04 / Polygon Fall 2013

polygoncollege of technology and innovation

Issue 04 // Fall 2013

CTI Baja team cruises past competition

Exoskeleton systems assist soldiers, amputees

Student entrepreneurs win $6,000 at Startup Bowl

WiSE board member encourages mentoring & philanthropy

Recap: Summer of Innovation

CTI & Barrett, the Honors College welcome Cody Van Cleve

Honeywell iProjects improve user-experience

Software student loses sight but not focus

&A R I Z O N A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

1 polygon // fall 2013

Each student faces individual struggles that can lead to roadblocks in their college journey, but the growth and learning that comes from overcoming those struggles plays a major role in the student’s college experience. College of Technology and Innovation (CTI) junior Bryan Duarte experienced his own life-changing struggle that had the potential to stop him from growing, but instead he decided to face his challenge head-on and make his dreams happen.

In 2004, Duarte was involved in a major motorcycle accident that caused severe injuries and stopped his heart three times, putting him in a coma. Although he was able to recover from those injuries, he was unable to regain eyesight after the accident. Now, nine years later, he suffers no physical effects from the accident except for his blindness.

A software engineering major at CTI, Duarte landed a prestigious internship with Lockheed Martin, a leading defense, aerospace and technology corporation with locations worldwide. During his internship, Duarte is creating a program for helicopter pilots that generates three-dimensional audio to convey 360-degree situational awareness. The software will allow pilots to have awareness of their surroundings even when they cannot see because of clouds, fog or smoke.

“I’ve enjoyed working on this project since the program has the potential to help the visually impaired,” said Duarte

Duarte was led to the internship with the help of Entry Point!, an organization that recruits STEM-related majors who have a disability and recommends them for internships around the nation. The representatives at Entry Point! were impressed with Duarte’s 3.95 GPA, involvement as a student senator and founder of the ASU Polytechnic club Disabled Athletes and Allies.

“They made me aware of internships at Lockheed Martin and I didn’t think I had a chance,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’m a student, I’m blind, they’re not going to take me.’”

Sure enough, Duarte received four offers for a paid summer internship with the company. He decided on Lockheed Martin’s Florida location, as it aligned with his professional interests more than the other offers.

Because of the size and culture of CTI, students are able to receive individual support to achieve their educational and professional goals. When applying for his internships Duarte sought the resources of the Career Center on the Polytechnic campus, as well as the professional advice and support of Mitzi Montoya, vice provost and dean; Aaron Krasnow, dean of student affairs; and Garret Westlake, assistant dean of student affairs.

“There have definitely been people at this campus who have been encouraging and supportive,” Duarte said. “They’ve made me realize that many things are possible.”

Perhaps the most important skill he’s gained at the college is how to learn, he says.

Software student loses sight but not focus

“CTI has fitted me with the ability to learn, and learn fast,” he said. “I hit the ground running with this internship without much experience, but because CTI has taught me how to be an efficient learner, I was able to be taught many skills in a matter of weeks.”

Duarte says the internship experience has been life-changing. Employees at Lockheed Martin made sure Duarte and his guide dog, Dixon, felt accommodated by installing speech-recognition software on his computer and Braille elevator signs and markers to direct him toward various parts of the building.

“Lockheed Martin has been so great,” Duarte said. “They’ve been pretty remarkable in accommodating me in so many ways, and they’re so willing to help. They always make sure I am taken care of. My co-workers even take my guide dog out to play.” //

Bryan Duarte is joined by his guide dog Dixon at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, Florida for a prestigious internship with the company developing situational awareness software.

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The Sun Devil Motorsports Team from ASU Polytechnic was covered with mud and exhausted after 14-hour days of pure automotive engineering and competition at this year’s Baja SAE competition in Billingham, Wash. Team members were planning next year’s Baja design only hours after the competition had ended. Club mentor and CTI senior lecturer James Contes says this is not unusual behavior for these motivated students, and they are as excited as ever to reach the top.

The Sun Devil Motorsports team, a student club organization at CTI, competed against 86 other teams in the national competition to determine the Baja car with the best design and build. Collegiate automotive clubs enter in any of the three national competitions that test the design, speed, maneuverability and endurance of a student manufactured Baja car, a frame-only vehicle used for off-roading and high adventure activity.

