Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon University's Mechanical Engineers To Showcase Consumer Product Prototypes at Senior Design Expo

May 4, 2012

Contact: Chriss Swaney
Carnegie Mellon University
412.268.5776

Event: Weary of sizzling in the summer heat with no cold drinks? Worried you will wake the kids when doing the bedtime check? Carnegie Mellon engineering students have created a new quiet door latch that avoids the noise made by today's latches. They have also designed a rapid drink chiller that cools a warm drink down in seconds by spraying the rotating bottle or can with water cooled by a thermoelectric cell.

"The quiet door latch and the rapid drink chiller are just a few of the innovative designs featured at our senior design expo," said Jeremy J. Michalek, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at CMU and an expo advisor.

Each team dissected and analyzed a competitor product, conducted market research, identified opportunities for innovation, generated a range of design concepts and developed the concepts through analysis, testing and three iterations of prototypes.

Some of the other team projects on display, include a foot-actuated mop wringer for housework, a foldable snowboard for the avid skier and a stethoscope that helps doctors filter out unwanted background noise.

When: 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, May 7.

Where: Singleton Room, Roberts Engineering Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, off Frew Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213.