Second Annual Engineering Showcase Demonstrates Student Collaboration and Ingenuity
Salpointe proudly hosted the second annual Engineering Showcase on April 27, featuring 40 projects on subjects ranging from biochemistry and aquaponics to robotics and artificial intelligence. Students enrolled in Engineering 102, Intermediate Engineering, Advanced Engineering, Environmental Biology and Biotechnology presented semester-long, independently produced projects for the showcase.
“Providing students with an opportunity to work on long-term projects is reflective of the world for which we are preparing them. After graduation, Salpointe students will find themselves delivering innovative ideas to professors, making sales presentations to corporate executives and industry clients, and creating designs that will impact our community for the better,” said engineering faculty member, Jason Hastings.
Lancers showcased gadgets and inventions such as a motorized longboard, bicycle charging station, automatic dog feeder, cold brew coffee still, robotic hand, water reclamation station, drones and battlebots, just to name a few.
Back
“Providing students with an opportunity to work on long-term projects is reflective of the world for which we are preparing them. After graduation, Salpointe students will find themselves delivering innovative ideas to professors, making sales presentations to corporate executives and industry clients, and creating designs that will impact our community for the better,” said engineering faculty member, Jason Hastings.
Lancers showcased gadgets and inventions such as a motorized longboard, bicycle charging station, automatic dog feeder, cold brew coffee still, robotic hand, water reclamation station, drones and battlebots, just to name a few.
Seven of the projects were created by students in Cecilia Gossler’s Engineering 102 course as part of EPICS, Engineering Projects in Community Service, where students work with mentors to solve engineering-based problems for community organizations. The Engineering 102 course allows students to receive college credit for the University of Arizona’s introductory engineering course.
“The focus of the Engineering 102 projects is to demonstrate to both our students and the community the value of service to others,” said Gossler. “While engineers create and develop amazing gadgets and toys, our primary purpose is to develop solutions that change the world for the better.”
For example, students Tino Tirado, Billy Barrett and Blake Altenbernd worked on a sustainable energy model, which was installed at Saints Peter Paul Catholic School to teach middle school students about renewable energy.
In Intermediate Engineering, sophomores Meghan Crownhart and Madi De Backer created a cold brew coffee drip tower.
“We love coffee and we were trying to find a way to incorporate coffee and engineering,” said Crownhart. “Cold brew coffee is a newer trend and we wanted to find a way to make it for ourselves less expensively.”
Their project involved extensive trial and error and at one point the circuit breaker started smoking. Ms. Gossler taught the students how to wire two circuit breakers together for greater power and they were back in business.
“It was really cool to serve coffee at the Showcase,” said De Backer.
“I’ve attended the Engineering Showcase for a couple of years now. The year-over-year progress in the number and variety of projects and the increased technical depth is impressive,” said Salpointe parent and engineering mentor, Charles Bavier. “What is equally impressive is the number of students participating. It is wonderful to see Salpointe’s investment in STEM education being so widely utilized by the student body.”
“The focus of the Engineering 102 projects is to demonstrate to both our students and the community the value of service to others,” said Gossler. “While engineers create and develop amazing gadgets and toys, our primary purpose is to develop solutions that change the world for the better.”
For example, students Tino Tirado, Billy Barrett and Blake Altenbernd worked on a sustainable energy model, which was installed at Saints Peter Paul Catholic School to teach middle school students about renewable energy.
In Intermediate Engineering, sophomores Meghan Crownhart and Madi De Backer created a cold brew coffee drip tower.
“We love coffee and we were trying to find a way to incorporate coffee and engineering,” said Crownhart. “Cold brew coffee is a newer trend and we wanted to find a way to make it for ourselves less expensively.”
Their project involved extensive trial and error and at one point the circuit breaker started smoking. Ms. Gossler taught the students how to wire two circuit breakers together for greater power and they were back in business.
“It was really cool to serve coffee at the Showcase,” said De Backer.
“I’ve attended the Engineering Showcase for a couple of years now. The year-over-year progress in the number and variety of projects and the increased technical depth is impressive,” said Salpointe parent and engineering mentor, Charles Bavier. “What is equally impressive is the number of students participating. It is wonderful to see Salpointe’s investment in STEM education being so widely utilized by the student body.”
Wide Range of Student Projects Showcase Creativity in Action
“I couldn’t be more proud of my students’ diligence in learning new skills and technologies while demonstrating their learning through the creation of some truly marvelous inventions,” said Hastings. “In addition, their ability to communicate their knowledge on a variety of topics during the final showcase exemplifies the benefits of the holistic education they receive here at
Salpointe.”
Junior Matthew Bavier built and programmed the “Raspberry Assistant,” which is a personal assistant like Siri or Alexa. The Raspberry Assistant, made from composite wood, was designed on the STEM Center’s laser cutter. The image frame and photo hooks on the back were printed on the Center’s 3D printer. Bavier then programmed the software using
STEM’s Python 2 software, which allows the assistant to be customized by the user.
“The recent Engineering Showcase demonstrates that in the area of STEM, Salpointe has realized our stated goals of practicing 21st century learning skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and independent learning,” said Salpointe president, Kay Sullivan.
Read more in Salpointe Today.
Salpointe.”
Junior Matthew Bavier built and programmed the “Raspberry Assistant,” which is a personal assistant like Siri or Alexa. The Raspberry Assistant, made from composite wood, was designed on the STEM Center’s laser cutter. The image frame and photo hooks on the back were printed on the Center’s 3D printer. Bavier then programmed the software using
STEM’s Python 2 software, which allows the assistant to be customized by the user.
“The recent Engineering Showcase demonstrates that in the area of STEM, Salpointe has realized our stated goals of practicing 21st century learning skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and independent learning,” said Salpointe president, Kay Sullivan.
“The Engineering Showcase is a great extension of STEM classroom knowledge," said Glenn Bacon, Ph.D. and Engineering Mentor. "The students are experiencing the exciting creativity this foundation enables and are learning how to explain their work with real enthusiasm.”
Read more in Salpointe Today.
Salpointe Catholic High School
1545 E. Copper St.,
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 327-6581
Attendance: (520) 327-1990
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 327-6581
Attendance: (520) 327-1990
© 2021 Salpointe Catholic High School. All rights reserved.