Run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the competition is designed to simulate real-world

engineering practices. Student teams have to complete a project from start to finish, beginning with the initial design and ending with a fully tested Baja car.

Contes says the competition mirrors what CTI teaches students everyday: to learn through making innovating.

“The competition is set up to take students through industry-standard practices,” Contes said. “When they graduate, students are prepared to take on challenges that every engineer faces when seeing a project through to completion.”

The team’s efforts are made possible by the state-of-the-art equipment available for student use at CTI.

“We have one of the best engineering labs in the state, if not the best one,” Contes said. “CTI has been fitted with the equipment to do all of the hands-on work that is so critical to engineering.”

The Sun Devil Motorsports team placed first out of all Arizona colleges and 17th

CTI Baja team cruises past competition

This year marked the first-ever ASU Student Startup Bowl, a competition in which students submit business plans and compete in the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative.

Known for their entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas, 84 CTI students participated in the Startup Bowl. At 2.5 percent, CTI contributed the second highest rate of participation of all participating colleges and schools at ASU.

CTI also supported the Edson prize package with $3,000 in ancillary funds to make applying in the competition even more attractive.

“We hope that by growing our support and involvement in the Startup Bowl we can encourage other colleges to follow suit to increase student engagement in entrepreneurial activities,” said Audrey Iffert, who leads CTI’s strategic initiatives.

GlobalResolve, a social entrepreneurship program administered through CTI, also incentivized student submissions into the Startup Bowl by offering an additional $3,000 of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation awards.

CTI award winners:Images Den – the first socially curated search engine for images that allows you to vote, save, modify and share images from across the web.

Jolobo Corporation – an all-in-one, real-time professional data collection application designed for field observation.

m2 Health – a mobile-to-mobile, patient-focused management tool for private practice health practitioners.

GlobalResolve award winners:Emergency Trailer System (E.T.S.) – manufacturing light-weight bike and hand trailers used to transport survival material to hard-to-navigate locations.

Student entrepreneurs win $6,000 at Startup Bowl Growth Alternatives in Action (GAIA) – re-establishing a long-forgotten method using a special soil called Terra Preta to increase crop yield in impoverished nations.

SafeSIPP – addresses three problems facing rural communities in the developing world: transportation, purification and storage of drinking water. //

The competition is designed to simulate real-world engineering practices and prepare students for careers in the automotive engineering field.

out of 87 teams overall, compared to last year’s ranking of 37th place.

The competition consists of five events: a four-hour endurance race, an acceleration race, a hill climb, a maneuverability test, and a rock crawl. Students also give an engineering and sales presentation to a panel of judges, just as they would if they manufactured a vehicle in the industry. //

Abiola Doherty (far right), Growth Alternatives in Action team member and a software development major at CTI, meets with the team’s biochar partners in Peru.

3 polygon // fall 2013

Honeywell iProjectsimproveuser-experience

One team worked with Honeywell to determine how various surfaces react to the oils on fingers in order to improve touch screen visuals in cockpits.

Each semester, students at the College of Technology and Innovation (CTI) collaborate with top-producing companies around the globe. This year, four student teams joined forces with Honeywell, a global producer of consumer, engineering and aerospace systems and products. The teams were challenged to research various solutions to real world problems and give Honeywell executives their best recommendations.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality uses digital information to supplement real-world images and environments used by leading companies to enhance user experience. For example, Yelp, an online review company uses their app, Monocle, to create a more interactive experience. By using a cell phone video camera to view a selected outdoor area, the app dynamically displays digital markers to show areas of interest in real time.

“Honeywell hopes to use this same kind of technology in aerospace design,” said John Femiani, team mentor and assistant professor of engineering at CTI.

A global company like Honeywell needs the ability to meet with clients virtually and interact with new products, designs and developments. Augmented reality in aerospace design would allow users from any location to see a redesigned engine part, for example, and interact with it just as they would in person.

Some augmented reality software has the capability to identify different parts using Quick Response (QR) codes or barcodes to display information, track improvements made, or identify a specific function for training purposes.

iProject team members were asked to research which types of software and hardware would most benefit Honeywell’s augmented reality initiative. The team considered portability, cost and overall effectiveness when researching more than a dozen possibilities, which included wearable glasses, iPad applications

and advanced video camera systems. After research was completed, the team concluded that an app available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store would be the best option for Honeywell.

