At the end of each fall and spring semester, Georgia Tech hosts the Capstone Design Expo to highlight the work of graduating seniors.  Teams of students present the projects designed and built in their capstone design classes, focused on solving a problem found in industry or research.  At the fall 2023 Capstone Design Expo, members of the Georgia Tech Honors Program (HP) were represented on teams that won three of the nine major awards, including:

• Best Overall Project (Rohan Thandu, ME, on team Big Hero 6)
• Best Aerospace Engineering Project (Varun Roy, on team GenetriX)
• Best Electrical and Computer Engineering Project (Bernardo Perez, on team FRMBX)

We talked to Bernardo and Rohan to learn more about their projects, their time in the Honors Program, and what they plan to do after graduation.

Bernardo Perez is a fourth-year electrical engineering major from Iowa City, IA who was a member of the team FRMBX (short for “Farm Box”).  Farm Box is a 2’x2’x5’ box that autonomously grows plants. It is equipped with sensors to monitor the growing environment, grow lights, and an irrigation system to water the plants. The box is aimed at researchers to help them gather information about the best conditions for growing different plants in a controlled environment. A demonstration video of the project can be found online.  FRMBX won for the best project in Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

Bernardo plans to continue pursuing his ECE education with a master’s degree after graduation.  While at Tech, he’s been involved in a variety of clubs and activities, including through the HP.  He’s held a leadership role on a RoboJackets team that develops soccer-playing robots (including competing in the RoboCup 2023 competition in France), published a paper on HLS (High-Level Synthesis), and conducted research through the ECE Opportunity Research Scholar’s program with Sharc Lab.  Bernardo took a variety of HP classes and lived in HP housing, where he met some of his closest friends who continue to be his roommates today!

Rohan Thandu is a fall 2023 Mechanical Engineering graduate from Sammamish, WA who was a member of the team Big Hero 6.  Their team developed Unravl, a device that aims to revolutionize the textured hair care industry, making it faster and less painful to take down braids while being safe and ergonomically friendly for the braider.  The Swella Unravl Device received recognition for being the best overall project (tied) among 129 total teams.  The project was sponsored by Swella and conducted under the guidance and technical expertise of Dr. Tequila Harris (Professor, ME).  The team plans to showcase their product at the Inventure Prize competition this spring.  Rohan is returning to GT this semester to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering focusing on robotics and automation, and then plans to pursue a career working at the intersections of engineering and computer science. 

Rohan will take his experiences in VIP classes (GT EcoCAR) and undergraduate research on sleep apnea with him out into the “real world” post-graduation.  While at Tech, he took a variety of Honors Program classes and met some of his best friends in the HP dorm.  Rohan reflected that:

taking HP classes provided me with the chance to connect with many professors and other like – minded students which fostered a free and creative learning environment...Sharing the ups and downs of all four years together with my [HP] friends has been an invaluable and defining experience for me. These relationships not only added enjoyment to my college years but also provided a sense of home away from home, making every shared milestone, dinner, and late-night discussion that much more meaningful.

Congrats to Bernardo and Rohan, as well as HP member Varun Roy from team GentriX, on their outstanding fall 2023 Capstone Expo wins!  We’re proud of your accomplishments and can’t wait to see what you do in the future.