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dukeng
Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering at Duke University | 2021
Student-written since 1940
INSIDE:
The New Wilkinson Building Opens
Using CRISPR to Explore the Dark Genome
Privacy and Versatility in Machine Learning
New Master’s Program in Financial Technology
EDUCATION COVER PHOTOS: Opened for classes in January 2021, the 150,000-square-foot Wilkinson Building sits at the intersection of the Schools of Engineering, Medicine and Arts & Sciences just steps from Duke’s historic West Campus. The building is named in honor of longtime supporters Jerry C. (E’67) and Beverly A. Wilkinson and their family.
dukengineer
Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering at Duke University | 2021
Editor-in-Chief
Mary Gooneratne
Letters
2 Letter from the Dean
Consulting Editors 3 Meet the Editors
Minnie Glymph
4 Letter from the ESG President
Ken Kingery
5 Letter from the EGSC President
Designer
Lacey Chylack,
phase5creative, inc Building Pratt Stronger
6 The Wilkinson Building: Reimagining Engineering Education
10 Uplifting, Educating and Listening: It’s Not Over
Adapting To A Year Like No Other
12 Innovation Amidst a Pandemic
18 Remote Engineering During a Pandemic
22 Pratt Student Organizations: Resilience During COVID-19
26 Saving the Summer Internship
Research Reports
28 Revolutionizing Neurosurgical Planning With the Use of Holograms
30 Designing the Future of Medical Technologies
34 Keeping Airplanes, Rockets and Helicopters in the Sky
The Duke Engineering Difference
40 Engineering Entrepreneurship - An Engine for Innovation
46 An Exploration of the Pratt IDEAS Program
pratt.duke.edu
FROM THE DEAN EDITORIAL TEAM
tions in various leadership roles his free time, he enjoys playing
including the Duke Hyperloop sports, flm photography and
A
team and the GPSC. During hiking.
s I write this letter in March 2021, a full year after and expert in smart materials his free time he mostly reads
the pandemic began making major changes to all and wearable devices Xiaoyue business news related to the
of our lives, I can’t imagine being more proud of Ni (page 30), to name just a aviation industry.
how Duke Engineering has handled this year like few.
no other. When the challenges arose, our students, We have reimagined our Mary Gooneratne is a senior
faculty and staff rose to them with the enthusiasm, ingenuity and undergraduate experience, including introducing our signature concluding studies in electrical Katie Cobb is a junior from
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
dedication that makes this school so special. First-Year Design course and new programs in engineering en- and computer engineering and Olney, Maryland studying ME
We used existing collaborations among engineering depart- trepreneurship and ethics, purpose and meaning. We have also computer science. At Duke, with a certifcate in Energy and
ments and Duke’s medical and nursing schools to launch the maintained innovative options that provide fexibility such as our she’s actively involved with the the Environment. She is pas-
COVID Engineering Response Team (page 12), which instituted IDEAS Program (page 46), which provides students a path for Duke Applied Machine Learning sionate about renewable energy Luke Truitt is a senior
a rapid but rigorous design process to engineer devices such as creating their own unique major. Group, the Baldwin Schol- engineering and sustainability. graduating with degrees in ECE,
improved face shields, isolation tents for patient beds and mod- There is still much to do, of course. Our work against systemic ars program, and the DTech economics and CS. He’s from
ifcations for common equipment to protect frst-line responders racism, efforts to build community and an inclusive culture, and scholars program. She’s grateful Sunggun Lee is a freshman St. Cloud, MN, is a Scorpio,
worldwide. Student leaders banded together with our new Engi- the cause of student, staff and faculty well-being, especially as for the way in which Pratt has from Boise, Idaho studying and generally enjoys long walks
neering Entrepreneurship (EngEn, page 40) team to fnd new vir- we emerge from the COVID pandemic, must carry on strong. I’m foster her love for technology biomedical engineering. He is on beaches. At Duke, he helps
confdent that we are heading in the correct and innovation. Outside of the interested in developing models lead the Duke Speech Team
direction and having some of the tough conver- classroom she loves to run and and systems for medical pur- and the Duke Applied Machine
Duke Engineering owes its present strength to sations that must take place, and am especially read. poses. Sunggun is also involved Learning Group. He’s inter-
everyone who has contributed to our vision over encouraged by the proactive leadership I have in Duke Engineers for Interna- ested in artifcial intelligence,
seen through events such as our student-led tional Development, Engineering behavioral economics, fnancial
the years, and its future is particularly bright Engineering While Black program (page 10). Anna Demelo is a freshman World Health, and Duke Cru. technologies and the religious
thanks to our incredible faculty, staff, parents and Provost Sally Kornbluth, who is a staunch ad- from Charlotte, North Caroli- In his free time he likes to play development of the Southwest
vocate for Pratt and our vision, has made plans na. She intends to major in soccer, listen and play music, United States. He spends most
alumni, and most of all our amazing students. to ensure that our strong momentum continues biomedical engineering. On and spend time with his family. of his time outside of work with
throughout this transition. She has appointed campus, Anna is involved in the his pet rat, Jakoby, who turned
tual opportunities for summer internships (page 26). We created longtime ECE professor and Senior Associate Dean Jeff Glass as Duke Catholic Center, DEID and one on January 12, 2021.
lab kits and shipped them to students around the world to ensure Pratt’s interim dean while launching a national search for the next The Muse.
