By Monica Sierra/College of Engineering
Over 30 student teams are getting ready to compete at the fall 2017 Tech Symposium. The event, which will be held on November 28 at the HEB University Center Ballroom, will showcase both Senior Design 1 and 2 projects and research that students have been working on throughout their senior year. This is the second year that the Tech Symposium will occur in the fall semester, giving students graduating in December a chance to show off their projects and ideas.
“We’re excited to show our project at the Tech Symposium so everyone attending can see the years worth of work put together,” said engineering senior Stephen Kapp, team leader for the Highlander Technology senior design team. “We want the satisfaction of answering people when they ask, ‘Are you sure it’s going to work?’ and being able to say ‘Yes, we’ll show you it works and we’ll prove it right here.’ Our project is something very different that we’re doing with the goal of saving lives, and since accidents could happen to anyone, we’d like to be the ones that step in and reduce the risks to those experiences.”
The top three Senior Design 2 teams will receive prizes of $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000 respectively, while the Senior Design 1 students will show off their posters and compete for three $1,000 prizes.
Conjoined with the Tech Symposium, the Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) will be holding the “What’s your Big Rowdy Idea?” Business Model Competition. This competition is open to all University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) students, staff, and faculty, and prepares participants to launch scalable ventures while simultaneously pursuing their degree program at UTSA. CITE will offer a first place prize of $5,000 cash & $5,000 investment, second place prize of $1,500 cash, and a third place prize of $1,000 cash. Additionally, all winners will be offered in-kind services to help start their scalable new venture.
These biannual events provide a public venue where student participants have a chance to present their innovative projects and research to UTSA students and faculty, parents, industries, government, and the general public. Consequently, participants are given a chance to network with professionals from the San Antonio engineering community, which could lead to job opportunities.
At last year’s spring 2017 Tech Symposium, the first place winner, Team Halberd, developed a device able to detect and prevent the formation of pressure ulcers in immobilized patients. The CITE competition’s winner, Team Chiron, developed ColdClot, a hemostatic wound bandage that combines hemostatic gauze, super absorbent polymers, and an endothermic reaction to reduce overall rate of bleeding across a large wound surface area.
“My favorite thing about the Tech Symposium is being able to talk to our senior design students about the engineering innovations that they have been working on throughout the semester,” said JoAnn Browning, dean of the College of Engineering. “Our students work countless hours on their designs, and it is so gratifying to see them demonstrating their projects to not only friends and families, but to leaders in the industry and members of the local business community.”
To attend or judge the Fall 2017 Tech Symposium, register here.
https://utsaengineering.wufoo.com/forms/r1b2hfj10m64xf0/