The Broad Street Bridge in Philadelphia, measuring 257 ft long and 112.1 ft wide, was identified for replacement due to aging conditions and the need to meet current structural and serviceability standards. The proposed solution is a continuous composite steel multi-girder system, selected for durability, cost efficiency, and constructability. The superstructure consists of twelve W36×170 Grade 50 girders composite with an 8 in reinforced concrete deck, divided into two continuity units across five spans. Design development was conducted using PennDOT DM-4 and AASHTO LRFD, with loads including dead load, PHL-93 live load with 125% amplification for deflection, and pedestrian sidewalk load. Governing combinations (Strength I, Service I, and Fatigue I) confirmed adequate flexural and shear capacity, deflection limits of L/1000 for girders and L/1200 for the deck, and fatigue resistance. The final design eliminates interior expansion joints, improving long-term durability while maintaining existing roadway and sidewalk elevations.

Team Advisor: Ranjo Rudy P.E.

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Sanghun Kim, PH.D., P.E.

Team Members: James Patrick McNally, Mamadou Silimana, Alexis Cerezo, Dean Hargrove

The Substructure Team is addressing the redesign of the southern abutment and pier foundations of the Broad/Callowhill/Noble Street overpass to meet modern load and settlement requirements while minimizing vibration impacts on nearby structures and the SEPTA subway tunnel. Our design utilizes driven piles, spread footings, and a cantilever abutment wall. We are currently performing calculations and simulations to finalize the design. Driven piles are being analyzed using the Nordlund and Thurman methods to determine axial and lateral load capacities, factoring in skin friction, end bearing, and pile group efficiency. Spread footings are being modeled in PLAXIS 2D to assess stress distribution, bearing capacity, and settlement under load. The cantilever wall is being designed using Rankine and Coulomb earth pressure theories, with stability checks for overturning, sliding, and bearing. These analyses will guide our final sizing, reinforcement, and safety evaluations before design completion.

Team Advisor: Porter Gast

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Kim

Team Members: Ayana Togba, Lena Zwolak, Trianna Smith

The section of the Broad Street Bridge located between Callowhill and Noble Streets has been identified as structurally compromised due to significant material decay. To ensure continued safe use, a full replacement of this portion of the bridge is necessary. The project involves a redesign plan that addresses the deterioration while adhering to current engineering standards and regulatory requirements. The new design maintains the original bridge’s dimensions to ensure compatibility with existing infrastructure and traffic patterns, while incorporating modern materials and construction methods to improve durability and safety. Special attention is given to supporting both vehicular and pedestrian traffic and enhancing accessibility. This project seeks to preserve the bridge’s vital role in the local transportation network while bringing it up to modern performance and safety expectations.

Team Advisor: Rudy Ranjo, P.E.

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Sanghun Kim

Team Members: Corinne Boco, Nathan Barnhart, Billy Good

Currently information like depth, discharge, and water quality is measured by the USGS using manual tools. Other USGS locations use expensive boats in the thousands to collect the same data. Our project is looking to make an affordable and autonomous option to help local USGS staff. This helps us gather vital information which helps the community make important environmental decisions like flood prevention

Team Advisor: Jeremy Eland

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Alibeik

Team Members: Jacob Prunes, Jorge Barillas-Urla, Raegan Crowe

Artificially generated images, such as DeepFakes, have become increasingly easy to create and difficult to detect. DeepFakes pose a serious threat to the credibility of public figures, leading to emotional, financial, and political consequences. Therefore, the development of an accurate and reliable DeepFake detection tool is essential to protect everyone from misuse, including individuals and organizations who may be frequent victims. DeepFakes pose a risk to everyone, making us all stakeholders in their detection.
This project aims to develop an open-source, reliable DeepFake detection tool. Through the implementation and evaluation of multiple deep learning models, our team has achieved high accuracy, demonstrating the feasibility of creating a reliable detection tool.  We began with a Random Forest baseline model and progressed to a Convolutional Neural Network that reached up to 90% accuracy. Our design process included data collection, preprocessing, model training and performance evaluation, resulting in a functional detection web tool.

Team Advisor: Dr. Picone

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Alibeik

Team Members: Jouri Ghazi, Jahtega Djukpen, Ashton M Bryant, Zacary Louis

The goal of the RhythmPutt Pro is to provide a putt training tool for golfers of all levels. This tool works to limit  frustrations and lower scores for more consistent putts. Our goal was to design a portable and accessible tool for golfers of all skill levels.

