Featured Capstone Projects

Embryonic Zebrafish Heart Rate Analysis - Bioengineering, 2024

Team: Logan Bento (Lead), Mohammed Alchaar, Corwin Defeo, Jackie Ramirez

Sponsor: Paramount Planet Product (P3RD)

The problem: Microplastics in the ocean cause harm to living organisms as they degrade. P3RD is in the process of developing an ocean-friendly plastic using cellulose microfibers. In order to test the safety of their developing product, the team at P3RD will be analyzing the heartrate of zebrafish embryos and whether or not it is impacted by the degradation of their cellulose-based plastic. The capstone team was tasked with developing a reliable method to automate the process of determining the heart rate of zebrafish embryos.

The solution: The team developed two approaches using computer programming to analyze video footage of zebrafish embryos and then quantify the beats present and calculate the BPM from the video.

 Claredon Hill Reconstruction Project - Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2023

Team: Evan Vasconcellos (lead), Moises Lopez, John Lucas Guimaraes, Matthew Tempone, and Nana Kwame Korankye. 

Project name: Claredon Hill Reconstruction Project 

Sponsor: Tetra Tech 

The problem: A traffic circle in Somerville, MA was causing safety problems and confusion, presenting a hazard for drivers, pedestrians, and nearby residents.  

The solution: The team developed three possible alternatives to the current road design and chose a T-intersection solution. The intersection redesign will reduce speeding while increasing efficiency of traffic flow, while taking into consideration drainage issues, environmental impact, and other concerns.  

In pitching their design to the town board and city of Somerville, the team appealed to the public interest, providing data on how their reconstruction plan would decrease traffic, make streets safer for pedestrians, and provide more green space for community residents.   

The Claredon Hill team won first place in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Senior Design presentations competition.  

Creation of Accurate and Precise Surveys - Computer Science, 2023

Team: Sarah Santiago (lead), Elisa Normand, Elijah Karpf, Liam Ray, Douglas Bell  

Client: Naval Undersea Warfare Center 

The problem: Surveys can yield important insights from respondents, but only if they ask the right questions. Bad survey questions can produce biased answers. Biased answers are, ultimately, unhelpful in collecting accurate information from a survey or questionnaire. Survey creators need a mechanism to ensure that the questions asked in their surveys will support their efforts to collect accurate information. The mechanism must also be highly user-friendly for non-experts. 

The solution: The CAPS team developed a software program that would help users eliminate bias from their surveys and ask better questions. The program does this by flagging problematic questions and providing feedback as to why the question might yield a biased answer. Users can type a question into the program and the software will analyze its content to identify potentially loaded or leading questions.  CAPS can also check for double-negative questions (which can be misleading) and double-barreled questions (also known as compound questions, which ask more than one question while only allowing for one answer).  

Battery Status Indicator - Multidisciplinary Team, 2023

Team: Electrical and Computer Engineering students Brandon Keefe (team lead), Christopher Dentremont, Joshua Goncalves, Deven Jhennae, Alexis de Pina; Mechanical Engineering student Cameron McNulty; Computer and Information Science student Oluseyi A Famobiwo 

Sponsor: HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries) 

The problem: Existing diagnostic technology for underwater vehicles is sufficient, but cumbersome.  

The solution: Design a battery status indicator device that is smaller, less expensive, and more user-friendly.  Requirements for the device include ingress protection,  reproducibility, and portability. 

Battery Status Indicator 

Team member Alexis De Pina describes the battery status indicator as similar to an onboard diagnostic scanner mechanics use to identify problems with a car, but for use on unmanned underwater vehicles. The device can capture data from the vehicle and produce a readout with information about the health of the vehicle’s battery.  

Multidisciplinary Team 

“Engineers can sometimes become siloed in their respective areas of expertise, and it can be hard to bridge that gap. This project provided a learning opportunity to get multiple perspectives on a single problem. It was productive to get out of our comfort zones and take on some new skills.”  

Working with a Corporate Client

The Battery Status Indicator group described their experience working with HII as very supportive.  

