Preparations are underway for the St. Thomas engineering department’s annual Senior Design Clinic Show in May, which showcases the products that senior students have created in partnership with local Twin Cities companies.
Seniors Frank Pitera, Alex Fernandez, Josh Gutzmann, Mike Lemay and Charlie Gerten have a unique partnership with the city of Elk River to design and install a solar-powered charging station into one of its parks.
“This is the first engineering project that Elk River has sponsored,” Fernandez said. “And this (solar charging station) is going to be the first of its kind at the city of Elk River.”
Over 80 companies around the Twin Cities applied for a slot in the program and only 26 were chosen. The students then chose the top five companies that they were most interested in working with, and the engineering department assigned each group of students to a different company.
“A whole lot of variables go into it, so you might get a project that you really want, or you might get a project that you absolutely do not want,” Fernandez said. “It’s all about what’s assigned to you.”
The department assigns a certain number of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering majors to each group, depending on the needs of the project. For the solar changing station, the group has three electrical engineering and two mechanical engineering students.
The solar charging station is a microgrid that they are designing for year-round use. Users will be able to charge their phones, laptops and tablets through a solar panel installed above a picnic table. The students plan on installing an LED light for reading and plan that the station will last at least ten years.
“It’s supposed to provide an educational experience for the park members and users,” Pitera said.
All groups receive a default budget of $2,500, but they can negotiate with their sponsors. The city of Elk River allocated $4,000 for the solar charging station, which covers the expense of materials. The students are constantly keeping their sponsor informed on the process.
“There’s a lot of involvement,” Fernandez said. “You have to be in touch with your sponsor, otherwise your project would never be successful.”
In their case, it was important to align their vision with the city’s values to come out with one cohesive campaign.
“The city’s slogan is ‘powered by nature,’ and that’s highly incorporated into our project,” Pitera said. “It’s kind of the theme for the city and our project.”
The Senior Design Clinic Show is in May, but the students hope to have the solar charging station up and running by April 1.
Mary Brickner can be reached at bric0029@stthomas.edu