Seven Years of National Recognition as UTDesign Capstone Wins at 2021 ASME Conference

A UTDesign Capstone team earned second place in the United States at the 2021 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference. UT Dallas teams have achieved 6 first-place awards and 3 second-place awards in this competition since 2015 in addition to 3 first-place awards at the national Capstone Design Conferences since 2014.

Dr. Robert Hart, mechanical engineering capstone program faculty director, congratulated the team saying, “The team did an outstanding job of working together throughout the year to develop a creative solution to a challenging problem. They are very deserving of this recognition, and it is great to see them carry on the tradition of UTDesign teams finishing at the top in this competition.”

The team which included biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering majors created an automated solution for sorting and assembling nasopharyngeal swabs used for COVID-19 testing. This automated machine pre-rinses the swabs in isopropyl alcohol to remove the viscous resin, and then sorts and packages the swabs into a containment unit to go through the curing process afterwards.

Team leader Trent Sakakini reflected, “The experience taught me the importance of communication, teamwork and project management. These skills will be crucial as I begin my career journey.” Team member Josiah Go added, “The main thing I learned from our senior design project was how engineering projects are done in the real world.”

Their corporate sponsor, Adaptive3D, has recently been acquired by Desktop Metal Inc., an industry leader in additive manufacturing. This major milestone will surely pave the way for large-scale manufacturing of 3D-printed specialized plastic and rubber materials developed at The University of Texas at Dallas.