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
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: Tim Burdett
Student Project Manager: Collin Schrim
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: Abi Cooney
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: Josiah Lamberton
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: Ben Weaver
Student Project Manager: Ben Pinto
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: Ava Miller
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
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: Trey Brackman
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: Caitlin Renner
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: Gabriel Coakley
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: Randy Fish
Student Project Manager: Chris Essinger
Email: hunderw@messiah.edu Symposium Poster
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: Kaitlyn Lutz
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: Noah Hege
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: Jonathan Seeberger
(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: Bryce Watkins
Student Project Manager: Katie Murphy
New Projects
Projects beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, more details to come.
The Pediatric Knee Team is partnering with LIMBS International to design a scaled-down version of their adult prosthetic knee joint for a pediatric population.
Project Manager: Philip Tan
Student Project Manager: Victoria Burgos
Partner: LIMBS International
The Socket Lamination Project is partnering with LIMBS International to validate and potentially modify a direct-lamination knee socket process, developed initially by LIMBS.
Project Manager: Philip Tan
Student Project Manager: Addie Kagarise
Partner: LIMBS International
The Cashew Shelling Team...
Project Manager: Chris Becking
Student Project Manager: Caleb Naylor
Partner: Beer Sheba
The BUV Crimper Team...
Project Manager: Chris Becking
Student Project Manager: Alaina Prekup
Partner:
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 2025, 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