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May 2015 Update

SPRING ENGINEERING NEWS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE:
Spring 2015 eNews

Engineering News is available online now!

Read it here.

Many of the stories in this edition feature the work of our Senior Design teams. For an up-close and personal experience, join us at the School of Engineering Senior Design Conference:

Thursday, May 14, 2015
2:15-5 p.m. Student Presentations
5:00-6 p.m. Project Demonstrations

All are welcome; feel free to invite friends!

SPRING 2015 ENGINEERING NEWS:
Dean's Message: Convergence. It's a word that comes up often in conversation at SCU as we work toward implementation of a new integrated strategic plan for enrollment, facilities, and aspirations, and the School of Engineering is rife with examples of convergence in many arenas.
Making Connections: Civil engineering seniors Ellen McKay and Kaelynn Willey made the most of their connections to faculty advisors, a fellow Bronco engineer, a local developer, and yes, even sewer lines, as they set out to plan and design a low environmental impact neighborhood district.
To Sleep—Perchance to Breathe: For their Senior Design project, bioengineering seniors Erin Araj, Leah Karlsen, and Abby Kilkenny are working with local startup Siesta Medical to improve the surgical procedure currently used to alleviate potentially deadly Obstructive Sleep Apnea. 
Building A Better Nest: Noticing all of the popular attention paid to the Nest Learning Thermostat and facing the challenge of their year-long capstone project, electrical engineering seniors Matthew Allen, Sam Billett, and Kevin Read fixed their laser-like focus on fuzzy logic.
Facing Fears through Virtual Reality: For their Senior Design project, Bryce Mariano and Paul Thurston have developed a simulation tool for therapists to use in guiding patients through a controlled virtual world of exposure to potentially terrifying things.
Engineering the Perfect Shot: Graduate engineering students may, at first glance, seem like unlikely team members, but they are a valuable addition to the Department of Athletics operation. Here, the students share their experiences working as camera operators, filming men’s and women’s basketball games.
High-flying Aspirations: Senior Micah Klaeser, with the help of ten of his fellow senior mechanical engineers, is turning his dream of designing an unmanned aircraft capable of transporting medical supplies to rural health providers in the developing world into a reality with this Senior Design project.
Letting the Sun Shine on a Brighter Future: SCU’s School of Engineering has long been a driver in both energy education and community outreach. Recently, the two converged when electrical engineering associate professor Shoba Krishnan and solar advocate Mike Strykowski teamed up to help veterans learn about the solar industry.
Civils Being Civil: For generations, civil engineering has been known as a “people-serving profession,” so maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that two Santa Clara University civil engineering professors recently teamed up to publish a paper aimed at helping humankind restore inner and world peace.