“These iProject opportunities are invaluable for students across all majors,” Femiani said. “Students get to go on site visits and meet with industry professionals. They get a chance to meet with executives of companies and see how they’re run. They get to make connections that lead to full-time employment after graduation. It’s an opportunity for students to experience what they can expect after they leave here.”

Contact Angle Measurement Systems

Another group of students worked with Honeywell to improve the accuracy and functionality of touch screens that pilots use in airplane cockpits. The challenge was to develop a technique that would detect and measure how the oil from a fingerprint smudge reacts on different surface material. They used a high-powered microscope with side-viewing capabilities to look inside fingerprints, find the tiny micro droplets and measure the contact angle of those droplets. The

reduction of fingerprint smudges ensures the safety of pilots in cockpits because it increases touch screen visibility.

Team members were given a variety of different surfaces to test and followed guidelines given by Honeywell as to the goals of the project. The team presented their findings at the 2013 Innovation Showcase as well as to executives at Honeywell.

Team member Jamison Mccarville, an electrical engineering major, says the project has opened his eyes to how projects are run in the real world.

“It’s introduced me to a way of doing projects that are typical in engineering positions,” he said. “You’re given a task you know nothing about and you go into deep research while working with a team with a variety of different skills. It’s this kind of thinking that you find in the real world, and I know these projects will prepare me for a great job after I graduate.” //

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Recap: summer of innovation

High school students at CTI’s Startup Academy were trained in all aspects of technological entrepreneurship, including taking your ideato production.

Youth from around Arizona join industry professionals and CTI faculty in innovative, hands-on summer experiences

As many students headed home for the summer, the ASU Polytechnic campus remained abuzz with groups of junior high and high school students participating in one of CTI’s summer camp experiences.

Maker Camps

The Maker Corps program, a nationwide initiative to introduce maker-oriented experiences in existing educational programs, chose the Polytechnic campus as one of 35 Maker campuses around the United States. Using the Maker Corps model, professor Micah Lande, along with three CTI students, taught concepts of making and tinkering to middle and high school aged students in the Valley.

The week long camp introduced youth to campus maker spaces, like the engineering labs and the Startup Labs. In this space, campers were given maker challenges and used various types of material to solve a problem.

“These students were engaged in the same kinds of hands-on learning approach that we take with our current students,” Lande said.

Lande says there is value in building creative confidence in our young people and having them learn our innovation process as citizens in the 21st century.

“CTI plays an important role in our local community as a thought leader and catalyst for encouraging making with our students at CTI in our various programs and beyond,” he said. “We can help get young people excited about making an impact with what they can imagine, whether they enter STEM majors and careers or not.”

The Startup Academy

Over 30 students joined entrepreneurship professors, industry professionals and student mentors at CTI’s first residential Startup Academy, a week long camp that taught how to take an idea and turn it into a functioning business opportunity.

Students were split up into groups and given fictional problems to solve. The process involved coming up with a concept that solved a specific problem, building a prototype, creating a video and presenting an elevator pitch to a panel of judges.

“The experience was unlike the traditional classroom experience because you are living and breathing this stuff,” lecturer Aram Chavez said. “Students were so immersed in entrepreneurship that we found them talking about their business ideas outside of camp activities or during down time. I was very impressed.”

Chavez says that camp participants are now more prepared than ever to start their own ventures and make ideas happen.

“This generation wants to have an impact more than anything,” he said. “It’s not so much about the money anymore--this next generation of entrepreneurs want to be involved with something that has a purpose.”

Camp Game

One of CTI’s most popular camps for youth, Camp Game, featured classes on video and computer game design, game art and app development. At the end of the camp, students walked away with a physical product, like a self-developed video game or Android app.

Assistant professor Ashish Amresh said Camp Game began as a way to encourage kids to embrace technology through games and instill the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts at an early age.

“They’re used to playing games, but this time their experience is on the other side of the computer,” he said. “It’s an overwhelming experience for most students to see video games in this way, but very fulfilling for them in the end.” //

Faculty and mentors of the Startup Academy taught participants principles of the Aha!! to Exit: 10 Steps to Startup model, a system that allows any entrepreneur to take an idea from inception all the way to harvesting its financial reward.

