•
Alzheimer’s Disease. With more than fi ve million cases of Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States, the social impacts are widespread. In particular, Kacyn Fujii ’13 described the emotional distress, depression and economic impacts for caregivers, many of whom are unpaid. She proposed provid- ing a greater support network for caregivers, establishing for- mal healthcare and investing in more research and education.
• 3-D Printing. Alec Storrie-Lombardi ’13 researched the latest printing technology—printers that can be used to create three-dimensional solid objects of any shape from a digital model. As more youth learn 2-D and 3-D modeling and as prices for 3-D printers continue to fall, the technol- ogy could eventually become much more mainstream. Commenting on the power of the technology—and the recent creation of a handgun from a 3-D printer— Storrie-Lombardi said, “The one who wields it decides what it makes.”
Shanahan Projects Unleash Creativity Give Harvey Mudd College students the funds and freedom to direct their own research, and the results are likely to be remarkable. This year, supported by the Shanahan Endowed Student-Directed Project Fund, students designed and built a combat robot, founded a new robotics club and developed an innovative wound-measuring device. Demetri Monovoukas ’15 developed a wound-measurement
device that will help guide the treatment of pressure ulcers in diabetic, bedridden and elderly patients. Wound size determines an ulcer’s severity, which is categorized by four stages, each re- quiring a specifi c treatment. Current methods for measuring the skin lesions range from costly digital devices to paper rulers. “A paper ruler is the most widely accepted measurement
device in use right now. They model the ulcer as a rectangle and get a rough area perimeter, but it’s almost 50 percent inac- curate,” said Monovoukas. “So, inexpensive but inaccurate is the industry standard. I wanted to do better.” Monovoukas’ pen-shaped device, the WoundStylus, traces
the outer perimeter of an ulcer and transmits and displays the measurement on a receiver. The device is as accurate as the most expensive measurement device currently on the market
(WoundZoom, $995), yet costs around $200. It’s the second medical device developed by Monovoukas,
an engineering major, who, with three collaborators, won the 2013 Henry R. Kravis Concept Plan Competition for an electronic patch that measures and relays body temperature data. Their device could spare patients the need to be frequently checked with a conventional thermometer. The College’s newly formed Combat Robotics Club boldly
entered the battle bots scene, developing a custom robot to compete in the heavyweight class of the 2013 International RoboGames in San Mateo, Calif. Juniors James Best, Alistair Dobke, Lauren Nishizaki and
Joshua Vasquez viewed previous contenders’ YouTube videos to identify the best combat robots. In the end, they designed a spinning, spiked, 220-pound robot dubbed Robespierre. Robespierre contains about a thousand parts, more than 200
of which were custom-made in the HMC machine shop. Seventeen students contributed at least one part to the fi nal ro- bot construction. Equipped with a 35 horsepower motor, Robe- spierre spins at 800 rpm—whipping its spinner blades round at 100 mph—and putting out 60 pounds of pushing force. It also has a surprise feature: magnets. “When spinners collide with another robot, typically one
of them goes fl ying. So we added 16 magnets to the bottom of Robespierre, which gave us about 400 to 800 pounds of additional downforce, anchoring the robot to the arena’s steel fl oor,” Dobke said. At the RoboGames in April, Robespierre competed in two
battles. In one, it experienced a surprising setback when smoke spewed from its chassis: its spinner’s drive belt had caught fi re. Although it did not win, Robespierre suffered only cosmetic damage and returned intact to HMC. The club plans to form an HMC robot league, where indi-
vidual students or small teams can design and develop small combat robots for friendly, on-campus competitions. Established in 2005 with a gift of $500,000 from HMC
trustee R. Michael Shanahan and his wife, Mary, the Shanahan fund supports student-directed research and promotes leader- ship and teamwork among students.
Jess Hester ’13 offers an Internet security solution; Katie Hilleke ’13 presented results on the study of beilschmiedic acid C; and Combat Robotics Club members Joshua Vasquez ’14, James Best ’14 and Lauren Nishizaki ’14 show off Robespierre.
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Har vey Mudd College SUMMER 2013
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