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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The 12^th annual Engineering Expo, featuring student projects that range from a robotic refrigerator to new software for medical imaging, will be Friday, May 20, in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University.

The senior design showcase with more than 100 student-built projects is combined with a "Robo*Palooza," and the event is free and open to the public. It will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kelley Engineering Center on the OSU campus. Tours of the Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory are also available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

More information on the event, parking and other details is available online at http://bit.ly/m1XFDq or by calling (541) 737-3101.

The various displays offer an entertaining learning opportunity for anyone, organizers say, and may be of particular interest to high school students who are considering a career in engineering.

"When our students graduate, they will be seeking solutions to the world's most pressing problems, and the senior design project helps prepare them to make a seamless transition into their careers," said Ron Adams, dean of the College of Engineering. "OSU has one of the nation's largest and most productive engineering programs, with more than 4,000 undergraduates, and is in the top 20 of undergraduate engineering enrollment."

Among the various displays will be:

• A project to map and make available 6,000 images taken from space of Earth's cities, produced by a system created by NASA astronaut and OSU alumnus Don Pettit

• A wireless Internet solution to schedule irrigation, regulate water usage and monitor a greenhouse

• A robotic arm created for a Mars Rover design

• A motorcycle helmet that displays speed and fuel on a rider's visor

• A "mini-malter" for use in OSU fermentation research