they could still participate in the hands-on courses that defne Vinik Dean of Engineering. Ace Abdulrahman is a
our undergraduate curriculum (page 18). And for those who were Needless to say, both my wife, Lalita, and I will miss Duke very frst-year international student
able to return to campus in person, our student clubs and teams much. Duke is family, and Duke and Durham will always be a part considering BME/ECE. He is
rearranged workspaces and schedules to safely continue their of our lives—we are fellow Duke parents whose son is a current interested in studying the brain
inspirational projects. senior, after all! But Duke is “in” us more deeply; it is a very hard and seeks research oppor-
While I marvel and rejoice in our community’s resourcefulness place to leave because it is a good place in the true sense of the tunities in neurobiology. On
and commitment to education and each other in the face of such word—its people and its spirit are committed to making the world campus, Ace is also involved Will Rawlings is a junior
rare adversity, it is also a bittersweet moment for me as this will a better place. I will truly miss being a day-to-day part of this with Blackwell-Randolph House studying mechanical engineer-
be my fnal Dean’s Letter in the DukEngineer Magazine. As many vibrant community. Council, AMA club and research ing and earth/ocean sciences. Garrett McKeown Wessler
of you have heard by now, I have accepted the opportunity to Duke Engineering is not about individuals, however; we have a in the School of Medicine. In Shreyas Hegde is a PhD He is interested in the renew- is a ffth-year PhD candidate in
serve Emory University as their next Provost and Executive Vice shared culture of success, of rising higher, of outrageous ambition his leisure, he enjoys playing student in the Aeroelasticity able energy industry and hopes the Thomas Lord Department
President starting July 1, 2021. The past fve years serving as the that will undoubtedly persist on the foundation we’ve collectively soccer, practicing calisthenics lab advised by Prof. Bob Kielb. to help in the fght against of Mechanical Engineering and
Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering has been an honor laid over the past few years. None of what we’ve achieved would and journaling. His research is in the area of climate change. Will is also on Materials Science. He works
and a joy, and I believe the school is in a prime position to contin- have been possible without the incredible talent and vision unsteady aerodynamics and the editorial board for Duke’s in David Mitzi’s lab and his re-
ue its incredible upward trajectory. already here. Duke Engineering owes its present strength to aeromechanics of aircraft Independent Film Festival and search focuses on the discovery
This January, we opened the new Wilkinson Building for everyone who has contributed to our vision over the years, and its engines. He is an aviation en- on the executive team of Audac- and development of new and
student classes (page 6)—a beautiful facility that includes the frst future is particularly bright thanks to our incredible faculty, staff, thusiast and intends to pursue ity Labs, a non-proft founded complex materials for energy
specially designed active-learning classrooms on campus, and ex- parents and alumni, and most of all our amazing students. a career in that feld. Apart from by Duke students to expose applications. Garrett spends his
pands our student learning space by 50 percent. Our faculty has My profound thanks to all of you for supporting our journey—we his research, Shreyas is a part high schoolers to technology free time exploring Durham and
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not only grown in numbers while maintaining our leadership in would not be where we are without your belief in Duke and its vision of several on-campus organiza- and entrepreneurship skills. In hiking with his wife and dog.
signature areas such as Aeroelasticity (page 34), but new awards and energy. Like you, I will always be a part of the Duke family, both
for research have increased by 30 percent to a record $97 million as a Duke parent, and as one who will always be frst to wish our
last year. A testament to our ability to recruit outstanding teachers students, and our beloved Duke, nothing but soaring success. Woodley Burrow is a junior
and researchers can be found in the hiring of biomedical engi- Ravi V. Bellamkonda from Houston, Texas studying
neer/entrepreneur extraordinaire Cameron McIntyre (page 12) Vinik Dean of Engineering mechanical engineering.
2 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 3
letters | THE ESG PRESIDENT letters | THE EGSC PRESIDENT
F O
or years, Engineering Student Government’s mission has ne of the main reasons why I decided Virtual Mixer, where we split
been to enrich the lives of our engineering student body. to attend Duke was the Pratt graduate groups of frst-year students
In a time of such uncertainty, we aim to support students student community. At most of my into various groups with
socially and academically even more than ever before. Tis other school visits, recruitments were senior graduate students to
year has not been easy, but every day I am impressed by the department-only events, where I only fll out Social Distancing
resilience of my peers and look forward to when we can all got to speak with other prospective and Bingo Cards. It was a great
gather again on the Harrington Quad or in our beautiful current graduate students in civil and opportunity for frst-years to
Emma Steadman new Wilkinson Building. environmental engineering programs. meet other students, while Jake Ulrich
Duke Engineering students have had to navigate a shift to virtual labs, However, on my Duke visit, I was able to talk with stu- also interacting with more
online ofce hours, remote internships and Zoom meetings for group projects. dents interested in machine learning, air pollution chem- senior graduate students. EGSC was also successful at
Pratt student groups have found creative ways to remain engaged this semester, istry, biomechanics, tissue engineering and various other advocating for graduate students to have access to online
through guest speakers and skills workshops ofered online. Fortunately, Pratt research areas outside of my specialty. I was immersed in programming from Duke Recreation & Physical Educa-
clubs secured permission to reserve design spaces to continue projects—with the Pratt student community where department bound- tion. We felt that it was extremely pertinent to not cut
proper masking and social distancing—thanks to an understanding that engi- aries didn’t dictate your social circle. Duke really made an graduate students of from resources promoting physical
neering projects require in-person collaboration. efort for me to meet students across all of Pratt, instead well-being during an extremely stressful and difcult time.
Similarly, many ESG events are based around building community through keeping me in a silo. Tis was just my frst encounter with We were able to then have the Graduate School instate
social events, so navigating the shift to virtual activities was certainly a chal- the graduate student community here at Duke. online recreation memberships for all graduate students
lenge. We had to say goodbye to Once on campus, I saw that these gatherings of all who wanted one. EGSC is still committed to advocating
our iconic E-Ball and E-Picnics, of Pratt were not just for recruitment, but a common for our students even through these unprecedented times.