Team Advisor: Dr. Helferty

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Alibeik

Team Members: Emma Coughlin, Nathan Hageman, David Khrystenko

The goal of this project was to identify the optimal fuel source for Temple University's Combined Heat & Power Plant (CHP) based on their carbon neutrality goals, while adhering to technical and economic constraints. This was addressed by determining the feasible fuel sources and then evaluating through a techno-economic model that quantified the financial and environmental impacts. The model incorporated data gathered from energy experts and fuel distributors. Preliminary results indicate total life-cycle costs ranging from approximately $60.2 million to $2.1 billion and cumulative emissions between 0 and 1.7 million metric tons of CO2 over a 50-year period. These findings highlight the critical balance between achieving carbon neutrality and maintaining long-term economic feasibility for campus energy systems.

Team Advisor: Dr. Cory Budischak

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Cory Budischak

Team Members: Gabriel Hue, Fode Kaba Traore, Angela Brown, Tyler Gagliardi

-    The Cycool Dock aims to develop a product with enhanced security of everyday bicycles through the security of all parts of the bike in an easy-to-use docking station.  We achieved this goal with a design that protects the front wheel, back wheel, and frame from unwanted tampering of these relied-upon transportation vehicles. We completed stress analyses to ensure the locking method was effective and that the material condition was satisfactory. Our results show that the lock mechanism can resist forces applied by conventional methods that thieves use, including bolt and lock cutters. The docking station accepts most bike sizes commercially available on the market; an unnegotiable (and patented) design criterion. Our theoretical and tested results provide proof of function, and it satisfies the demand for bike security in the uninspired industry of bike locks.

Team Advisor: David Sawhill

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: Andy O'Toole, Ryan Millay, Joseph Kpakah, Francis Okonkwo

The project's focus is to reverse engineer an egg cracker to create a new egg cracker with the same functionality. By using new material, and decreasing the plastic usage, the new egg cracker has to be able to crack an egg, like the original design. The modified egg cracker needs to apply a force of 2-5 lbs and must use less than 49.33 grams of plastic to be considered successful. When these parameters are met, a cheaper, more sustainable and efficient egg cracker can be developed. The final iteration of the new design was deemed successful according to the criteria. This project will make an everyday task more accessible and environmentally friendly.

Team Advisor: Dr. Joseph Picone

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: Misa Won, Britney Lourng, Hollie Wolfenden, Sheryl Korah

The Owl-Strike project develops a drone-based neutralization system designed to intercept and disable unauthorized aerial targets using a net-deployment mechanism. The mechanical design is constrained by FAA flight regulations, thus requiring lightweight construction in order to afford a maximum payload capacity of less than 100 g. Computational and electrical design focus on autonomous flight pathing with the use of MATLAB and Qualisys motion capture cameras while simultaneously depending on core subsystems – including  a modular flight pod equipped with an ESP32, GPS, and accelerometer. Project testing focuses on unmanned flight positional tracking and coordination, payload endurance, takeoff weight, and net-deployment reliability through controlled trials. These elements advance safe and repeatable drone interception through precision flight, autonomous coordination, and mechanical reliability — demonstrating an innovative approach to small-UAS threat mitigation within regulated operational limits.

Team Advisor: Osman Sayginer

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: Owen Pelonero, Andrew Freeman, Gavin Buce, Daniel Pasquelle

This project presents the continued development of Temple University’s Autonomous Package Delivery Robot, designed to address inefficiencies in the College of Engineering’s mail room. Building from previous iterations, our group’s focus includes a complete mechanical redesign, robotic arm integration, and transition to ROS 2 software for more efficient navigation. The redesign increases structural integrity and package capacity by 50%, and the robotic arm advances automation capabilities by allowing delivery through elevator interaction. Comprehensive testing validates performance improvements in loading, mobility, endurance, and obstacle avoidance, ensuring safe operation within pedestrian environments. The robot is designed to carry payloads of around 30 kg, operating for approximately two hours on battery while traveling at 1.3m/s. Adherence to ASTM, ASME, ISO, and IEEE standards ensure compliance with industry safety and navigation protocols. Our project advances campus logistics toward a fully autonomous and efficient delivery system, saving staff time on collecting packages.

