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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

    Senior engineering majors take inventions to new heights

    Senior+engineering+majors+take+inventions+to+new+heights

    Adapting a machine to extract a small piece of a bone from a larger piece so that researchers can identify DNA may seem like a daunting task, but TCU engineering students have taken on the challenge.

    The request from UNT Health Science Center is one of two projects being tackled this year as part of the Senior Design class in the College of Science and Engineering.

    “This class and project are beneficial because they looks good on a resume,” said Eric Bartmess, a senior mechanical engineering major who is on the UNT team. “It also gives real world experience by working in large groups and using critical thinking and communication skills.”

    The Senior Design class meets twice a week and is mandatory for all engineering majors. This year there are roughly 40 seniors in the college consisting of mechanical and electrical engineers.

    Tristan Tayag, professor in the department of engineering, oversees the course. He contacts different companies in the community to host the projects. UNT is hosting one project, and Axxis is hosting the other project.

    Michael George is the project manager for the UNT project. George and his team purchased a machine from Mini Tech, called the CNC Mini Mill. The team’s goal is to modify the machine to meet the needs of UNT Health Science Center.

    The CNC Mini Mill will decrease the time, resources and costs to collect DNA from bones.

    In the fall semester of the Senior Design course the students research the project. During the spring semester the students develop and design the machine.

    Each student receives three credit hours for the class.

    Not everyone is guaranteed an A in the class, Bartmess said. Student’s grades are determined by peer evaluations. Students want to do their best because it gets competitive with their peers, he said.

    George and his team will present their project to the College of Science and Engineering, UNT Health Science Center and different companies around the community on April 16. All students and faculty are welcome to the event.