed Martin, and Stryker.

Design Day tables
Design Day will feature presentations from more than 200 student teams.

For more information about Design Day, visit the event’s website and check out the Spring 2024 event program.

Indy Autonomous Challenge car on display

As an added bonus, the MSU Indy Autonomous Challenge car will be on display near the Engineering Building’s west lobby entrance doors on April 18 from noon to 6 pm and April 19 from 8 am to 4 pm.

Late last year, MSU entered a two-year agreement with Politecnico di Milano in Italy, and the University of Alabama to participate in the Indy Autonomous Challenge under the team name PoliMOVE-MSU. MSU is the first and only team from Michigan to race in the IAC series, which officially launched in 2019.

Find out more about the car here: https://engineering.msu.edu/news-events/news/2024/04/15/Indy-Car.

Written by Eric Lacy, lacyeric@msu.edu. See more at the Engineering Media and Public Relations page.