Student-Designed Bubble Machine a Hit at Children's Hospital
February 11, 2019
Child life specialists Abigail Graham, left, and Geri Sehnert, right, play with Golisano Children's Hospital patient Gracyn Chappell and she tries out a toy adapted by Rochester engineering students so that it could be used easily by children of all abilities during a hospital stay. (University of Rochester photo / Bob Marcotte)
Applying classroom learning to a ‘real-world’ challenge
Each year, teams of Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences seniors in ABET-accredited majors complete a culminating design project. The projects are often sponsored by outside companies or agencies, including a previous collaboration with Golisano to design an accelerometer to monitor chest wall movement for children on mechanical ventilation. The projects allow the students to apply what they’ve learned in class to “real world” projects with “real world” time and design constraints.
In this case, Wendy Lane, Golisano’s Child Life program coordinator, proposed a smaller version of a large bubble machine the hospital already has – one that could be used at a child’s bedside and be easily operated even by a child with physical disabilities.
THANK YOU: Chemical engineering seniors C.J. Ruff, Tiwalade Dairo, and Bradley Porceng get a thank you from Golisano Children’s Hospital patient Gracyn Chappell. University of Rochester photo / Bob Marcotte)