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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Producing biofuel from coconut oil, developing hybrid methods to make rocket fuel, creating a wearable sensor for the blind and more than 240 other senior design projects will be on display Friday, May 18, at the 19th annual Undergraduate Engineering Expo.

Nearly 850 students from the Oregon State University College of Engineering will take part in the expo, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kelley Engineering Center, Johnson Hall and the adjacent community plaza.

The event is free and open to the public. Students share the work completed in their projects through the use of models, demonstrations and posters.

Fifty-five of this year’s projects are sponsored by organizations such as Boeing, NASA, Jacobs (formerly CH2M), Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Tektronix.

“Developing profession-ready graduates is at the heart of what we do, so these hands-on learning opportunities are incredibly impactful,” said Scott Ashford, Kearney Professor and dean of the College of Engineering. “Many of the projects on display are real problems that real companies have asked for help with.”

Industry partners, alumni, the media, prospective students, their peers, representatives of other academic institutions and the general public will have the opportunity to interact directly with individual students, ask questions and exchange ideas.

Other subjects the projects address include intersection design, irrigation infrastructure and robotic wheelchair data collection.

“Beyond the technical side of engineering, this experience provides students with the teamwork, communication and project management skills that potential employers are looking for,” Ashford said.