A team of students from last year's Celebration for Undergraduate Research and Design proudly displayed a radio-controlled aircraft they designed and built to accommodate heavy loads.

Research and design celebration
lets undergraduates shine

From solar panels that power cars and transmission satellites for high-altitude living to designs for a missile launcher, undergraduates will share the next generation of engineering and natural sciences designs at the Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Design.

The third annual event will highlight the research work of 25 undergraduate design teams from the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. It also will have almost 100 individual poster presentations tackling subjects from mathematics to mechanical engineering.

Students will present their projects from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, in the du Bois Center.

"This is the highlight of our year," said Laura Huenneke, dean of the college. "The place will be filled with great examples of students making a difference with their work."

The keynote speaker will be Leonard Fine, director of research and education for Science Foundation Arizona, who will discuss "Science—The Endless Frontier and the Undergraduate Research Experience," during a luncheon sponsored by W.L. Gore and Associates.

"This capstone celebration not only provides a great real-life experience for undergraduates, for many students this event is the culmination of their college career," said Stan Lindstedt, a Regents' Professor in biology. "A recognized strength of our institution is to provide this unique experience for students."

Here's a small sampling of design projects that will be presented:

• a NASA-sponsored high-altitude satellite with live video and data transmission
• a wastewater treatment system for the Hopi village, Sipaulovi
• a mechanical assembly of a W.L. Gore and Associates liner, used for gastric bypass staples
• deployable solar panels that allow a parked car to collect enough energy to run on
• a master plan for campus to increase its use of alternative transportation
• a missile launcher wiring harness to be used by Raytheon Missile Systems
• research for a theoretical wind farm in Arizona using five separate locations

Information and a schedule of events is available online.