Montana Tech Announces Techxpo Winners

Montana Technological University held its annual Techxpo on Thursday, April 15, 2021 virtually. Techxpo is a premier event where students display their impressive research and design projects. This campus-wide event exhibits the innovative teamwork of Montana Tech students who have applied theoretically and academically acquired knowledge to solve many of the world's challenges. Exhibits and poster displays include senior design projects and undergraduate research projects from a variety of disciplines, including engineering, science, and mathematics. There were 60 projects on display at this year’s online event with close to 160 participants. Thanks to all those who judged and thank you to our sponsors: Ashgrove Cement, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, NorthWestern Energy, Sibanye Stillwater, Water & Environmental Technology, Synesis7, and Montana Tech Research and Graduate School.

Congratulations to the 2021 winners:

Biological Sciences
• Analysis of E3 Ubiquitin Ligase RNF125 (Jenna Maroney, Hudsyn Dibrito, and Cody Tofflemire)

Chemistry/Geochemistry
• Neutralization of Organophosphate Nerve Agents by Photo-thermal Tandem Catalysis (Katelyn Alley)

Civil Engineering
• Storm Drain Inlet Efficiency (Evan Anderson, Spencer Schock, Tyler Folkes, Jaylen Taggart, and Brady Clawson)

Computer Science/Software Engineering
• Touchless Respiratory Monitor Data Visualization using QT & C++ (Ryan Hessler and Seth Bettwieser)

Electrical Engineering
• Bausch Potato Inc. Blancher Automation (Max Erickson, Kaleb Bausch, Jaime Rodriguez, Rayce McCord, and Jake Michelotti)

Environmental Engineering
• Microbial Cellulose Capsules for Environmental Remediation (Laurel Bitterman)

Geological Engineering
• Pintler Peaks Slope Instability Investigation and Design (Sean Harris and Ian Needs)

Geophysical Engineering
• Mapping of Heavy Metal Contaminants using X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Ground Water Flow Direction using Electrical Resistivity Method near Stucky Ridge, Anaconda, Montana (Tess Janney and Matthew Larson)

Mathematical Sciences
• Convex Mosaics and their Applications (Michael Bruner, Heidi Steiger, and Marie Steiger)

Mechanical Engineering
• AC Resonant Compressor (Grace Ostermiller, Emily Maynard, and Wednesday Rehm)

Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
• Synthesis of Nano-Au from Potassium Gold Cyanide Conc (Cameron Hughes)

Mining Engineering
• Investigating Methods to Reduce Overbreak in the Underground Mine Education Center (Nicholas Venteicher)

Occupational Safety & Health
• Naming the Rows and Columns of Risk Assessment Matrices (Blake Nichols and Royce Bird)

Petroleum Engineering
• Redeveloping a North Dakota Oil Field (Derek Lemler, Brady Koenig, Chase Heiden, and Abdulelah Al-amoudi)

PhD Projects
• Freestanding Electrospun Supercapacitor Electrodes (Molly Brockway)

Graduate Projects: Environmental Engineering, Ecological Restoration, Health Care Informatics, Industrial Hygiene, and Project Engineering & Management

• Comparison of ICP-MS and FP XRF Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Metals in Air and Soil (Kelsey Schmidt)

Best in Show Award:
• Mobile Biochar Reactor (from the Mechanical Engineering Department) (Kaleb Ferriter, Austin Walsh, and Jake Bentley)