Our Projects
Our Projects
View the links below to learn more about each of our current projects.
Posters for each project from our annual Symposium can be found here.
The ALS Alert System
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a condition which results in loss of voluntary control of muscles and, in later stages, an inability to speak. The goal of this project is to develop, in collaboration with the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the ALS Association, a low-cost eye-triggered alert system for persons with ALS to communicate a need for assistance when their caregivers are not nearby.
Project Manager: Philip Graybill Student Project Manager: Jacob Wong
Millions of people die each year from infections by bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs, largely due to overprescription of such drugs. The AMR team is partnering with the Macha Research Trust to assess appropriate AMR tests for clinics in Zambia. Ultimately, we aim to identify rapid and affordable diagnostics so that clinicians can target infections with the correct antibiotic for each patient.
Project Manager: Larry Mylin Student Project Manager: Michael Collyer
Approximately 90 million people in Africa lack access to safe drinking water, despite having water infrastructure installed in their community. The Better Pumps team of the Collaboratory provides engineering support for partners working to sustain reliable water infrastructure for everyone. The team tests improvements to the Afridev and India Mark II hand pumps, two of the most common pumps installed.
Project Manager: David Vader Student Project Manager: Aidan Pryor
Email: dvader@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHDvhzCMTDc, https://youtu.be/xDj9PHZQQrQ
As part of the global effort to increase access to safe and affordable drinking water, the Clean Accessible Water Solutions team designs and installs water treatment systems to provide communities with the cleanest water they can sustainably afford. The team is currently partnering with Forward Edge in Cuba.
Project Manager: Michelle Lockwood Student Project Manager: Candace Forry and Sam Dykes
Email: mlockwood@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp486YgkGcc, https://youtu.be/BFXfRyxQ6Z0
The Cunningham Clubfoot Brace team is working to adapt a novel clubfoot brace to reduce production costs through locally sustainable designs and 3D printing. The Cunningham brace utilizes a unilateral helix, which offers a more comfortable, dynamic alternative to the standard clubfoot brace treatment known as "boots and bar." The team is partnering with HopeWalks, CURE International and Jerald Cunningham, to use biomedical engineering principles to validate the efficacy of the brace.
Project Manager: Camilo Giraldo Student Project Manager: Hailey Levan
Email: cgiraldo@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua3FmxhT1b4, https://youtu.be/7KkSlYe4lHI
The Fluency Assistive Device project is supporting and improving an electronic device that greatly aids a person with a fluency disorder by masking the user's own auditory feedback. This team is supporting local technician, David Germeyer.
Project Manager: Harold Underwood Student Project Manager: Noah Geiger
Email: hunderw@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USN6Fjtp5RA, https://youtu.be/jnMZlNZX-ss
Cerebrovascular disease refers to several conditions related to restriction in blood flow to the brain which may then lead to stroke. This, in turn, may result in the inability to walk without some form of assistance. The goal of the Functional Electrical Stimulation project is to research functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology and design/build a low-cost prototype as an effective intervention for improving gait post stroke.
Project Manager: Ryan Farris Student Project Manager: Adriel Chan
Email: rfarris@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdZsi3hv_0, https://youtu.be/__UrtAoqU3Q
The Intelligent Water Project will improve access to clean water in rural African communities through a partnership with World Vision, SIM and AlignedWorks by increasing hand pump performance and reliability, while also reducing the resources needed for repair. This is achieved through a remote monitoring system installed on the community hand pump which utilizes sensors, an embedded microprocessor and mobile phone, and cloud technology to create a comprehensive, real-time database providing information on pump use and needed maintenance.
Project Manager: Randy Fish Student Project Manager: Owen Shea
Email: rfish@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k9gcY8Dv7Q, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJYfuSAB8Q&list=PLh2Z5zixuhYzqSOh0yslBJEkgMtkFDRdZ&index=10&pp=iAQB
Many people living with disability around the world are marginalized because they are perceived to be unable to participate in and contribute to community life. Furthermore, people living with disability in hard-to-reach places due to issues such as political unrest and terrorism often have no one to turn to for help. Our three-wheel, off-road, electric wheelchair is a personal transportation device that empowers persons with disabilities to travel to school and work and to more fully participate in family and community life. The design may be fabricated by local partners without the involvement of Messiah University personnel. We are increasing hope and quality of life by enabling local fabricators anywhere to sustainably produce and distribute our tricycles to persons with disabilities.
Project Manager: David Vader Student Project Manager: Jacob Cruzan
Email: dvader@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG4cFDejfCo, https://youtu.be/rZEn9_vKQLM
Persons with disabilities in developing countries often lack the basic equipment needed to assist them in their daily lives. International Nepal Fellowship (INF) is a Christian medical organization in Nepal providing assistance to people with disabilities and other conditions. INF has expressed a desire for a wheelchair that is designed specifically for the challenges of Nepal and would be able to be made from local materials.
Project Manager: Tim Van Dyke Student Project Manager: Jacob Petrovich
Email: tvandyke@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2RJfJxiOGM, https://youtu.be/k-UkRxYFqJg
Piano music inspires the heart and soothes the soul. The sustain pedal under the piano adds color and controls musical texture by connecting successive notes together. The goal of our team is to enable an accomplished pianist with paraplegia to use the full expressive capabilities of the piano by designing an assistive technology that presses the sustain pedal in response to upper-body movement.