“Pratt student groups have found and there were no weekly Friday occurrence. I saw during my frst year that the Engineering As the year continues, we’re trying to ramp up our
creative ways to remain engaged this hangouts at Twinnies for E-So- Graduate Student Council (EGSC) was one of the main fa- online programming as COVID-19 persists. We planned
cials. We started hosting virtual cilitators for this sense of community among our students. a virtual cooking class for snacks to serve at your stay-
semester, through guest speakers and
E-socials (e-E-socials) with some I’ve been lucky enough to be serving my third year on the at-home Super Bowl viewing, and plan on continuing
skills workshops offered online.” student groups and companies. EGSC board with stints as CEE rep/diversity and inclusion virtual happy hours and game nights. We also hope to
Because of Zoom fatigue, virtual rep (2018-2019), vice president (2019-2020), and now increase our outreach to the Durham community in a safe
event participation is not on pace with our prior bustling E-socials, yet we president (2020-2021). Being a part of EGSC has been and socially distant way. For recruiting, we still want to
were thrilled when just one student showed up to our “Meet ESG” E-social. one of the highlights of my time here at Duke; helping demonstrate the strong sense of community here at Pratt
Forming a connection with even one new student is so important at this time. to organize Pratt tents for Campout, watching Duke by having ofce hours with EGSC board members to talk
After a racial reckoning this past summer, ESG recognized its responsibility vs. UNC at the Krafthouse, volunteering with the Food all things Duke. All of this would not be possible without
as leaders in the Pratt School of Engineering to speak up about injustice in the Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, our annual the amazing 2020-2021 Board:
feld of engineering. We teamed up with Duke’s chapters of the National Soci- Envisioning the Invisible Contest, cornhole tournaments,
ety of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers and Society of Hispanic our weekly Pratt Chats, and so much more. I was ecstatic Kat Horvath, Vice-President
Professional Engineers to host Engineering While Black, a week dedicated to to help to grow this organization as president this past year Ellery Jones, Diversity and Inclusion
raising awareness about racial inequalities and funds toward supporting mi- and help our community grow stronger and more cohesive. Shanmanthi Manoharan, Communications Director
norities in STEM. Together we hosted Zoom webinars with local foundations But then COVID-19 hit the United States. Shreyas Hedge, Treasurer
dedicated to racial justice work and with professors and professionals of color I was not expecting my tenure as EGSC president to Karsten Pouslen, MEMS
in the feld of engineering. Later in the semester, we invited Pratt students to involve a global pandemic shutting down campus for Mitchell Abrams, BME Rep
join the members of ESG in a Race 101 workshop hosted by the Center for months and isolating the Pratt graduate student com- Andrew Middleton, CEE Rep
Multicultural Afairs. Following these conversations, ESG added a requirement munity from one another. EGSC’s number-one priority Brittani Carroll, ECE Rep
for Pratt clubs to demonstrate their own commitment to diversity and inclu- became keeping our graduate student community, as well
sion during their funding proposals. I would like to thank seniors Alexa Tan- as the greater Duke and Durham community, as safe as Tis team has been incredible during these challeng-
nenbaum and Matthew Jaynes for their diligent work in planning this event. possible. Tis meant stopping all in-person programming ing times. Having to adapt based on the ever-changing
In the year ahead, ESG looks forward to welcoming everyone back to our and adhering to all CDC and Duke health and safety situation has not been easy, and I cannot be more grateful
regularly scheduled programming of live and in-person E-Ball and E-Picnics. guidelines. However, to try and cultivate that sense of for their hard work and dedication. EGSC hopes to return
Moreover, we are committed to working toward a more inclusive engineering community that makes Pratt so unique, we began switch- to in-person activities once it is safe to do so, and we can’t
community at Duke and beyond. ing our programming to Zoom and online-based activ- wait to experience that great in-person community we
Emma Steadman ities. From virtual happy hours to game nights to trivia, miss so much. Until we can enjoy a drink on Harrington
ESG President we’ve been doing our best to stay connected to the Duke Quad on a Friday evening, stay safe!
community during these difcult times. Jake Ulrich
One of our most successful events was a First-Year EGSC President
4 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 5
B U I L D I N G P R AT T S T R O N G E R
150,000
sqf
35
lab modules 50
offices
170 200
graduate work stations
seat auditorium
The W
ith the Spring 2021 semester comes a new addition
to the Duke community. Te Wilkinson Building, at
Wilkinson
150,000 gross square feet, opened for classes for the frst
time in January 2021.
With two foors dedicated entirely to active student learning, the
teaching and design laboratories have been specially created to foster
student engagement and hands-on learning. Tese foors also contain
Building
specialized educational centers focused on innovation & entrepreneur-
ship, along with a 200-seat auditorium and a Learning Commons
aimed at enriching the student experience. Te next three foors in the
building house “research neighborhoods” that focus on health inno-
vation, computing and intelligent systems, and environmental health.
Equipped with 35 lab modules, over 170 graduate student workstations
and over 50 ofces, the research facilities at Wilkinson pave the way for
Reimagining Engineering Education increasing collaborative opportunities for researchers across campus.
Jim Ruth, associate dean and director of development for Duke En-
gineering, believes that the Wilkinson Building will revolutionize engi-
neering education at Duke. “I think it is going to be difcult to imagine
When students returned to campus in January 2021, they were welcomed what Duke Engineering was like before this building,” he says. “It will
with 150,000 square feet worth of new and exciting opportunities transform the student experience in an extremely meaningful way on
multiple levels.”
The Wilkinson Building is named to honor the lifetime philanthropic and
service contributions of Jerry C. (E’67) and Beverly A. Wilkinson and
their family. Take a virtual tour at pratt.duke.edu/wilkinson21.
6 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 7
“The idea is to have a place that encourages artwork for the building.
“Tere is a real focus
engineers to focus just as much on on all kinds of art, in fact,
art, ethics or culture, as they do on the the building hosts the frst
hologram on campus,”
technical side of things.” says Ruth.
