Second-year Ram Engineers spent their last week of summer devising solutions to Grand Challenges for the 21st Century.

VCU Engineering’s inaugural Sophomore NAE Challenge took place the week of Aug.10-14. With guidance from mentors, sophomores worked in teams and individually to design solutions to advance five of the NAE’s 14 game-changing goals for improving life on the planet.

“The NAE Grand Challenges lay out our focus for improving quality of life” said Gregory E. Triplett, Ph.D., senior associate dean for academic affairs. “These students have shown a commitment to making this world a better place. Our sophomore NAE Challenge is an opportunity for them to test their ideas, and we are pleased to support them.”

The following projects were presented at the Aug. 14 [virtual] finale:

Project: Alzheimer’s: Trying Not To Forget What I Just Forgot
Sophomores: Sushma Chappidi, Jayla Johnson, Deion Sanchez-Viafara, Janice Vaz
Funding from: VCU Institute for Engineering and Medicine
Grand Challenge: Engineer Better Medicines

Project: Cyber Rams Protection Service
Sophomores: Sekai Clayton, Ajanee Robinson
Funding from: Commonwealth Cyber Initiative
Grand Challenges: Secure Cyberspace & Enhance Virtual Reality 

Project: Temperature Extraction and Control Advancements for Nuclear Reactors 
Sophomore: Ryan McGuire
Funding from: VCU College of Engineering
Grand Challenges: Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods & Provide Energy from Fusion
People’s Choice Award winner