Danyal Siddiqui came to The University of Texas at Dallas in 2011 from the Islamic School of Irving and is graduating today with a PhD in biomedical engineering. He was awarded with an Academic Excellence Scholarship and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering in 2015. He then completed his master’s in biomedical engineering in 2016. He served as treasurer of the Biomedical Engineering Society chapter at UT Dallas from 2015 to 2019 and funded his fellow student organization with a Jonsson Family Bioengineering Fellowship that he achieved in 2016. In 2017, he received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in addition to a Eugene McDermott Graduate Fellowship. That same year, he won first place in the 3 Minute Thesis Competition at UT Dallas. Since May 2014, he has been involved with research in the lab of Dr. Danieli Rodrigues, studying dental biomaterials. To date, he has accomplished six first-author and 14 co-author journal publications. In addition to research, he has served as a teaching assistant for several bioengineering courses. After graduation, he plans to continue with postdoctoral training in oral immunology at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Yun Ho Jung came to The University of Texas at Dallas from Rock Canyon High School
in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He is graduating summa cum laude with a degree in
computer science. He joined UTD in August 2018 and received Academic Excellence
Scholarship with Honors. He served as an undergraduate researcher in the Evolutionary
Information Lab and published a research paper in an academic journal in the field of
computational biology. He also published an edutainment mobile app to teach
students about molecular biology. He served as the ACM Industry Mentor for the 2022 ACM
Projects. In addition to his classwork, he joined IBM in 2020, and since then he has worked on
various projects such as creating a tool to combat human trafficking, connecting government
and services to those in need, and formulating artificial intelligence to assist hospitals and
doctors. After graduation, he plans to continue his full-time position at IBM and pursue a
master’s degree in the near future in the field of artificial intelligence.

Wasta Shafquat came to UT Dallas from Pakistan. She is graduating from the Erik Johnson School of Engineering and Computer Science with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She has worked as a manager at the Student Union and as a grader for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Since her freshman year, she has been an active member of the Pakistani Students Association and now leaves her position as president to start a new chapter in her life at Schlumberger. She is loved by many and is described by peers as compassionate, caring and hard-working.

Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, Jonsson School dean and professor of systems engineering, began the conference with “Seeing Me In It: The Role of Inclusivity in Design and Making,” a panel discussion that included Dr. Sindia Rivera-Jiménez, assistant professor of engineering education from the University of Florida, Dr. Brooke Coley, assistant professor of engineering at Arizona State University, Ronnie Spellman, chief operating officer at Mbroh Engineering and member of the Jonsson School’s executive council, and Roslyn Barker, executive chief of staff at Toyota Motor North America.

The group discussed several reasons why design teams, particularly educational Capstone programs that prepare engineers for real world design, should focus on inclusion throughout the design process in order to create the best, most functional products designed to serve the greatest number of people. The group discussed how medical device failures have disproportionately impacted specific groups who were not included in device testing and manufacture, describing how a pulse oximeter did not accurately detect oxygen levels among people of color and perpetuated negative outcomes in medical care.

Audience participants also discussed how the success of new technology such as is employed in electric vehicles depends on an inclusive approach throughout the product development process and how new technology will be embraced very differently depending upon socioeconomic factors and infrastructure investment, in this case due to widespread availability of charging stations and a more affordable market for used electric vehicles. Overall, the panel highlighted the importance of inclusive, user-centered design, from initial concept to marketing.

A team of University of Texas at Dallas student engineers won a first-place award at the 2022 Capstone Design Conference for developing a system that helps a corporate sponsor test its devices to prevent blood clots after surgery.

The team of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering students developed a pressure-sensing system for Precision Medical Products, a Carrollton, Texas, company that makes postsurgical devices to prevent deep vein thrombosis, which occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms, usually in a leg.

The UTDesign team’s device, shaped like a human calf, serves as a surrogate leg for testing. Rows of intersecting copper tape on the device create more than 225 sensing points to make it possible to visualize the applied pressure, providing more than 400,000 unique data points per minute.

“The students’ ability to work as a team led to an exceptional outcome that absolutely exceeded our expectations,” said Tony Spyropoulos, Precision Medical Products’ executive vice president of product development. He said the UTDesign team’s device will help the company avoid the expense and delays of outsourcing its testing.

Biomedical engineering senior Edgar Acevedo accepted the award with Roger Decker III BS’22, the team’s leader.

The students said the project gave them valuable hands-on experience as they prepare for the job market.

“I gained a lot from my work on this project, but most importantly, I believe this gave me a huge insight into the working industry,” said Decker, who completed his degree in mechanical engineering last spring. “I’ve learned so much over the past year because of this project, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to participate and be part of this amazing team.”

College student teams from throughout the nation whose work had been selected through a rigorous process attended the event with their professors and presented their work during the poster competition.

Participant team members volunteered to meet with high school students from schools in the Plano Independent School District and Dallas Independent School District through a panel discussion and breakout groups that focused on opportunities in the engineering profession.

“I feel honored to be here representing The University of Texas at Dallas,” said Edgar Acevedo, a biomedical engineering senior who co-led the winning Capstone conference team. “We are representing our program on a national stage. It’s exciting to meet people of the same caliber who will go on to advance research.”

College students also discussed how their schools have built their programs, and many were impressed with the UT Dallas recent investments in its campus’ engineering buildings.

“UT Dallas is very high tech! Everyone’s been very nice and accommodating so far,” said Katie Platt, a student participant from the University of Florida. Platt’s team also tied for first place in the student poster competition, along with a team from the University of Michigan.

UTDesign leaders provided tours of the UTDesign areas, showing how the program’s industry partnerships and open access labs are set up to inspire innovation. Participants asked questions about topics ranging from ones about the tech structure including protection for companies who retain the intellectual property of the designs to setting up a fully equipped metal fabrication lab. Rod Wetterskog, UTDesign program coordinator, displayed the laboratory spaces and answered questions from the audience.

“Hosting in the studio was so eye-opening,” said Wetterskog, also assistant dean of corporate relations in the Jonsson School. “It’s very community oriented. How can we help each other improve? It’s all for the students.”

While UT Dallas has now earned a first place rank at the past four Capstone conference events, campus leaders understand that they are just beginning to reach their potential in terms of preparing students for the workplace where they will be responsible for designing products used by millions of people.

“We’re good at what we do, but there’s so much more to learn,” Wetterskog said. “It’s a thrill to host these great universities in the UTDesign Studio.”

Besides Polk, other UT Dallas organizers included Dr. Robert Hart, associate professor of practice in mechanical engineering and UTDesign director of mechanical engineering, and event co-chairs Dr. Shraddha Sangelkar of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana and Dr. Keith Stanfill from the University of Tennessee. UT Dallas staff members Anricka Ziller and Kathryn Grant were also key members of the local planning team.