A human-powered submarine, a quarter-scale tractor and a wildfire management simulation video game are among the roughly 200 senior capstone projects that will be on display June 6 at the 2025 College of Engineering Expo.
More than 850 students will take part in the event, which is free and open to the public. The expo will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 6 at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center and The LaSells Stewart Center. An awards ceremony and reception will follow.
“The Expo is a great way to see engineering education in action,” said Scott Ashford, Kearney Dean of Engineering. “Our students work on real-world challenges, showcasing the skills they learn at Oregon State.”
Students share their work through models, demonstrations and posters at the expo, which is officially sponsored by Pacific Power.
Individuals, companies, national laboratories and other government agencies sponsor the projects and provide mentorship to the students. Boeing, Daimler, Hoffman Construction, HP, Intera, Jacobs, Lam Research, NuScale, Pacific Power and Portland General Electric also sponsor awards; representatives from the companies will act as judges and presenters.
Capstone projects on display also include:
- An adaptive skateboard system for a 12-year-old boy who has quadriplegia and ataxia.
- An immersive robotics video game that engages middle and high school students in building, wiring and programming increasingly complex robots to solve a captivating mystery.
- An at-home skin patch for the early diagnosis of skin melanomas.
- A drink-spiking-detection device that will turn purple in the presence of GHB, the active ingredient in the date-rape drug Rohypnol.
- An analysis of (and recommendations for reducing) harmful cyanobacterial blooms in the Ross Island Lagoon in Portland.
- An exploration of the regulatory challenges of long-term nuclear-powered space missions, with a focus on security, radiation protection and public perception.
- Innovative building designs for the Edward J. Ray Hall academic building at OSU Cascades in Bend, Oregon.
- An advanced smart home glass-shattering detection device designed to detect glass shattering with unmatched precision.
- The restoration of the nose of a F-117 Nighthawk, a historic stealth aircraft, for an aviation museum display.
In addition to the student capstone projects, a range of College of Engineering clubs and organizations including the Quarter Scale Tractor Club, the Land Speed Racing Club, the Blacksmithing Club and the rocketry, robotics, and aeronautics groups, will have displays at the event.