Created by CTI Skunkworks and lecturer Aram Chavez, human and environmental systems chair Russell Branaghan and lecturer Jason Bronowitz, the map goes against the traditional business plan model and features 10 primary milestones that outline the major steps needed to turn an idea into reality. Each milestone then highlights additional steps that will move an idea along the map.

The milestones include: the Aha!! moment, research, beta, business map, capital structure, legal, guerilla marketing, operations, scale, and exit and harvest.

“Participants of the Startup Academy are learning from the same model thatCTI entrepreneurship students use to make their own ideas happen,” Chavez said.

Branaghan says the map is adaptable to any kind of business idea, including businesses that are currently in existence. //

Ditch the business plan

5 polygon // fall 2013

Exoskeleton systems assist soldiers, amputeesFor years, scientists and engineers have studied methods of improving how the body functions. From athletes who want to perform better to stroke survivors who have little use of their limbs, one CTI professor has developed two systems that can improve the lives of many.

Thomas Sugar, a professor of engineering at CTI, has developed an exoskeleton system aimed at improving the speed of soldiers in the military. In collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sugar and his team created a wearable system called a Pogo Suit that works against the effects of mass and gravity to improve a runner’s speed.

Just as wearing a backpack will apply more mass to a runner, thereby making it more difficult to run, Sugar’s Pogo Suit works against these laws with an oscillating mass system that reverses this motion. The system contains motorized hardware that pulls the body in an upward motion as the body lifts off the ground. Sugar says running with mass oscillating in the opposite direction of the natural pull of gravity will help anyone run faster.

So far, Sugar’s Pogo Suit research has focused on military applications, such as allowing a soldier to run faster to safety in a threatening situation, but Sugar can see many uses for a system like this one beyond military application.

“For people who are older or need gait assistance, or even for stroke rehabilitation, this will be useful,” Sugar said. “The system helps the user expend less energy and propels them forward, making walking and running much easier.”

Sugar is joined by CTI mechanical engineering student Jason Kerestes, who says the project is an opportunity for him to see how mathematical modeling and the design process can translate from a concept into a working prototype.

“There really is the ability with CTI to design, develop, build and test all in one location, with knowledgeable faculty

and the tools to make it happen,” said Kerestes. “I’ve been to other colleges and have other degrees, but no other school has so much potential all in one spot.”

Sugar also designed and built a spring-powered prosthetic ankle that reduces the metabolic cost of the user by giving energy to the gait cycle. Called SPARKy (Spring Ankle with Regenerative Kinetics), the spring ankle propels the user forward while picking the toe up in the swing phase. Sugar says the ability to walk on multiple surfaces as well as ascend and descend sets his system apart from traditional ankle prosthetics.

In collaboration with the United States Army, the SPARKy project is complete, but Sugar hopes to develop a neural interface for the device so the user can have automatic control over functions.

“With SPARKy, you can walk, run, jump—but not make automatic movements without conscious control, like you do with dancing or tapping your foot,” Sugar said.

Sugar says with his device a neural

interface is more realistic than a brain machine interface because of the decreased risk involved and the ease of integration. A brain machine interface connects directly inside the brain, while a peripheral neural interface might connect to the nerves in an arm or elsewhere on the body, he said.

“Brain machine interfaces are needed for people who have no use of their appendages especially in moving their upper arm, and installation involves a complicated surgery which not many people are willing to do,” he said.

Sugar says the future of wearable robotics is bright because of better batteries, smaller microprocessors and powerful motors.

“CTI is a leader in the exoskeleton movement,” he said. “Already, engineers and scientists around the world have developed useful systems to help improve the body’s functions, but over the next five years we will see an increase in exoskeleton technology to help the average user.” //

Developed by professor Thomas Sugar and student Jason Kerestes, the Pogo Suit helps soldiers run faster in threatening situations.

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CTI Barrett, the Honors College welcome Cody Van CleveWhen incoming freshman Cody Van Cleve took a tour of CTI’s facilities, he knew this was the campus for him—despite his family’s University of Arizona allegiance.

Hailing from Tucson, Ariz., Cody will be calling ASU’s Polytechnic campus his home this fall as he begins the engineering program at CTI and as an honors student in Barrett, the Honors College.

Growing up, Cody’s interest in engineering was limited to tinkering with Legos and Kinetics. Not having much of a career interest in engineering, he focused his academic efforts on English and writing courses. When it came time to take a mandatory physics class, Cody had reservations.

