If the buzz of electronic paper towel dispensers annoys you as much as it irks students in dorms, you’ll want this muffling system, which reduces noise from 74.2 to 64.5 decibels.
Image courtesy of Quieter Paper Towel Dispenser group.
Inventors Phillip Coletti, Zack Cutler, Madeleine Parker, Alison Polton-Simon, and Ian Schneider—all class of 2014—won the Phillip R. Jackson Prize for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: “Introduction to Engineering.” Their teaching assistant was Wiley Dunlap-Shohl ’12.
With the Hill Breaker there’s no need to fear longboarding down steep slopes. The Hill Breaker uses centrifugal force to automatically regulate speed. On each front wheel a pair of pivoting brake shoes rotates within a brake drum fixed to the axle. At low speeds the brake shoes are held retracted by springs. As speed increases and the centrifugal force of the brake shoes exceeds the spring force, the brake shoes pivot outwards against the brake drum, generating smooth resistance that increases with speed.
Hill Breaker team members Katherine Conway ’13, Ethan Dreissigacker ’13, Scott Lacy ’13, and Christopher Magoon ’13 won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for best performance in ENGS 21: “Introduction to Engineering.” Their teaching assistant was B.E. candidate Anastasia Miliano ’10.
ENGS 21 presentation video courtesy of student team.
For more photos, visit our Student Projects set of images on Flickr.
Rolling a kayak is crucial for safety but tricky to learn. The Roll-A-Yak adds weight to the keel to maximize angular momentum and minimize rotational inertia, making the kayak easier to roll. The neoprene-covered weighted device cut average learning times from 11.8 hours to 90 minutes.
Photograph courtesy of Roll-A-Yak team.
Lauren Harad ’12, Sarah Jewett ’12, Sam Streeter ’13, and Max Van Pelt ’11 won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: “Introduction to Engineering.” Their teaching assistant was Sara Rocio ’10.
SEEING-EYE BELT: Qingyi Wang models the Infrared Navigator for the Blind. Photograph by Douglas Fraser.
Five students created a wearable infrared obstacle detector to help the visually impaired. Their prototype was designed to be inconspicuous, quiet, durable, and power-efficient, with a range of 1.5 meters and a low $30 price tag. Inventors Mncedisi Sikhondze ’11, Harold Dansu ’12, and dual-degree students Irina Cazan, Ermira Murati, and Qingyi Wang won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their teaching assistant was Christian Ortiz ’11.
When asthma strikes, people can regain their breath by using an effective but inconvenient electric nebulizer, a small but inefficient metered dose inhaler (MDI), or an MDI that has a long spacer attached to it to ensure that the medication reaches the lungs. Take-a-Breather improves on the MDI by adding a collapsible spacer and dual-flow mouthpiece. The telescoping spacer keeps the MDI pocket-size. The mouthpiece allows users to breath naturally, like using a nebulizer. Zakieh Bigio ’10, Betsy Dain-Owens ’10, Catherine Emil ’10, Sarah Feldmann ’11, and Sarah Rocio ’10 developed Take-a-Breather for ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their teaching assistant was Ashley Heist ’08 Th’09.
Alden Adolph ’11, Thomas Collier ’11, Max McClorey ’11, Kevin McGregor ’11, and Chris Zentner ’11 designed a bike that grows as a child grows. The bike uses only one set of 20-inch wheels but can be adjusted to mimic the geometries of a bike with 16-, 20-, and 24-inch wheels. The students won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their teaching assistant was M.E.M. student Eric Klem ’08.
Self-Sanitizing Keyboard
Forget the Purell. ENGS 21 students Sean Currey ’11, Elizabeth Kemp ’11, Heather Kluk ’11, and Yolanda Lin ’11 built a self-sanitizing keyboard. Keyboard covers rotate after use for cleansing by ultraviolet light. The group’s teaching assistant was B.E. student Scott Lananna ’08.
Dartmouth students use 8,572 kilowatt hours per day, much of it wasted by leaving on lights and appliances. The “Hit the Lights” system requires students to insert their Dartmouth ID card into a radio-frequency card reader to activate lights and outlets in dorm rooms. No card, no current — except for designated outlets for appliances that need constant power. The foolproof system reduces energy usage up to 33 percent. Creators Michael Bush ’11, Eric Durell ’11, Michael Lewis ’11, Thomas Mandel ’11, and Paul Seebacher ’11 won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their teaching assistant was Andrew Herchek Th’09.
HIT THE LIGHTS: No card, no current. Photo courtesy of “Hit the Lights” group
Learning to use hand-activated brakes on bikes can be tricky and dangerous. Too much pressure to the front wheel brake can send the rider flying over the handlebars. A spring mounted at the connection of the brake cable and the hand lever ensures even pressure for non-spill stops. Kyle Betts ’10, Benjamin Meigs ’10, Adam Powers ’09, and Jeff Spielberg ’10 developed the device for ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their TA was Laura Weyl Th’09.
An L.E.D.-studded belt acts as both flashlight and reflector for safety in the dark. Abraham Clayman ’07, Daniel Harburg, Sanderson Hull ’09, Michal Jablonski ’09, and Alex Lippai ’09 won the Fall Term 2006 Phillip R. Jackson Award for outstanding performance in ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. The team’s teaching assistant was Deborah Sperling ’06 Th’07.
Night Runner. Photograph by Douglas Fraser.
Nordic Exchange
For developing strength in cross-country ski double poling, the Nordic Exchange leaves other trainers in the cold. Dual degree students Robert Courtney, David Drennan, Chris Klabes, and Christa Miller-Shelley, and Alix Toothman ’08 earned a Phillip R. Jackson Award honorable mention. Brian Hendrickson ’06 was their teaching assistant. You can see the Nordic Exchange in action on YouTube.
With the Self-Powered Remote, couch potatoes will save more than their own energy. They’ll reduce the need for the 3 billion batteries Americans use in their homes each year. The Self-Powered Remote utilizes a magnet traveling though a conductive coil to generate its own electricity. A 30-second shake is all it takes to produce enough voltage to change channels 70 times. Project team Fahmi Enam ’08, Lauren Miller ’09, Nandan Shetty ’07, and Stephanie Trudeau ’09 won the Phillip R. Jackson Prize for outstanding performance in ENGS 21, “Introduction to Engineering,” last spring. Maxime Guimond ’06 was the team’s teaching assistant.
Self-powered remote. Photograph courtesy of Stephanie Trudeau ’09.