Te vision behind cre-
ating these spaces was to
defy the notions of a ste-
classroom approach and other non-con- ABOVE: While adhering to of engineering, but how we wanted students reotypical engineering classroom and to con-
ventional lecture methods. “Another great safety standards set by to be able to learn and how students told struct a more holistic environment, where
thing about the building is its location,” Duke, students were able us they wanted to be able to learn moving the defnition of an engineer can become
he explains. Located at the nexus of Duke to work in the Wilkinson forward,” says Ruth. more fuid. “Te idea is to have a place that
Engineering, medicine, and arts and sci- Building’s new state-of- Tis led to the creation of not just ac- encourages engineers to focus just as much
ences, the Wilkinson Building will “bring the-art labs and meeting tive-learning classrooms, but active-learning on art, ethics or culture, as they do on the
engineering closer to Trinity and to the rest spaces for the frst time auditoriums. Tese are structured to allow technical side of things,” says Ruth.
of the Duke community, while continuing this year. students to have enough space for group As students gear up to take on new cours-
to grey the lines between engineering and discussions and interactions, irrespective es and challenges, the Wilkinson Building
non-engineering,” Ruth says. of class size. “It is incredibly rare to have a will undoubtedly play a vital role in reshap-
Te process behind designing the Wilkin- space where you can ft 200 people but still ing the student learning experience at Duke.
son Building was extensive. An idea con- have the space for students to comfortably For engineers and non-engineers alike, an
ceived almost 10 years ago, plans for the turn around and work in smaller groups,” exciting experience awaits. n
building continued to take shape based on adds Ruth.
the evolving needs of engineering educa- Another exciting aspect of this building is Ria Thimmaiahgari is a junior
Ruth details how student learning space tion. Troughout the process, the student the unique art collection that it will show- majoring in biomedical engineering
for the school has been increased by 50 per- body and faculty were consulted, along with case. Mitchell Vann, director of facilities and computer science.
cent, with teaching spaces designed to be models at other universities. for Duke Engineering, was instrumental in
open and fexible, conducive to a fipped “We really tried to look at not the history forming a committee dedicated to selecting
8 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 9
FROM LEFT TO
RIGHT: Nicki B U I L D I N G P R AT T S T R O N G E R
Washington, Shani
Daily, Adrienne
Stiff-Roberts, Sophia
Santillan or because there are now slightly more people of color One thing is clear: We cannot continue on the same
around Duke’s hallways from recruitment. Tese conver- road in academia and STEM that we have been follow-
sations in Pratt have made clear that we must work on ing. Real change needs to be made and it is not going to
uplifting, educating and listening. happen overnight. It needs to come from all angles. It
Uplifting, Educating and Listening: We must uplift and support our Black colleagues, com- needs to come from administration hiring more faculty
It’s Not Over
munities and the Black Lives Matter movement. We can of color and companies having leaders from POC and
support them by donating to these communities and women. It needs to come from students respecting and
promoting Black businesses. Most importantly, we must educating themselves and realizing that any mistakes they
support our Black classmates and groups in Pratt, our have made in the past regarding discrimination or racial
Black faculty, and NSBE. bias will continue to occur. It comes from us support-
“Engineering While Black” creates a series of important conversations
produced by ESG, NSBE, SWE, and SHPE
2020 has become a year to call for change and unite in North Carolina, centralized in Durham. On Tuesday,
more than ever before. Te horrifying murders of Ahmaud Duke ESG sponsored raising funds for Techies4Tomor- A screenshot from
Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other row, whose goal is to improve the academic preparation the Faculty Panel on
precious lives have amplifed the injustices that Black peo- of young Black students and motivate them to succeed in Inequities in STEM,
ple face every day—even within our Duke community. STEM subjects and their future careers. On Wednesday, featuring Adrienne Stiff-
Te Black Lives Matter movement developed from those Duke SHPE sponsored raising funds for Durham For Roberts (top left), Joana
determined to eradicate and oppose the continuous vi- All, whose aim is to bring together a multiracial group of Marie Sipe (top right),
olence and injustice inficted upon Black communities. organizers and activists that work to have a government Nicki Washington (middle
Tis movement afrms the talent of Black creativity and led by people of color and working-class people to ulti- left), Sophia Santillan
innovation and strives for a world where Black individu- mately build a cross-cultural Durham. (middle right), and Shani
als’ contributions to society are equally valued. Tere were also four hosted talks via Zoom as part of B. Daily (bottom).
the “Engineering While Black” series. On Tuesday, ESG
The biggest takeaway from the hosted a discussion with representatives from Durham
Colored Library’s Techies4Tomorrow about their orga-
“Engineering While Black” conversations nization and ways to volunteer with them. On Turs-
is that racial inequity in STEM is real and day, Duke SWE hosted Ashley Vassel, technical program
manager for Fastly, as she led a conversation on her expe-
this movement is far from being over. riences as a woman of color in engineering. On Friday,
there were two perspective conversations on identity and We must educate ourselves. People tend to turn their ing one another and uplifting this movement, because
In order to raise awareness about racial inequities in inequities in STEM with Pratt faculty and profession- heads from the situation with the excuse that if they do “Engineering While Black” awareness should not be for
STEM, Pratt student leaders from the Engineering Stu- al alumni. Te frst was a faculty panel featuring facul- not know something is happening, they do not have just one weekend. It needs to be a conscious efort that is
dent Government (ESG), National Society of Black En- ty women of color including Sophia Santillan, assistant the obligation to help fx it. Do not expect that it is the made every day to make a change. n
gineers (NSBE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and professor of the practice of mechanical engineering and responsibility of other POC or your POC colleagues
the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) materials science; Shani B. Daily, associate professor of to take their time to educate you. Look at educational Joana Sipe is an environmental engineer who is a ffth-year
collaborated with the help of the Pratt administration to the practice of electrical and computer engineering and websites and organizations—the Duke Ofce for Insti- PhD student studying microplastics, nanomaterials and
develop a program known as “Engineering While Black.” computer science; Adrienne Stif-Roberts, the Jefrey N. tutional Equity Resources has a collection of resources— plastic pollution from consumer products. She is advised by
Each Pratt group sponsored a day within the week of Vinik Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineer- join book and discussion clubs within your departments Professor Mark Wiesner.
August 24 to host a specifc local charity run by underrep- ing; and Nicki Washington, professor of the practice of or Pratt/Duke organizations, and attend
resented groups to give back to the Durham community. computer science. Te second was a professional alumni seminars or conversations hosted
Tis is especially relevant when, according to an article conversation featuring Stephanie Gloster E’96, lead data throughout the year.
