Engineering Students Donate to CSM
CSM alumni and members of the award-winning design team, from left, Andrew Graham of Owings, Mika Tymofiy of Mechanicsville, Mike Johnson of La Plata, Erik Bazyk of Mechanicsville, Sean Thomas of Charlotte Hall and Zachary Ball of Bryans Road are congratulated by Senior Project Manager at the Office of Sustainability Mark Stewart, Director of Sustainability for the UMD Student Government Association Willem Klajbor and Dr. Vincent Nguyen, lecturer/research associate of UMD’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and one of the competition’s adjudicators.
Engineering students at the University of Maryland, who got their start at the College of Southern Maryland, have turned recent successes into a donation to their alma mater.
Graduates Zachary Ball of Bryans Road, Erik Bazyk of Mechanicsville, Mike Johnson of La Plata, Andrew Graham of Owings, Sean Thomas of Charlotte Hall, and Mika Tymofiy of Mechanicsville are working toward bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. The students attended a senior design class together in the fall semester, where they worked as a team to develop and justify a product design and build a prototype.
“Our design ‘Chessie’ is a solar-powered floating aerator designed to revive oxygen-deficient zones in large bodies of water,” Mr. Ball said. “Essentially it performs the same function as a bubbler in a fish tank.”
When it came time to present their creation on Design Day in the class, the Chessie team was named the first winner of a Social/Environmental Design Impact Award. Because of this honor, the team was given a plaque, which will be on display in the mechanical engineering hallway at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Also, the team was given a $100 donation that could go to a fund of the team’s choosing. Team members unanimously chose to donate to CSM’s scholarship fund. “We thought it would be nice to give something back,” Mr. Ball said.
And that is the point of the award, said Dr. Vincent Nguyen, lecturer/research associate of UMD’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and one of the adjudicators of the competition. “The idea is to instill and promote the concept of conscientious engineering development in our students.”
Dr. Nguyen praised the team for the focus of their project and teamwork they demonstrated. “Team ‘Save Chessie!’ really stood out from their competition. The general theme of the project was very locally relevant, as the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries and the various bodies of water throughout our state have a direct impact to us here at the University of Maryland,” Dr. Nguyen said.
He said the engineering students also went above and beyond to use and showcasing the resources and skills of six soon-to-be-graduates of UMD’s mechanical engineering program. The end design of the team’s creation has potential to improve water quality in Maryland.
All six members of Team “Save Chessie!” are following the Southern Maryland Pathways Program in Engineering, a pathway offered by CSM, in partnership with UMD to a bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering. When they complete the engineering curriculum at CSM, students can transfer with junior status to earn a Bachelor of Science degree at UMD. Students can also do an internship with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), a component command of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), with a possible employment opportunity upon successful graduation and completion of all Pathway Program requirements.
Engineering students can take all the classes in Southern Maryland at CSM and then take classes at the SMHEC to complete their junior and senior classes with UMD.
For information about the Southern Maryland Pathways Program in Engineering, visit CSM’s website.
For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit its Leader member page.