“We had a high level of communication about the project, but at the same time they gave us a lot of control over the design. Because they are an engineering firm, we had an easier time translating the customer requirements into engineering requirements. Overall, we felt fortunate that our sponsor was supportive throughout the design process and saw the value in process over product.” 

Industry Experience 

This project represented a transition from the academic setting to the real world.  

“For so long, as a student the focus has been on homework and exams. The capstone design project was a great introduction to the working world, and the emphasis is less about grades and more about the outcome we’re able to achieve as a team.” 

Underwater Holographic Imaging System for Marine Microplastics Detection - Mechanical Engineering, 2023

Team: Christina Hart (lead, Ethan Osley, Damian Guilbe-Boscana, Shawn Marcoux

Sponsor: Dr. Hangjian Ling

The problem: Marine microplastics are a growing issue, with over 51 trillion pieces currently present in the oceans. These tiny particles are ingested by fish and then consumed by people, leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In addition to harming aquatic organisms and ecosystems, microplastic pollution also negatively affects economies, causing a decline in fisheries and coastal tourism. To address this global problem, it is crucial to accurately detect microplastics in the ocean.

The solution: The team has developed a system that uses three-dimensional (3D) imaging based on digital holography. It employs a camera, laser, and microscope objective to detect microplastics. The team spent several weeks researching optical imaging, microplastics, and digital holography to design the system correctly.

To ensure the system can accurately image marine microplastics while withstanding the pressure underwater, the team purchased the necessary optical parts and manufactured different components for the housing. They completed calculations and testing to find the focal length and confirm no leakage occurs while the housing is underwater. All optics are concentric with each other, guaranteeing that the microplastics will be accurately imaged. The resulting images from the system can be used to further research the link between microplastics and the health issues caused by consuming them.

The Underwater Holographic Imaging System for Marine Microplastics Detection team also won first place at the 2022 Corsair Idea Challenge. 

Maximal Asymmetric Drag Wave Energy Converter 3.0 - Mechanical Engineering, 2022

Team: Anthony Encarnacion & Marina Meehan (team leads), Christian Abad, Kurt Andrade, Mohammed Shonar

Sponsor: Dr. Mehdi Raessi & Dr. Daniel MacDonald

The Maximal Asymmetric Drag Wave Energy Converter (MADWEC) device is being built and tested at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST). The MADWEC is used to harness the energy of oceanic waves to create electrical energy. The 2022 MADWEC team sought to improve upon previous iterations of the wave energy converter

Team MADWEC consists of many students and faculty members across various disciplines that all collaborate together to complete a design-oriented project that is entered into a worldwide competition for the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.  

Alexander Moulton - Computer Science, 2021

Of the College of Engineering Captsone Program, Alexander Moulton '21 said: "As a member of an agile development team, you will build software solutions for real companies and organizations. Some of these employers are competitive software companies around the south shore area and others are non-profits that request projects that will significantly impact the way they execute their mission. Many students continue on with the companies that they did their capstone for after graduation." 

He is one of those students. The work he did on his capstone project was used to create the Machine Learning Ship-Recognition Buoy Prototype at Rite Solutions, a software development, systems engineering, information technology and learning development firm based in Middletown, RI. 

Design, Development and Test of an Offshore Vertical Axis Wind Turbine - Mechanical Engineering, 2021

Team: Sarah Dulac & Ross Jacques (team leads), Andrea Elloian, Chandler Jardin, Kevin Raggiani, Joseph Silveria, Dylan Souza, Tyler Viera

Sponsor: Dr. Banafsheh Seyed-Aghazadeh

The project consists of two portions: designing and manufacturing a small-scale wind tunnel, as well as developing and testing an offshore 3-bladed vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) prototype. The wind tunnel would be utilized to test two phase flow, a method of mimicking various ocean and wind conditions that the offshore VAWT would experience in real-life conditions. 

This project won Best Build and Best Pitch at the 2021 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, an annual competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. 

“Our multi-disciplinary team of students were asked to design a device that optimizes technology, reduces costs, and explores new opportunities for marine energy with the goal of powering the blue economy,” Dr. Seyed-Aghazadeh says. “Our team competed in this national competition against some of the best schools in the country and came away with two awards.”