Sternheimer Awards

Six senior design teams whose projects demonstrate outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship have been selected to receive Mark A. Sternheimer Capstone Design Awards.

These prestigious awards were established in 2012 by Mark A. Sternheimer, a benefactor and a board member of the VCU College of Engineering Foundation. The award recognizes Capstone Design projects that have strong commercialization potential. It is a longstanding component of the college's entrepreneurial culture.

Capstone Design is a two-semester course that represents the culmination of an engineering student’s undergraduate education. It concludes with the Capstone Design Expo. Sternheimer Award winners will showcase their projects to local engineering industry professionals before the Expo.

2021-22 Sternheimer Award Winners

Project NumberProject NameTeam MembersFaculty Adviser(s)

BME 22-109

Objective Measurement of Finger Tap, Tremor, Rigidity During DBS Surgery

Danielle De Vera, Nick Kaviani, Raghav Saravanan, Anjali Ta, Kaung Sithu

Paul Wetzel, Ph.D.

CLSE 22-204

Development of Point of Care (POC) Biomarker of Ischemia test

Quang Le, Adam Manche, Akshaj Nampelly

Nastassja Lewinski, Ph.D.

MULT 22-602

ECMO Lifetime Prediction Through Image Analysis Using Machine Learning Part II

Faisal Alsharief, Sara Dempsey, Yahya El-Sabban, Quoctrung Le, Miles Popiela

Carol Fung, Ph.D.; Ruixin Niu, Ph.D.

MULT 22-608

Robot End Effector Using TCAs

Dominic Azzurrini, Gabriella Graziani, Justin McCormick, Jalaj Sawhney, Michael Suche

Laleh Golshahi, Ph.D.; Patrick Martin, Ph.D.

MULT 22-609

Vertical Farm Feasibility Study

Madeleine Henry, Anne Herndon, Lindsay Jordan, Audrey Kluis, Caitlin Williams

Gary Atkinson, Ph.D.; Bradley Nichols, Ph.D.; Thea Pepperl, Ph.D.

MULT 22-615

Modular Entertainment Lighting Fixture

Alicia Olivo, Henry Holweger, Amy Ariel, Gabriel Odachowski

Alen Docef, Ph.D.; Bradley Nichols, Ph.D.

2020-21 Sternheimer Award Winners

Project NumberProject NameTeam MembersFaculty Adviser(s)

MULT 605

Rapid Test for Cardiac Ischemia

Jay Copeland, Ashleigh Flaherty, Noelle Pagsanjan, Rico Jorel Rivera, Sarah Tensen

Nastassja Lewinski, Ph.D.

Thea Pepperl, Ph.D.

 

MNE 513

Bioreactor for Mechanical Training of Engineered Tissues

Alejandro Arias, Paul Carder, Roderick Renfrow, John Spota

Joao Soares, Ph.D.

MULT 606

Smart Chest Tube Insertion Devices

Joshua Asenuga, Emily Clement, Justin Freeman, Theodore Stevens, Antenyse Wade

D. Joshua Cohen, M.D. 

Laleh Golshahi, Ph.D.



ECE 406

Life and Fire Safety System

Benjamin Hodge, Anastasios Karles, Ashley Lawrence, John Stonerock

Sherif Abdelwahed, Ph.D.

Afroditi V. Filippas, Ph.D.

 

MULT 609

QL+ Hot Water Knee Brace

Carlo Bucci, Rachel Kelly, Anna-blessing Merife, Dean Rector

Henry Donahue, Ph.D.

Bennett Ward, Ph.D.

 

BME 101

External Sensory System / Enhanced Sensory System

Jackson Doody, Sara Gilbertson, Faizaan Khan,  Katherine Kloecker

Paul Wetzel, Ph.D.