Competition teams from the Ohio Northern University College of Engineering earned strong finishes at the 2016 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)s Region 2 Student Activities Conference hosted by Cleveland State University from April 8-10.
ONU’s Sumo Robot team, made up of Tyler Germann, a senior electrical engineering major from New Haven, Ind., and Bryan Wilson, a senior electrical engineering major from Jeannette, Pa., placed third. In a sumo robot competition, teams construct an autonomous robot that fights to push an opponent out of a ring.
ONU’s Brown Bag team finished third. The team was comprised of Jeff Campbell, a senior electrical engineering major from Pittsburgh, Pa.; Tyler Silcox, a senior computer engineering major from Pittsburgh, Pa.; Paul Sorensen, a senior computer engineering major from Ada; and Skye Vanatta, a junior electrical engineering major from Ada, Ohio.
In a Brown Bag competition, teams are given a bag of various components and are then required to complete a challenge with some or all of the components.
Finally, ONU’s Project Showcase team, made up of Sorensen and Sam Roth, a senior computer engineering major from Piqua, Ohio, placed third. The Project Showcase allows students to test their creativity by combining the knowledge attained throughout their academic years with innovative ideas to improve an already existing design or project, or to create a whole new product.
Additional students who participated in the conference were Sean Ansted, a junior electrical engineering major from Lima; Alexandra Seda, a junior electrical engineering major from Columbiana, Ala.; Aaron Schnipke, a junior electrical engineering major from Fort Jennings; Joshua Gedert, a junior electrical engineering major from Toledo; Dillon Brancheau, a junior electrical engineering major from Auburn Hills, Mich.; and Max Razinger, a senior electrical engineering major from Columbus Grove.
ONU’s IEEE student chapter is advised by Dr. Al-Olimat, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science.
The IEEE Student Activities Conference hosts student branches from the entire Region 2 area, which covers Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, southern New Jersey, Ohio (except Toledo), Pennsylvania, northern Virginia, and West Virginia.
The student participants meet and engage in activities such as leadership training, student paper competitions, robotics competitions and other competitive events. The conference serves as an opportunity for its members to meet, interact, exchange ideas and network. Conference activities are supported by IEEE Region 2 and corporate partners.
Information about the competition can be found at www.ieeecsu.org/#!sac/hr0nz
