April 12, 2012 – Freshmen will send robots to attack zombie targets. Sophomores will race trains powered by compressed air. Robots built by juniors will play Capture the Flag. And seniors will display their design projects, including a blood-vessel testing chamber, a hybrid solar and wind power station, and a magnetically guided cochlear implant for the deaf.

Those will be the highlights Tuesday, April 17, during the University of Utah’s 15th annual Mechanical Engineering Design Day.

The public and news media are invited to the event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in and around the ballroom of the A. Ray Olpin Union Building. Faculty and students will be available to answer questions.

“Design Day allows mechanical engineering undergraduates to showcase their year-long projects,” says Tim Ameel, professor and chair of the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Seniors will exhibit their innovative solutions to some of today’s engineering challenges. It is exciting to see the students’ ideas come to fruition.”

Key events at Design Day are:

• Senior Design Showcase – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Union Ballroom.

• Thermodynamics and Sustainability Competition (The Taking of Thermo 2, 5, 10) – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the East Ballroom. Sophomores will compete in a contest in which trains powered by compressed air will navigate through subway stations while racing to the end of the track.

• Freshman Design Competition (Zombie Wars) – noon to 2 p.m. in the West Ballroom. Mechanical engineering freshmen built autonomous (or preprogrammed) robots that will shoot orange ping pong balls at large pictures of zombies with targets on them, and whack foot-tall zombie figurines over the head.

• Mechatronics Competition (Capture the Flag) – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Saltair Room. Juniors will compete in a game involving autonomous robots that will seek to capture the opposing team’s flag.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah is committed to providing students with a broad-based, rigorous and progressive education. By combining state-of-the-art facilities with renowned faculty, the department provides an education that gives students the necessary skills to become the next generation of innovators. For more information about the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Design Day, visit http://mech.utah.edu.

List of Senior Design Showcase Projects: