Photo caption: Engineering students presented their senior projects last year at ESPEX 2023, held in the Engineering Systems Building.
Dozens of senior engineering students from Old Dominion University will present their innovative and diverse projects at the 6th annual Batten College of Engineering and Technology Engineering Student Projects Expo (ESPEX). The event is scheduled for April 19 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will take place at the Webb University Center - North Café.
The projects encompass a wide range of topics. For example, one project is a system designed to monitor the health of an aquaponics system – a unique integration of aquaculture (fish) and hydroponics (plants). Another project is a long-term collaboration with Super Radiator Coils (SRC), a Richmond, Virginia-based radiator manufacturing firm. This is the fifth project in which engineering technology students have helped the company improve their manufacturing processes.
Autonomous systems projects include underwater drones and aerial drones capable of networking and swarming, as well as an autonomous aerial drone engineered for vertical takeoff and landing.
The event will also showcase regional and community-based projects, with two groups of civil engineering and civil engineering technology students partnering with Hampton University architecture students to design flood resilience plans for the Campostella Heights and Oakleaf Forest neighborhoods in Norfolk, Virginia.
Typically, engineering students conceive their projects in the first semester of their senior year, progressing to construction and completion in the subsequent semester.
"ESPEX is a rich tradition in the college where our engineering students get to show off a little bit in front of our local and regional engineering employers and community. They all get a great opportunity to present their innovative work, demonstrating their dedication to solving real-world problems through creative solutions," said Jeff LaCombe, associate dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Education at the Batten College of Engineering and Technology. “I look forward to seeing all the diverse projects!”