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URDS Previous Winners

The Engineering School Undergraduate Research and Design Symposium is an annual presentation and selection of the best of the Undergraduate Research theses. Each finalist in the competition delivers a 15-minute oral presentation, and three awards are given at the end of the symposium. Listed below are the finalists, the winners, and the members of the selection commmittee.

For more images of URDS 2005, please click here.

Left to Right: Brian Gawalt, Johanne Python, Nathan Lewis

1st Place - Johanne Python

2nd Place - Brian Gawalt

3rd Place - Nathan Lewis

Automatic Modulation Identification



Major: Electrical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Stephen Wilson
STS Advisor: Kathryn Neeley

Characterization of P/Q-, N-, and L-type Calcium Channel Response to Verapamil and a Novel Ion Channel Blocker

Major: Biomedical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Yong Kim
STS Advisors: Helen Benet-Goodman, Kathryn Neeley

(Left to Right) Ben Roberts, Steve Driskill, Scott Barker (Technical Advisor), Amin Mehr, Brent Schavitz

A Power Supply Oriented Small-Caliber EML Design Methodology

Majors: Electrical Engineering, Physics
Technical Advisor: Scott Barker
STS Advisors: Hlen Benet-Goodman, John Brown, Deborah Johnson, Kathryn Neeley, Peter Norton

2005 Symposium External Judges:
Dan Bauer, Retired Vice President, Ametek Aerospace, SEAS Adjunct Faculty 2000-2004
Ken Pesyna, Advanced Technology Lead, Rolls-Royce Corporation
Paul Rice, President, PEC Solutions, Inc.
Gregory H. Olsen, Ph.D., CEO, Sensors Unlimited, Inc.

2005 Symposium Internal Judges:
Tom Baber, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Travis Blalock, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Brian Helmke, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Ted Iwasaki, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

2005 Selection Committee:
John Lach, URDS Chair
Dana Elzey, Cornelius Horgan, John Hossack, Marty Humphrey, Donald Kirwan, Brian Pfaffenberger Pradip Sheth, Preston White, Paxton Marshall (Ex-Officio), Emily Ewell (student), Angela Widhalm (student)

Rachael Elizabeth Abel
An Analysis of the Effects of Red Light Cameras in Virginia for Improving Intersection Safety
Major: Civil Engineering
Technical Advisor: Nicholas Garber
STS Advisors: Deborah Johnson, Kathryn Neeley

Andrew Kelley
Heterogeneous Combustion of Porous Solid Fuel Particles: A Reduced Gravity Study
Majors: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
Technical Advisor: Harsha Chelliah
STS Advisor: Peter Norton

Jon Reifschneider
Design of a Morphing Wing
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Technical Advisors: Dana Elzey, John Junkins (Texas A&M)
STS Advisor: Rosalyn Berne

Kyeong-Jae Lee
Micro-Architectural Temperature Modeling Using Performance Counters
Major: Computer Engineering
Technical Advisor: Kevin Skadron
STS Advisor: Patricia Click

Edward Benson
Evaluation of UDDI as a Provider of Resource Discovery Services in OGSA-based Grids
Major: Computer Science
Technical Advisor: Marty Humphrey
STS Advisor: Patricia Click

Parixit Mehrotra
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Magnesium Alloy AZ80 Processed by Equal Channel Angular Extrusion
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Sean Agnew
STS Advisors: Catherine Baritaud, Ingrid Townsend

Andrea Aliberti, Jef Benbanaste, Seon-Ho Choi, Isabelle Estripeaut, James Perry, Daniel Streufert
Business Process Modeling for a Highway Agency - A Demonstration with Planning and Programming Activities
Major: Systems Engineering
Technical Advisor: James H. Lambert
STS Advisors: Rosalyn Berne, Patricia Click, Kathryn Neeley, Peter Norton

Danielle Gause, Lisa Killen, Anuradha Roy
Development of a Novel Ear Tube Insertion Device
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Shayn Peirce-Cottler
STS Advisors: Helen Benet-Goodman, John Brown, Kathryn Neeley, Bryan Pfaffenberger
Acknowledgements: Rajib Kundu, Huailing Zheung