RESOURCES: HIGHLIGHTED ORGANIZATIONS IN DURHAM:
in the Indy Week by Sarah Willets, Durham’s community architect for Augusta University Health; Damian Dol- We must listen. We must not
Letter penned by a black university student: SpiritHouse:
in 2018 was 38% Black and 13% Hispanic and Latino, land E’96, CEO of Te Darisami Group; and Clifton speak on behalf of our Black col- https://tinyurl.com/cz3mssye https://www.spirithouse-nc.org/
which are numbers that are not refected in Duke Engi- Ray E’13, senior scientist at ZenBio. leagues. We must listen when they How to be an ally: Techies4Tomorrow:
neering’s community. On Monday, Duke NSBE spon- Te biggest takeaway from the “Engineering While want to talk about their experiences https://guidetoallyship.com/ https://www.durhamcl.org/stem-learning-tool
sored raising funds for SpiritHouse, whose purpose is to Black” conversations is that racial inequity in STEM is and believe them. We must listen to Duke Offce for Institutional Equity Resources: Durham For All:
create and develop programs to support the transforma- real and this movement is far from being over. It was not experts in their felds studying these ttps://oie.duke.edu/node/536/ https://durhamforall.org/about/who-we-are/
tion and empowerment of Black communities impacted some 2020 fad. It is not over now because Duke Engi- matters and strive to make change Duke NSBE resources:
https://linktr.ee/wematterdukensbe
by poverty, racism, criminalization and gender-inequity neering is hiring a new director of diversity and inclusion happen.
10 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 11
ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Volunteers help assemble
face shields produced
through the COVID-19
Engineering Response
Team. From the months
of May to October,
W
approximately 95,000
face shields were hen the COVID-19 pandemic
manufactured for use erupted in the United States in
throughout the Duke early March 2020, it brought
Health System. overwhelming fear that blan-
keted the country’s health care
system. With all of the unknowns surrounding this
highly infectious and dangerous disease, health care
professionals and their systems were apprehensive
not only of treating COVID-19 patients, but also of
keeping their personnel safe in the meantime. Short-
ages of personal protective equipment (PPE) expo-
nentially increased caregivers’ anxiety, leading them
to seek creative solutions from their community.
Duke University Health System (DUHS) was
not immune to these anxieties. As DUHS braced
for the predicted infux of COVID-19 patients,
Innovation
concerns over equipment supplies drove clini-
cians to turn to colleagues in the Pratt School of
Engineering for assistance. As the pandemic con-
tinued to ramp up, leaders across Duke Universi-
ty and Duke Health joined together to form the
COVID-19 Engineering Response Team. Eager to
combat COVID-19, they shared device design ex-
pertise and innovative solutions.
Amidst a Pandemic
Spearheading this campaign from the biomedi-
cal engineering department were Eric Richardson,
professor of the practice of biomedical engineering;
Paul Fearis, senior lecturing fellow in biomedical
engineering; and Mark Palmeri, professor of the
practice of biomedical engineering. Commenting
A glimpse into Duke’s COVID-19 Engineering Response Team on the reason for the team’s formation, Palmeri said,
“If you’re watching another ship sink in the ocean
due to a carpenter ant that could also be eating your
ship, you do everything you can to make sure your
ship doesn’t go down.”
Also leading the group were Chip Bobbert, the
senior engineer and fabrication architect at Duke’s
Innovation Co-Lab. Additional support came from
Ann Saterbak, director of the Duke Engineering
First-Year Experience, who coordinated undergrad-
uate participation; Joe Knight, an adjunct engineer-
ing professor with Duke Design Health; Ken Gall,
associate dean for entrepreneurship at Duke Engi-
neering; and other members from Duke Engineer-
ing and the Innovation Co-Lab.
On the clinical side, Donna Crenshaw, executive
12 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 13
ADAPTING T A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
director of MEDx, served as a liaison between Implementing any new device into the
Duke Health and the COVID-19 Engineer- health system without properly testing it can
ing Response Team, receiving various requests result in harm to either the providers or pa-
and funneling them to the appropriate team tients. To remedy this, Palmeri took it upon
members. Clinicians from Duke Health, in- himself to develop rigorous testing protocols
cluding orthopedic spine surgeon Melissa to ensure that all of the designed products met
Erickson and Ryan J. Shaw, associate profes- the appropriate standards for medical devices
sor and the Elizabeth C. Clipp Term Chair by various international and American stan-
of Nursing, served as key participants in the
95,000
development of solutions and their incorpora-
tion in the Duke Health system.
As the project began, the Engineering Re-
sponse Team made the difcult decision to
emphasize the needs of DUHS as opposed
to the health system worldwide. Te needs The number of face shields printed between May and
of the Durham community difered from October by the Engineering Response Team to be worn
those worldwide, particularly because ven-
tilator shortage was not a concern in the
by caregivers in the Duke Health system.
DUHS. Richardson explained that realizing
they would be more impactful by focusing on dard committees, such as ISO and ANSI.
Duke Health frst, the team pursued critical Several projects were successfully brought to
needs beyond ventilators. fruition over the summer, and among these,
Any student familiar with the engineering the Reusable Face Shield project stands out
design process taught at Duke by the profes- as the one with the largest scope. Between
sors leading this team will recognize the frst May to October, the Engineering Response
step taken: needs-fnding. Rigorous research Team printed a total of 95,000 face shields
and discussion with clinicians at Duke Health to be worn by caregivers in the Duke Health
informed the team members as to which system. Tis massive manufacturing feat was
needs should be pursued frst. In determining made possible by having all hands on deck and
these needs, the team also narrowed down the fnding help from unusual sources.
exact specifcations that the solutions must Te Reusable Face Shield Team was led by Konstantinos
meet to be successful. Bobbert with assistance from Richardson, Economopoulos
With needs in hand, about a dozen proj- Palmeri, Shaw, Fearis and Evan Levine from simulates patient care
ects were created with separate teams desig- the Ofce of Information Technology. Using using COVIAGE, a patient
nated to tackle each specifc area. Each team an open-source design for the face shields, isolation system. This
focused on various concerns within DUHS, Bobbert was able to quickly print prototypes device, which recently
many aiming to properly protect caregivers for testing and further refnement. received an emergency
from disease transmission through airborne However, the team soon realized that 3D use authorization from
infectious particles or contact transmission. printing was not feasible for longtime manu- the FDA, is designed
Te teams were created by pairing the faculty facturing of reusable face shields. Due to the as a low-cost, portable
members and clinical leads with undergradu- number of potential users in the Duke Health isolation unit for patients
ate and graduate students who could provide system and the predicted burn rate, the team that is functionally
additional workhours and support. would need up to 5,000 face shields a week, equivalent to a negative
High quality work is expected from any a rate that could not be sustained with 3D pressure room.
