Ryan Whitman, of Standish, among SVSU students to showcase mechanical engineering projects during Friday symposium

2016 Dec 7

Saginaw Valley State University on Friday, Dec. 9 will host its fall 2016 Engineering Symposium, where 27 mechanical engineering students will showcase their senior projects for the public.

For their projects, eight teams of students engineered technology and product prototypes in collaboration with regional manufacturers and organizations such as Dow Corning Corp., Kremin Inc., Nexteer Automotive, Allen Supply, Euclid Industries, Great Lakes Pet Emergencies, and Means Industries. One team of students also worked with SVSU's golf program.

The projects include the design and production of items relating to power steering systems, wheelchairs, veterinarian care equipment, indoor golf simulators, and more.

The symposium will showcase the work of SVSU student Ryan Whitman, of Standish. Whitman's team is working on a project for Nexteer Automotive. The project involves the application of a Nexteer Automotive electric power steering system into a NASCAR racecar. This allows for a greater level of steering control in all driving conditions.

At SVSU, mechanical engineering majors are required to collaborate with outside clients or university organizations as part of the senior projects.

The Friday symposium begins in the southernmost first-floor hallway of SVSU's Pioneer Hall. There, from 10 a.m. to noon, the students will showcase and discuss their projects with the symposium's attendees.

From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., there will be two sessions in rooms 245 and 247 of Pioneer Hall, where the teams of students will present their projects to the audience as a whole.