Team Advisor: Dr. Philip Dames

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: Kevin Formento, Vincent Chapeau, Alex Sauselein, Aaron Salen, Godwin Okonkwo

The project aims to design and construct a flight control stick, indicator system, and model for the attitude control of a Mercury Space Capsule Simulator. Intended for museum and educational use, it demonstrates how a spacecraft responds to control inputs using six gas thrusters that replicate the Mercury capsule’s three rotational degrees of freedom. The design integrates rigid body motion analysis to develop control logic that stabilizes the model automatically.

The flight stick controls pitch, roll, and yaw, modeled after modern HOTAS designs for ergonomic comfort and easy maintenance. It uses springs for automatic recentering and Hall effect sensors to provide accurate rotational feedback. Features such as a dead zone and hard stops improve usability and durability. Overall, this project provides an interactive STEM tool that combines mechanical design, control systems, and aerospace engineering principles to illustrate spacecraft dynamics in an engaging and educational manner.

Team Advisor: Mark Calhoun

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: Nathan Shin, Hashed Assaedy, Clarence Remy, Harrison Muriithi

The progress of human exploration to space, the Moon, and Mars is not considered safe because of the limited understanding of how partial gravity impacts human cells. This issue has not been fully addressed due to cost limitations and the lack of validation of partial gravity on Earth. This project focused on developing a validated prototype for a partial gravity bioreactor. By successfully simulating the mathematical model and conducting tests to validate the prototype, a better understanding of whether partial gravity is achieved and its limitations can be discussed.

Team Advisors: Dr. Peter Lelkes and Dr. Yah-el Har-el

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Yah-el Har-el

Team Members: Zenub Abouzid, Dmitry Hackel, Irene Bui, Jake Fisher

The project aims to develop a wearable device to measure spasticity-like oscillations in the forelimbs of rodents after facing spinal cord injury (SCI). Spasticity and clonus are common complications of SCIs which lead to involuntary limb oscillations. There is an absence of accurate methods to measure forelimb spasticity in animal models. The device is a lightweight exoskeleton containing an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) that includes an accelerometer and gyroscope. Data will be collected through an Arduino Nicla Sense ME microcontroller and powered by a LiPo battery. A cantilever beam was designed to test the device before using the live rat models. A support vector machine will be used to precisely determine which signals are spasms and which are not. This device provides a novel approach to objectively measure spasticity in rodent models, which addresses a gap in SCI research. Successful validation of the system would provide support for further studies.

Team Advisor: Dr. Andrew Spence

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Yah-el Har-el

Team Members: Emily Wilkinson, Scott Andrews, Teresa Otto, James McClintock, Jose Ramirez

This project focused on replacing PDMS with acrylic to develop a non-porous, cost-effective organ-on-chip platform. PDMS’s high gas permeability and absorption of small molecules often lead to inconsistent drug testing results. We addressed this by fabricating microfluidic channels in acrylic using precision laser cutting and solvent bonding to eliminate porosity and absorption issues. Quantitative testing showed a **90% reduction in small-molecule absorption** and **consistent flow stability within ±3%**, compared to PDMS-based chips. These results demonstrate that acrylic provides a more stable and reproducible environment for cell culture and drug response studies, improving the reliability of organ-on-chip models.

Team Advisor: Dr. Evangelia Bellas

Sr Design Instructor: Dr. Yah-el Har-el

Team Members: Hamir Hayward, Shruti Patel, Nedjhida Pierre, Ahmad Khatar

This project presents the HVAC design for an ISO Class 8 pharmaceutical dispensing suite dedicated to handling powder materials within five downflow booths. The primary objective of the design is to maintain controlled environmental conditions that ensure both product integrity and operator safety. The system provides stable temperature and humidity control, precise pressure differentials between adjacent spaces, and unidirectional airflow patterns to minimize particulate contamination. Each room incorporates HEPA-filtered supply air terminals to capture airborne particulates, supported by a centralized air handling unit with room pressure monitoring controls. The design adheres to ISO 14644 cleanroom standards and cGMP requirements, balancing energy efficiency with stringent cleanliness and containment criteria essential to pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.

Team Advisor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Instructor: Dr. Hamid Heravi

Team Members: John DeVitis