Engineering Expo results announced

Senior engineering students at South Dakota State University displayed their yearlong efforts at the Engineering Expo April 28, and judges honored the first-place teams from five departments. A total of 49 senior capstone projects were entered in the annual event.

Mechanical engineering

It was impossible to miss the Drone Spray Trailer, which at 42 ½ feet long dominated the high bay lab in the Raven Precision Agriculture Center, where the event was staged. Trevor Sieberg and Cameron Bennett took top honors in mechanical engineering.

Sponsored by Sieberg Drone Services, a business Trevor started in 2024, the project is a massive upgrade of the drone spray trailer he had been using out of his family’s Minnesota Lake, Minnesota, farm. 

The previous trailer was 25 feet long with 10,000-pound capacity and an 800-gallon water tank capacity. The new trailer is 42.5 feet long with 38,000-pound capacity and a 3,200-gallon water tank capacity.

It has an auto-mixing system that mixes spray in 20-gallon batches, a system Sieberg believes has stand-alone commercial value. The operation’s two drones are dispatched from the trailer’s flight deck and are capable of spraying 1,600 acres per day. A 119-gallon diesel generator powers everything but the safety lights.

Thirteen microcontrollers control the safety lighting around the flight deck. The lighting is designed to improve visibility without overwhelming the operator.

Electrical engineering

The first-place electrical engineering team was Bullseye: The Autonomous Roping Dummy. Sponsored by Nick Sternhagen, the autonomous roping dummy is for practicing the sport of steer roping without the need for live steers, allowing for a person to practice by themselves.

Team members were Tyler Loecker, Isaac Sousa, Max Theis, Sawyer Theis, Ben Sedlacek, Brady Hatkin, Jenna Johnson and Michael Paulsen.  

Civil engineering

First place in civil and environmental engineering went to the Bennett County Hospital Remodel and Addition.

Sponsored by Mike Albertson with Albertson Engineering, the project focuses on the structural design for the Bennett County Hospital expansion in Martin. The proposed addition is to provide 15 patient rooms, specialized storage areas and an emergency response area. 

The students evaluated multiple alternative designs considering cost, constructability and aesthetics. Using relevant building codes, the students determined applied loads, designed the gravity and lateral load resisting systems and created structural models in two software design programs.

The design work included the design of steel framing, reinforced concrete foundations, metal deck diaphragm attachment and lateral braces.

Team members were Derek Venhuizen, Nick Frank, Jason Albertson, Kyle Schoon and Patrick Schultz.

Computer science

First place in computer science went to the Multiuser Virtual Reality System for Power Grid Resilience Research and Education.

The system allows multiple users to join the same virtual reality environment in which they can interact with each other in real time. A team leader manages the simulation through special controls while other users participate as players.

The platform includes synchronized simulation events, voice communication and interactive tools such as flying and a telescope. The main goal of the simulation is to visualize renewable energy systems by dynamically simulating solar panel and wind tower output based on environmental conditions like time of day and wind speed.

Project sponsor is Kwanghee Won, an assistant professor in computer science.

Team members were Samuel Buerck, Justin Henke, Nathan O'Brien and Noah Hemmesch.  

Ag and biosystems engineering

Finishing first in agricultural and biosystems engineering was the 2.5-Gallon Jug Chemical Fill Line.

This project developed a semiautomated packaging line for Agtera Cooperative to repackage bulk crop protection chemicals into 2.5-gallon jugs. A scale proof-of-concept system was constructed to demonstrate volumetric flow, metering, filling and system operations using off-the-shelf meters and controllers.

Then an industrial design was created for the final installed system. That system was created using the same principles as the proof-of-concept system but applying a more robust design that upgraded to industrial components for durability and accuracy.

Team members were Sam Nilsson and Jacob Hinders.