Duke endeavor, and despite the quick devel- printing. Bobbert set out to develop a manu-
opments in the team’s various projects ,Rich- facturing strategy, while Palmeri tackled test-
ardson, Palmeri and Bobbert stressed that ing protocols to ensure the fnal design was
creating quality devices was never sacrifced up to spec.
at the expense of getting things done quickly. “Te efort of this group really highlighted
14 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 15ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Some of the clear
plastic that covered
that bringing together lots of peo-
ple, who organically wanted to be the face was
part of it, makes a huge diference,”
said Palmeri. “Everyone there was purchased from
willing to put their own personal
time and resources into it.” a hot-air balloon
Most people still remember the
shortage of essential items such as
toilet paper and hand sanitizer in
supplier, and a metal
the early months of the pandemic,
but these nationwide shortages ex-
manufacturing plant
panded to materials and hardware
products. Because of this, Bobbert
in Burlington was
and the team had to get creative
with sourcing the materials that
persuaded to cease
would comprise the face shields
and the machines that would
operation to help
make them.
Some of the clear plastic that produce various face
covered the face was purchased
from a hot-air balloon supplier, shield parts.
and a metal manufacturing plant
in Burlington was persuaded to
cease operation to help produce various face purifying respirators) for surgeons. Several
shield parts, Bobbert explained. To create other projects that stemmed from the initial
the bend seen in the plastic face covering, needs-fnding exercise, such as COVIAGE, a
the team used thermoforming. And when negative pressure tent designed to isolate in-
no thermoforming machines were available, fectious COVID-19 patients, continued to
Bobbert purchased a pizza oven and used it develop throughout the fall.
instead. After the initial anxiety around the pan-
Before the large-scale manufacturing could demic, Richardson says that the team has set-
begin, Palmeri rigorously tested the design un- tled into what will be a marathon of device
til he was confdent that it met the quality ex- design, and faculty members are optimistic
pected of a medical device and the overarching about the future impacts that this team will
standards it was subject to. He set up a testing have for collaboration between the Schools of
rig—as described in the ANSI standard that Medicine and Engineering. While the team is
governs face shields—in his own home using by no means the frst of its kind, the strong
items he already had. All of this was done to and vigorous response of both institutions Dr. Melissa Erickson
ensure that users of the face shield could be while faced with a seemingly unsurmountable dons a PAPR device
confdent they were protected. enemy lends further credence to the impor- featuring a 3D-printed
Other completed projects include a surgi- tance of establishing strong collaborations part rapidly designed,
cal hood and an aerosolization sampler clip, between the two. Te Engineering Response tested and produced
both of which are either in clinical use or Team is the epitome of Duke’s capabilities— by the Duke COVID-19
in the process of being implemented. Rich- creative innovation, high-quality results and Engineering Response
ardson and Duke Surgeon Melissa Erickson an unrelenting pursuit of bettering the com- Team.
took the lead on the surgical hood, which munity. n
repurposed Stryker Flyte Personal Protec- Lily Hiser is a senior studying
tion Systems to serve as PAPRs (powered air biomedical engineering.
16 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 17ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Remote Engineering
During a Pandemic
Pratt students and classes adapt to virtual learning
S
anika Gupte shows me her in- breadboard, wiring, resistors and other cir-
tricate circuit for her ECE 230 cuit elements.
class. She constructed it at home “Because of the lab kits, I even had the op-
using a remote engineering lab portunity to rebuild my circuits later in the
kit shipped to her at the start of the semes- week if I was confused about questions on
ter. With the global changes that have ensued the lab report,” says Gupte, a junior major-
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ing in BME and ECE. She also enjoyed the
the Pratt School of Engineering has had to conversations she had with other students
adapt and improvise its teaching and learn- during lab Zoom sessions and is grateful for
ing strategies. Several engineering classes how close-knit her lab section is. “It defnite-
ly was possible to connect to others
virtually during the semester.”
“We wanted to ensure that there were minimal BME 221, Biomaterials, had one
lecture a week that was online and one
barriers for a student to switch from the that was in-person, with remote stu-
in-person to the virtual format if they needed dents being able to Zoom into class
simultaneously. Tis lecture style in-
to, so all lab materials were packaged into kits volved signifcant trial-and-error to
at the beginning of the semester.” fgure out the best means to ensure
that remote students were able to en-
gage and ask questions through means
The ECE 230 ofered during the Fall 2020 semester were of the Zoom chat or being able to unmute
(Introduction to conducted as hybrid classes, which allowed and speak up.