“I have never been a huge math guy,” he said. “But once I got into the class, I realized that physics is all about solving real-life problems and not just equations. I though that was the coolest thing.”

Kathy Lynn-Cullotta wears many hats. She’s the chair of CTI Dean’s Excellence Initiative Board (DEIB), a Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Advisory Board member, a member of the women’s professional network 85 Broads, a member of the ASU Foundation’s Women & Philanthropy group and the co-founder of the Breakaway Team. Beyond her philanthropic commitment to CTI, she makes it a priority to give back to ASU by mentoring young women in STEM fields and encourages the ASU community to follow suit.

In 2011, Lynn-Cullotta was connected to Dan O’Neill, a professor at CTI at the time. O’Neill was interested in recruiting professional women to mentor student-entrepreneur teams, and the connection led Lynn-Cullotta to the WiSE organization at ASU’s Polytechnic campus. Ever since this introduction, Lynn-Cullotta has made it a priority to mentor young entrepreneurs and women in STEM.

WiSE board member encourages mentoring & philanthropy

“Some of the women entrepreneurs that are solving the world’s toughest problems are building on knowledge and experience gained working in STEM fields,” she said. “I don’t have a STEM background myself, but if I could rewrite history and start college again, I might have pursued a technical or science degree at a place like CTI where knowledge is acquired and applied every day.”

Her involvement in the ASU Foundation’s Women & Philanthropy group makes it possible for CTI students to pursue their academic interests, including providing financial help in making and innovating.

“Whether the students are transferring from community colleges, come from low income communities, have a special interest in designing planes or working in the algae lab, or are women wanting to launch their STEM careers at ASU, I think we can help fill the economic gap that exists for so many students today,” she said.

Lynn-Cullotta says we can all do more to help individuals who are early in their journey to learn new things, test new ideas or explore new interests.

“Little or big contributions can help someone get started on a path to find or realize their dreams,” she said. “I see evidence of this happening every single day, and it excites and energizes me to continue giving back.” //

Kathy Lynn-Cullotta

Friends and family recommended he look into engineering as a career, and during his search he found CTI’s engineering program. In comparing CTI’s program to others around the country, he saw the clear emphasis on hands-on application over textbook theory.

“I don’t want to learn something and not have the ability to apply it,” he said. “The hands-on application while working in teams with other engineers—that’s what excites me about the program. It really does mimic real life.”

As an ASU President Scholarship recipient, Cody said he is grateful ASU is an institution that recognizes academic achievement by offering generous financial packages.

“Even if I had not received such a great scholarship, though, I think I still would have come to CTI,” he said.

Eventually, Cody would like to run his own business that incorporates what he learns throughout the engineering program.“I know CTI is the place for me to launch my career,” he said. “I am more than ready to start my life at CTI and learn all that I can about engineering.” //

Cody Van Cleve

Key Datesevent description

Thing on Thursday: Ask the Experts NightSeptember 26, 2013 / 5-7pmCooley Ballroom, ASU Polytechnic

Industry professionals share their expertise and career highlights while giving students an inside look at top careers in their field.

CTI at ASU’s HomecomingOctober 19, 2013 / 9:00amASU Tempe

Visit with faculty, staff and students at CTI’s homecoming booth at ASU’s homecoming block party.

contact usFor more information:(480) 727-5232To submit story ideas:(480) 727-5251

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technology.asu.edu

A polygon has many angles that join up to make a unique shape. They take on countless forms, from the simplest of equilaterals to complex self-intersecting designs.

CTI is like a polygon. We teach and learn from different perspectives that create an interconnected yet diverse community of makers.

whyPolygon?

TechShop grand openingComing this FallASU Chandler Innovation Center

TechShop, a member-based, do-it-yourself fabrication studio, is coming to Chandler this fall. Join CTI in January to celebrate TechShop’s official grand opening.

Innovation ShowcaseDecember 6, 2013 / TBDCooley Ballroom, ASU Polytechnic

The Innovation Showcase is a massive exhibit of student projects. Free and open to the public, come see what we’ve been innovating.

make a differenceAt CTI, we make positive change and we make ideas happen, but only through the support of donors like you. Any financial contribution provides vital funding to support our academic programs and student scholarships.

To learn how you can make a difference, contact: Jennifer Williams(480) 727-1688