Project Manager: Philip Graybill Student Project Manager: Sawyer Haney
The Prosthetic Knee team is partnered with the CURE International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya, to explore avenues in which the orthopedic workshop would be able to manufacture and provide a low-cost prosthetic knee for through-knee and trans-femoral amputees. While the hospital has commercially made knees available, a lower price point and the ability to fabricate a prosthetic knee in-country would open up an additional option for patients who would otherwise not be able to afford a prosthetic.
Project Manager: Philip Tan Student Project Manager: Paige Campbell
Email: ptan@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLfP0224C8g, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_b--tXNG00&list=PLh2Z5zixuhYzqSOh0yslBJEkgMtkFDRdZ&index=13
Persons with disabilities in developing countries often lack the basic equipment needed to assist them in their daily lives. Our team is working on developing a wheelchair which is designed specifically for the challenges of disabled people in Sikalongo, Zambia and which would be able to be made from local materials.
Project Manager: Tim Van Dyke Student Project Manager: PJ Nitschke-Love
Email: tvandyke@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN6kFimPCX0, https://youtu.be/8i_p_6LALQ8
The Solar PV team is working with Rays of Peace in India to assist them in designing and installing a grid-tied solar system with battery storage capability. Rays of Peace runs a children's home and anti-human trafficking ministry at a location outside of Bangalore. The team will also support and upgrade the solar system recently installed at the Grantham Memorial Park near Messiah's campus.
Project Manager: Harold Underwood Student Project Manager: Autumn Derstine
Email: hunderw@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu16qB4aSZI, https://youtu.be/viEZgdXMOU4
Cerebrovascular disease refers to several conditions related to restriction in blood flow to the brain which may then lead to stroke. This, in turn, may result in the inability to walk without some form of assistance, and to the need for knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs). The goal of the Stance Control Orthotic project is to research, design and prototype a 3Dprintable stance-control knee orthosis (SC-KO) with an any-angle locking mechanism.
Project Manager: Ryan Farris Student Project Manager: Laurel Pettitt
Email: rfarris@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qilzZSMn75U, https://youtu.be/-O6NvHlhn2w
Approximately 11 million people in Latin America and 481 million people in the least developed countries (United Nations classification) lack access to electricity, according to 2021 data from the World Bank. This is often due to rural and remote living conditions without power grid connectivity. Many of these locations, especially in mountainous regions or on the coasts, have ample wind resources that can be used to generate electricity on or off the grid. The Streamlining Wind Turbines team at the Collaboratory provides engineering support to WindAid in Peru. As blade repair and replacement is crucial to providing consistent power generation, the team is currently designing improvements to streamline blade maintenance. Additionally, a performance monitoring system is being designed to capture a baseline for turbine performance.
Project Manager: Tim Burdett Student Project Manager: Ethan Regula
Farming is one of the largest forms of employment in Zambia; however, efficient and innovative forms of farming are not available to the community due to cost and lack of awareness. The Zambia Seeder team is working with Tony Beers (Brethren in Christ Church) to design and implement a low-cost manual seeder. The project's final product will allow Zambian farmers to cover more ground when farming, as well as plant their seeds more accurate which increases yield.
Project Manager: Camilo Giraldo Student Project Manager: Max Kramer
Email: cgiraldo@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGS_dpfnsQ , https://youtu.be/OocaeHJsV4Q
(Non-Engineering)
The marketing team uses social media, graphic design, writing, and film to promote the Collaboratory and provide updates about the organization.
Project Manager: Alison Johnson Student Project Managers: Jenna O'Connell and Erin Timmins
New Projects
Projects beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year, more details to come.
People around the world possess insufficient and unsustainable methods of passing over natural barriers and obstacles. In an effort to meet these global needs, the Bridge Team works with clients to build safe and secure bridges. The team is currently partnering with Mission Lazarus in Honduras.
Project Manager: Brian Swartz Student Project Manager: Emma Rice
Email: bswartz@messiah.edu
As Living Love Ministries seeks to rescue and care for vulnerable children in Nakuru Kenya, the Land Development Kenya Team partners with them for the design of a roadway, recreational amenities, and several other site developments that will bless and benefit the children's home and all who live there.
Project Manager: Michelle Lockwood Student Project Manager: Elizabeth Yoho
Email: mlockwood@messiah.edu
The Sewage Management and Control team is partnered with Living Love Ministries, whose orphanage and girls home in Kenya currently lacks effective sanitation. Their current septic tank is leaking extensively, putting residents and staff at risk of disease. Our team is designing an effective, affordable, and sustainable replacement system to help the ministry meet critical standards for health and safety.
Project Manager: Thomas Soerens Student Project Manager: Gus Rouland
Email: tsoerens@messiah.edu
Past Projects
Every year several projects close to make room for new projects. Here are some of the Symposium videos from projects which closed in May 2024 or 2023.
- Clean Accessible Water Solutions (Rays of Peace)
- Coffee Decaffeination Team (Tree 4 Hope and Chica Bean)
- Gravity Water Collection Project
- Intelligent Water Project
- Land Development (Rays of Peace)
- SkinSafe
- Coffee Process Wastewater Treatment
- Prone Trolley
- Chicken Egg Incubator
- EMMS
- Mexico Bridge
- Drinking Water Innovative Purification
- Rapid Orthotics
- Diagnostic for Viral Diseases