Senior Design
The idea behind the Senior Design Program is simple: Learn by doing.
Our nationally recognized Senior Design program has been driven by this idea for more than 50 years. It has produced results that have benefited industry, local government and communities across the state. Students pair into groups to tackle a project of their choice with a faculty and industry advisor.
Senior Design students take a two-hour course twice a week, with a three-hour lab for group meetings. Throughout the year, students give presentations for their faculty and industry sponsors, culminating in a final formal presentation open to the the department, family and friends.
This year three BAE senior design teams competed nationally at the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers Annual International Meeting in Boston.
AGCO Student Design Competition
2nd Place
AGCO Student Design Competition
3rd Place
AGCO Student Design Competition
Gunlogson Student Design Competition
3rd Place
Gunlogson Student Design Competition
In 2018 two BAE senior design teams competed nationally at the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers Annual International Meeting in Detroit.
AGCO National Student Design Competition – 1st Place
Pine Biners Team – Ben Cauthen, Ben Cranfill, Alex Greeson, Will Marsh Matthew Parker
This team designed and built a pine mulch processing unit. There is currently no method of mechanization in the pine mulch processing industry. Pine straw must be manually separated from pine cones, dirt, sticks or any other trash that is not desirable in the pine straw industry.
Gunlogson National Student Design Competition – 1st Place
Floating Wetlands Team – Craig Ballard, Sam Fasking, Emallie Magoon, and Nick Smirne
This team designed and built a floating wetlands system at MacGregor Downs Lake to collect trash and improve the water quality in the lake. A significant part of their project included designing and building an anchor system that releases in certain storm conditions to keep from damaging the wetlands system.
Here are the projects taken on by senior design groups in 2017 and 2018.
Senior Design 2018
Streamlined Bioretention Monitoring System
Samantha Eaddy, Amanda Healy, Sexton, Vega, Winter
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Bill Hunt
Industry Sposor: Hazen & Sawyer
Tilapia Aquaponics
Josh Marcus, Matt Nichols, Danny Smith,Devon Wilcox
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Steve Hall
Wetland Restoration at Pocosin Lakes
Conner Bottorff, Lauryn Kabrich, Edward Knuckley, Ben Tharrington
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mike Burchell
Industry Sponsor: Kris Bass Engineering
ASABE 2018 Fountain Wars
Tamam Almashni, Grant Bowman, Rob Mohney, Justin Morrison, William Way
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chadi Sayde
Industry Sponsor: ASABE Competition Team
Floating Wetland at Lake MacGregor II
Craig Ballard, Sam Fasking, Emallie Magoon, Nick Smirne
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mike Burchell
Industry Sponsor: MacGregor Downs Country Club
ASABE 2018 Quarter Scale Tractor
Brad Everhart, Seth Jones, Ben Pierce
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Grant Ellington and Edward Godfrey III
Industry Sponsor: ASABE Competition Team
Biomass Ensilage Processing Vessel
Ian Hill, Jessica Navin, Matt Ritter
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Matthew Whitfield and Edward Godfrey III
Pine Straw Mulch Processing
Ben Cauthen, Ben Cranfill, Alex Greeson, Will Marsh, Matthew Parker
Faculty Sponsor: Mr. Justin Macialek
Industry Sponsor: North Carolina Pine Needle Producers Assoc.
Residential Greywater Reuse System
Alex Flint, Waylon Knab, Adib Najafian, Qiuyu Zhang
Faculty Sponsors: Drs. Praveen Kolar and John Classen
Senior Design 2017
Vegetation Devastation
Lizzie Gordon, Sammy Kohl, Jared Robbins, Tyler Wagner, Mack Warren
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Gary Roberson
Improvements on a Direct Chemical Injection System
Jim Abdalla, Riley DeHority, Alec Mills, Jack Ratcliffe
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Gary Roberson
Page-Doll Innovative Stream Repair
Kelsey Atkins, Adam Elshanawany, Richard Hinton, Cameron Jernigan
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Barbara Doll, Mr. Jonathan Page
2016-2017 Quarter Scale Tractor: “Dire Wolf”
Kenny Atkins, Jake McCarn, Austin Scott, Alex Thompson
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Grant Ellington
Page Street Constructed Stormwater Wetland
Mary Gessner, Tracy Marshall, Calvin Stone, Grant Williams
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Bill Hunt & Mr. Jonathan Page
Stormwater Wetland and Solar Powered Pump Station
Mason Marriner, Alex May, Kristen Navaroli, Taylor Williams
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Mike Burchell
Quarter Scale Tractor Suspension Team
Travis Beinke, Sean Smith, Buck Williams, George Williams
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Grant Ellington
NC Hardwood Store Lumber Scanner
Macon Boyce, Josh Holder, Ben Summers, Gavin Teague
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Larry Stikeleather
Catchment and Dispensing System for Harvesting Biomass
Amber Fields, Kayla Hurst, Helen Peel, Caitlin Spear
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Robert Evans & Mr. Barry Lineberger
Measuring Carbon Sequestration in Eastern Oysters
Natalie Bohorquez, Ben Bradley, Kelly Harris, Alexi Panizza, Andrew Prickett
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Steven Hall
Improving Efficiency in Small Scale Anaerobic Digesters
McAvoy, McDaniel, Mileham, Ward
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Sanjay Shah
Hub Farm Irrigation
James Adcock, Alex Ges, Tracy Jones, Jocelyn Painter
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Rod Huffman
Recovering Nickel and Lead from Contaminated Water Bodies Using Duckweed
Levi Preston, Kevin Vittert, Li Yu
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jay Cheng
Application of Delftia Acidovorans as a Biofertilizer in Non-Legumes
James Homiller, Kaylie Loyd, Anneliese Vendel
Faculty Sponsors: Drs. Matt Whitfield & Carlos Goller
Urban Revitalization Through Stormwater Design in Goldsboro, NC
Michael Barzaghi, Mallory Goan, Andrew Harrell, Annie Lopez, Ben Tyner
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Bill Hunt & Mr. Drew Howe