Microelectronic Devices students to choose from an in-person or on- “As we planned for the semester, we didn’t
and Circuits) lab kit for line option for lectures and labs. Tis led to know how bad the pandemic was going to
remote students. a challenging yet rewarding semester for all be on campus, so we approached the course
students, but especially those who had to with as much fexibility built into it as pos-
adapt to taking classes entirely remotely from sible,” says Joel Collier, associate professor of
all around the world. BME, who taught the class. “We wanted to
Te implementation of at-home labs by ensure that there were minimal barriers for
Pratt faculty and lab staf was an efort to en- a student to switch from the in-person to
gage remote students as best as possible. In the virtual format if they needed to, so all
ECE 230, Introduction to Microelectronic lab materials were packaged into kits at the
Devices and Circuits, students were provid- beginning of the semester.
ed with lab kits containing a multimeter, a “Te instructors also made many videos
18 2021 dukengineer Sanika Gupte 2021 dukengineer 19ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
and collected data sets dents. On-campus fresh-
on instruments that men like Aarzu Gupta
did not lend themselves enjoyed the intensive
to socially distanced hands-on and team-
experiments,” Collier based nature of the class.
continues. “I also have “Amidst Zoom calls all
to stress that conduct- day, it was so refreshing
ing the course this way to be able to have in-per-
took a team of devoted son interactions and
instructors: lab instruc- hands-on projects,” says
tors Marcus Henderson, Gupta.
Christine Mulvey, and Students taking the
Maggie Gatongi; and class remotely, though,
TAs Elizabeth Curvino have had a very diferent
and Josh Milligan worked tirelessly to realize experience. First-year student Nidhi Srivaths
this fexible format.” said, “EGR 101 was defnitely a challenge, but
It was not a hassle-free process for all stu- the professors and TAs really did their best to
dents, though. Ria Timmaiahgari, a junior make sure we didn’t miss out. It was obviously
majoring in BME, never received her lab kit less hands-on, but we were shipped packages
for BME 221, owing to the currently strict of prototyping material at the beginning of the
customs regulations in India. Te fact that she semester, so surprisingly my team made great
was nearly halfway across the world meant that progress with physical prototyping! Our team
she, along with students in other countries like consisted of four people from four diferent
Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and China, had countries. Even scheduling meetings with the
to adapt her daily schedule to better be able to diferent time zones was initially daunting, but
match EST work hours, which came with its after a few weeks of settling in, we really found
own set of challenges. our rhythm.”
“Taking classes, especially midterms, at 2:00 Home lab kits certainly cannot replace the
in the morning was far from ideal!” says Tim- experience and excitement of conducting ex-
maiahgari. periments in labs, and there is no question that
In addition, while professors held ofce seeing faces over Zoom is far removed from
hours and discussions on Zoom where students in-person interaction. It is evident that remote
Contents of the BME 221 were able to work together and ask questions, engineering has its fair share of challenges, but
(Biomaterials) lab kit mailed most students agreed that the experience was the commitment of the incredible faculty and
to remote students for at- just not the same as pre-COVID. staf and the relentless hard work of students
home labs. “I’ve always worked on problem sets with allowed the Pratt community to adapt and
people, and we’ve used white boards and mark- overcome challenges in a year otherwise flled
OPPOSITE: At-home set-up of ers to explain things to each other, but that is of with uncertainty.
a polymer creep experiment course not possible now!” says Phoebe Dijour, To summarize her experience this semester,
conducted over a span of a BME junior. “Teamwork is much harder!” Timmaiahgari said, “I look forward to being
four weeks to measure the While some remote Pratt freshmen decided back on campus next semester, but I think my
distortion of the polymer to fulfll other class requirements in Fall 2020 remote learning experience will always stay
under stress. and take their engineering classes in the spring, with me!” n
others opted to enroll in EGR 101 (Engineer-
ing Design and Communication) and EGR Simran Sokhi is a junior majoring in biomedical
103 (Computational Methods in Engineer- engineering.
ing). EGR 101 has a heavy design component
that had to adapt to accommodate remote stu-
20 2021 dukengineer Photography by Simran Sokhi 2021 dukengineer 21ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Pratt Student Organizations:
Resilience During
COVID-19
Despite the pandemic, Pratt student organizations fnd ways “While DEID has been
to continue to provide enriching experiencing to its members successful in carrying out
L
infrastructure projects, de
ogging into a Zoom meeting is now part of
our everyday routine. Instead of walking to
Leon and Ota recognized that
class, we click a few buttons, and then we DEID could achieve more by
fnd ourselves in remote classes and meet-
ings. Tis shift to the remote sphere did not engaging students on-campus
happen efortlessly. Students and professors
alike gradually learned how to administer
and by maintaining meaningful
work and projects from a distance. relationships with partner
Engineering students especially had to adjust to this
remote environment. Typically, projects involve iterat- communities.”
ing on a physical product, but in the midst of COVID,
meeting in person to jointly work on a project has often
been infeasible or impossible. Trough stories from some
of the student organizations in the Pratt School of Engi-
neering, we can see how students have both struggled and
succeeded in transitioning to the remote environment.
Duke Engineers for International Development (DEID)
focuses on infrastructure projects throughout the world.
In the summer of 2019, the organization constructed a
footbridge in Bolivia and a vehicular bridge in Uganda. In
2020, the team was slated to construct another footbridge
in Bolivia while also participating in a water, sanitation
and hygiene (WASH) project in Indonesia.
However, following the outbreak of COVID-19, im-
plementation trips for the summer of 2020 were can-
celed. According to DEID co-President Mia de Leon, a
senior in BME, COVID altered club operations signif-
cantly. Canceling the implementation trips left 25 club A footbridge built in Bolivia
members to fnd new summer plans. While the cancella- by DEID in 2019.
tion could have resulted in a stagnant summer for DEID,
de Leon and fellow co-President Kieryn Ota, a senior
studying biomedical engineering as well as electrical and
computer engineering, decided to take a critical look at
DEID’s operations.
22 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 23ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Formula SAE (Society of Automotive En-
gineers) competition, in which teams from
many universities race the vehicles they
have been assembling throughout the year.
Te 2020 competition, which should have
occurred in June, was canceled, and an on-
line presentation event took place instead.
Edgar Uribe, senior mechanical engi-
neering student and leader of Duke Mo-
torsports, described how the pandemic
has restricted the team. In the past, Duke
Motorsports members would spend hours
together in the garage, collaboratively re-
“This semester has offered Duke Motorsports
a unique opportunity to dive deeper into
validating their design.”
