Challenges
Click on the Challenge partner name to access the Challenge. Teacher Resources are available in each Challenge but they are password protected. Teachers may contact pblprojects@nebhe.org using their school email account to obtain the passwords for the resources and for the protected Challenge sections.
If you don’t see a Challenge in this list that meets your course objectives, why not try making one of your own? Instructions and examples from PBL Projects participants can be found here.
| Challenge | The Problem | STEM concepts |
|---|---|---|
| Boston University | A team of graduate students need to determine the starting exposure time for a DNA microarray fabricator | Reflective imaging systems, Transmissive and reflective losses, Photochemistry, Lens systems, Maskless photolithography, Math with percents |
| Cal Poly Pomona | Does a 26 watt fluorescent has the same light output as a 100 watt incandescent? | Spectral output of light sources, Optical power measurements, Radiometry and photometry, Area under a curve |
| Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association | Can technology be used to make a cranberry bog more energy efficient? | Irrigation technology, Biological effects of: –Pesticides and fertilizer on plant growth and water resources, –Heat and cold on plant growth, –Drought and flooding on plant growth, |
| CIRTEC Medical Systems | CIRTEC needs to ramp up production of power packs for an implantable medical device from 300 per year to 5000 per year. | Manufacturing process flow, Lean manufacturing principles |
| FastCAP Systems (now Nanoramic Laboratories) | FastCAP’s carbon nanotubes need a uniform thin film layer for even growth, but the sputtered coating is bunching into clusters. | Energy storage, Nanotechnology, Thin film sputtering, Surface chemistry |
| Hypertherm | Hypertherm is experiencing too many defects in its wave solder process. How can the data be analyzed to make recommendations for improvement? | Wave soldering, Printed circuit board manufacturing, Lean manufacturing – Pareto Diagrams, Cause and Effect Diagram |
| IBM (now Global Foundaries) | IBM has a problem with a thin film etching process causing an area at the edge of the wafer to be under-etched | Semiconductor fabrication, Photolithography, Fasteners, Torque |
| International Laser Display Association (Laser safety) | What dangers does a pilot face when an aircraft is targeted by a laser pointer? | Laser divergence, Irradiance, Maximum permissible exposure, Laser safety, Trigonometry |
| IPG Photonics - 2007 (Burn-in testing) | IPG Photonics needs a way to run 100-hour unattended burn-in tests on a 2-kw laser. | Fiber lasers, Laser beam output parameters, Optical system design, Laser power measurement, Laser spectral output measurement, Laser safety |
| IPG Photonics – 2015 (Laser surface cleaning) | A customer requests a system to rapidly laser clean aluminum surfaces prior to welding in an automotive application. | Fiber lasers, Laser beam output parameters, Optical system design, Laser materials processing, Energy density determination, Surface tension |
| NEW! IPG Apps Lab -2019 | How can IPG help a customer weld metal trusses with less spatter and decreased cycle time? | Fiber lasers, power, irradiance, welding |
| Johnson & Johnson | A J&J team needs to develop a new treatment for eczema using plant-derived active ingredients. | Chemistry, Skin biology, Cosmetic design |
| NEW! MIT Kimerling Group | A graduate student is designing a waveguide methane gas sensor using photolithography techniques | Sensors, waveguides, evanescent waves, light absorption |
| Photomachining | A customer needs to have the coating stripped from 50 micron wire | Excimer & CO2 lasers, Laser beam output parameters, Optical system design, Laser materials processing, Energy density determination |
| RSL Fiber Systems | RSLF is designing an ergonomic and energy efficient lighting system for submarines. | Biological effects of lighting, Circadian rhythms, Illumination sources, Fiber optics, Unit Conversions, Decibels, Percent |
| Sound Manufacturing | Can metal be cut and bent beyond existing metal and machine standards without increasing the failure rate? | Sheet metal fabrication, Properties of Metals, Root cause analysis, Tolerancing |
| TTF Watershed Partnership | Can the problem of urban stormwater be addressed by local communities without investing in huge infrastructure projects? | Area and volume, Unit conversion, Stormwater management |
| UPenn McKay Orthopedic Research Lab | Can optics provide a non-contact measurement method as part of a UPenn McKay Orthopaedic Research Lab project to study the healing of tendons? | eometric optics, CCD linear arrays, MATLAB modeling of volume from area “slices” |
Archives
These are in the original format and are no longer being updated. For these Challenges, the solutions are now readily available on the web, or the company no longer manufactures the product (or longer exists).
| Challenge | The Problem | STEM Connections |
|---|---|---|
| FloDesign | Students need to design a new way to extract electrical energy from a wind turbine. | Energy conversion, Electromagnetics |
| Penn State Electro Optics Center | Two boys are lost in deep woods in rough terrain. What is the best technology to locate them? | Digital imaging, Electromagnetic spectrum |
| Photodigm, Drexel and SMU | Can technology provide a safe and effective portable home treatment for newborn jaundice. | Spectral output of LEDs, Irradiance, Scattering, Jaundice therapy |
| SPG Solar/City of Tucson | The city of Tucson needs to put a solar array on a large building but the roof is not strong enough to support a traditional panel array. | Solar Irradiance, Architectural load limits, Voltage, current, power, DC to AC conversion |
