Innovation on Display: Winners Announced for 15th Annual Techxpo

The future of STEM was out in full force at Montana Technological University as the winners of the 15th annual Techxpo Design Showcase were officially crowned.

On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the HPER Complex was transformed into a hub of ingenuity, featuring 107 research and design projects presented by 198 talented undergraduate and graduate students.

Techxpo is Montana Tech’s premier campus-wide event, designed to spotlight student innovation and academic rigor. This year’s exhibits spanned a diverse range of STEM disciplines.

To determine the winners, a panel of industry professionals evaluated each project based on its technical merit and real-world application. The top student project in each category earned a prestigious cash prize.

This showcase is made possible through the generous support from industry partners and academic departments. Special thanks to Montana Precision Products, NorthWestern Energy, Water & Environmental Technologies, Solvus Global, Ag Processing Solutions, Inc., Ash Grove Company, Pioneer Technical Services, SepticNET, PEKE Engineering & Systems, and Montana Tech Research and Graduate School, the Lance College of Mines and Engineering, and the College of Letters, Sciences and Professional Studies. For more information, visit https://www.mtech.edu/techxpo/.

ONE-SEMESTER PROJECTS:

Infrastructure – Group A

Interstate 90 Pavement Section Design Proposal
Rachel Hollingsworth, Hannah Anderson, Joe Gasvoda, Barrett Beckley

Infrastructure – Group B

Billings LAASF SWPPP
Kincaid Teske, Chase Anderson, Weston Sternad

Infrastructure – Group C

Leaflet Mapping Prototype Implementation and Evaluation for the One Stop Shop for Rural Traveler Information
James Brady

Natural Resources

Wildfire Smoke Dispersion Modeling
Kellan Beller, Sneha Sudhakar

Health/Medical

Genome Annotation of Mycobacteriophage MollyToe
Cora Pesanti

TWO-SEMESTER PROJECTS:

Interdisciplinary, Infrastructure

Third Generation Laboratory Pyrolysis System
Ryan Schultze, Seth Leitheiser, Andrew Daigle, Natalka Rolfson, Jaden Lewis, Adrian Tittle, Derek Schultz, Aiden Scott

Interdisciplinary, Natural Resources

Fluid Mixing Controls Organic Acid Geochemistry in Hydrothermal Springs

Nathan Rayburn

Single Disciplinary, Infrastructure – Group A

Hi-Fi Loudspeaker
Michael King, Seager Nentwig, Braeden Guse

Single Disciplinary, Infrastructure – Group B

Prototype Road Weather Alert System
Hayden Pride, Quinten Cox, Nicholas Steilman

Single Disciplinary, Natural Resources

Examination of Limiting Factors in Chalcopyrite Depression using Orfom® D8
Payton Ramey, Nathan Dutzi

Single Disciplinary, Health/Medical

Microplastic Uptake Dynamics in THP-1 Macrophages: Effects of Dose and Exposure Time
Jessica Price

GRADUATE PROJECTS:

Infrastructure

Mobile Power Generation through Hydrogen Combustion
Evan Guengerich

Natural Resources – Group A

An Integrated Strategy and Process for Recovery of Germanium from Metallurgical By-products and Waste Streams
Caden Ingraham

Natural Resources – Group B

Phytomining Potential of Native Rocky Mountain Plants
Halle Cogley

Natural Resources – Group C

Collector Blends for the Flotation of Rare Earth Silicates
Padmore Amankwah

Health/Medical

Physiological Flow Model for Electrospun Cardiac Cell Scaffold
Harold Pearson-Nadal

Chancellor Award – Undergraduate

Baja SAE Vehicle
Francis Rogers, Dakota James, Colby Lalone, Zachary Worring, Stephen McAfee

Chancellor Award – Graduate

Hydrogen Engine for a Continuous Biochar Reactor
Andrew Woods

Best-in-Show Award

The Effect of Superficial Biochar Layer on Soil Radon Exhalation: A Preliminary Investigation into a Passive Residential Radon Mitigation Strategy
Nick Nelson