Construction under way on While DEID has been successful in carry- solving design issues late into the night. But rather than pause organization operations,
the footbridge in Bolivia. ing out infrastructure projects, de Leon and due to COVID-19, Duke Motorsports is Pratt students have looked to improve
Ota recognized that DEID could achieve only permitting four students to work to- their projects. Tese organizations have
OPPOSITE, TOP: In a meet more by engaging students on-campus and gether at the same time. even innovated by making project teams
prior to the pandemic, the by maintaining meaningful relationships According to Edgar, this reduced amount accessible to remote students.
Duke Motorsports team revs with partner communities. After consid- of people has challenged the team, but has Most importantly, Pratt students have
up for competition, with erable planning that took place over the also allowed for more organized work. Tis taken opportunities to develop parts of
Alex Kornegay (left, ECE ’21) summer, DEID managed to rethink its pro- semester has ofered Duke Motorsports a their projects that were undeveloped be-
and Edgar Uribe III (driver, gramming. unique opportunity to dive deeper into fore. DEID implemented a new speaker
ME ’21). DEID successfully hosted multiple speak- validating their design. In remote environ- series, Motorsports evaluated their design
ers, covering topics such as COVID-19, ments, students are spending more time to a greater degree and the many other
John Smalley (left) and global infrastructure and project ethics. looking at simulations and models. As a re- organizations of Pratt have responded in
Jacob Manders (right), both DEID also continued to have project meet- sult, the team has a stronger understanding similar ways. Te resilience demonstrat-
ME ’23, and other students ings for their various projects, preparing stu- of the design, and they feel more confdent ed by Pratt organizations refects the hard
from Duke Motorsports work dents for the scenario in which travel is feasi- that they are making correct design deci- work and consideration provided by stu-
in small groups outside on ble by the summer of 2021. By leaning into sions. Tis opportunity to focus on theory dent leaders during 2020. Tese innova-
their vehicle. the educational component of the projects, and design is raising the knowledge base of tive and impressive eforts have set student
DEID has been able to meaningfully engage the team members, and therefore preparing organizations up for continued success in
its members, even in an unusual semester. the team for success moving forward. 2021. n
Te Duke Motorsports team also en- Student organizations throughout Pratt
dured a drastic change of plans following have had to handle similar struggles. Can- Woodley Burrow is a junior from Houston,
the COVID-19 outbreak. Te team’s main celed plans, canceled projects and remote Texas studying mechanical engineering.
objective is to compete in the nationwide work have disrupted everyone. However,
24 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 25ADAPTING TO A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
Saving the
Summer Internship
Phoenix Project provides critical summer internships for students during the pandemic
F
or college students all around the my responsibility to do something after seeing funding for stipends. “McClelland
nation, the global pandemic did so many students and individuals lose their was also a huge help as the sounding
more than force them of campus jobs and internships.” board for building out the program,”
and into online classrooms—it also Te project itself was a resounding success. says Truitt.
caused them to face an empty sum- “Tere were more applications on both sides Phoenix Project went so well that
mer schedule with many prominent businesses then we could handle,” says Truitt. “When get- it might be here to stay. Many partic-
being forced to cancel their internships. ting the organization of the ground, we un- ipating companies have reached out
Students who had worked fortunately had to cut out a lot on both sides.” in the hopes of continuing the work
hard in landing prized intern- At the end of the process, a total of 74 compa- done over the summer. Te Depart-
ships to gain much-needed nies ofered 210 Duke students remote intern- ment of Defense was so impressed
work experience—and hope- ships over the summer, allowing them to work with the work done that a large con-
fully some cash as well— on projects ranging from analyzing water heater tract was put in place to continue
watched as their years of efort behavior to working with the Department of work in Fall 2020.
went up into pufs of smoke. Defense in modernizing the 4th Medical Divi-
While companies focused sion’s Mobile App diagnosing capabilities.
on entertainment and travel Te work done in the Phoenix Project was “College students around the nation could have something to help
couldn’t aford to hold their not limited to projects. Truitt and other lead-
internship programs, many ers in the organization, along with the Duke them fnd remote internships with less well-resourced businesses,
businesses, especially in the Career Center, arranged speaker panels and all of it staffed and managed by folks who can handle it.”
digital services and biotech- workshops with companies to help students
nology sectors, needed the expand their technical chops. Demo days were
expertise and skills in software held for students to allow them to practice Truitt himself has big plans for the organi- large class of fellow interns to learn from and
and data science that students delivering results to clients and technical assis- zation moving forward. Major League Hack- develop alongside.”
brought to the table. All that was needed was tants, and other resources helped the students ing, a global company known for their hack- Te Phoenix Project’s second coming is
something to tie the two together. get past short-term blocks and focus on their athons, has personally reached out to Truitt currently under way in tandem with Major
And so, from the ashes of the pandemic, projects. to create a joint fellowship with the Phoenix League Hacking and the National Security
the Phoenix Project was born, led by Mary Project Phoenix also received help from Project. Innovation Network, and is running under
Gooneratne (ECE/CS ‘21) and Luke Truitt Duke faculty and staf. Truitt particularly em- “We’re currently working together to build the name the “Tour of Duty.” Version three
(ECE ‘21), who saw an opportunity to help phasized the importance of Steve McClelland, up this fellowship, and it’s allowing us to help will be launched in January with a slew of
their fellow Duke students. Te project hoped an executive-in-residence at the Pratt School out a lot more than just Duke students,” says private businesses. n
to match Duke students who had technical ex- of Engineering and faculty member in Duke Truitt. “College students around the nation
pertise with various organizations, institutions Engineering Entrepreneurship (EngEn) and could have something to help them fnd re- Zongsen Li is a freshman planning to major
and businesses for remote work. As Truitt puts Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E). mote internships with less well-resourced in biomedical engineering.
it, “After doing it with [Duke Applied Ma- To help support the project, McClelland ini- businesses, all of it stafed and managed by
chine Learning] so frequently, it felt like it was tially provided the project with $80,000 in folks who can handle it. And they’ll have a
26 2021 dukengineer 2021 dukengineer 27You can also read
