Meredith Students Participate in Freshman Engineering Event

Ten students in Meredith’s Engineering Dual Degree program participated in NC State’s Freshman Engineering Design Day (FEDD) event. FEDD is an end-of-semester opportunity for first-year engineering student teams to showcase their design projects and compete for awards. 

The projects featured in the event were completed as part of the Introduction to Engineering and Problem Solving course. Students participated in teams at the FEDD event. 

Emilee Lewis was on a team called 3D Wolves, which created a 3-D cup and phone holder. The design had to meet the following criteria: consist of at least 25% 3-D printed materials; provide two or more unique functions; fit inside one 3-D modeling tray; and be easy to store and transport. The final product had to be aesthetically pleasing and functional with a construction budget under $40.

Lewis appreciated the experience.

“I thought the experience was great because not only did my group get to show our final design, but I got to see what other groups worked hard to create,” Lewis said. “I learned that while presenting a product or design you have to make sure you showcase every function.”

Another team, the MereState Bridge Alliance, included three Meredith students – Lindsey Vickers, Adeline Whittington, and Jillisa Hall. Their concept was to create a bridge that met the project criteria: a five-foot span, 1-inch width bridge that could support a 40-pound load and be assembled in 60 seconds.

Vickers said her team learned a lot through the design process.

“We faced a lot of adversity throughout our design and testing process, but we learned how to improve our design skills and adapt when things didn’t go as planned,” Vickers said. “We learned the true value of the engineering design cycle and how it can be applied to real-world situations that engineers face every day.”

Meredith students Amelia Money, Azaneth Blandin, and Eve Medvetz were on the Solar Hydration team, creating a solar still. Like other groups, their project had a $40 budget.

“Some other constraints were it could not be longer than 18 inches in any direction or weigh more than 25 pounds,” explained Money. “It had to operate with a ‘sun’ source and had to be reusable.”

Money said the FEDD project and the class served as a good entrance to the NC State side of the dual degree program. 

“I felt like this project was a good introduction to thinking like an engineer and working together in teams. I also think the class overall was a good way to get introduced to taking classes at NC State and getting more familiar with the engineering department,” Money said.

Meredith students Stephanie Ramirez Mendez, Ana Osipovi, and Ramya Anant also participated in FEDD this year.

The engineering dual degree program is an agreement between Meredith College and NC State University that allows students to attend Meredith and earn a Bachelor of Arts in either chemistry or mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from NC State’s College of Engineering.