By Tuskegee University
A team of students from the Tuskegee University College of Engineering won third place at the 5th Annual Advancing Minorities Interest in Engineering (AMIE) Design Challenge. The competition organized in 2018 by the AMIE Design Challenge invites student teams from each of the 15 ABET-accredited HBCU Schools of Engineering to develop, implement and present their solutions to specified design problems.
The submissions are evaluated by judges from AMIE’s industry and government partners. This year, the organizers tasked student teams with proposing solutions for a general design problem – “How might we design a solution to improve the quality of life in the areas of Clean Water, Urban Infrastructure, Clean Energy, Transportation, and access to High-Speed Internet.”
“I congratulate and applaud the achievement of our outstanding engineering students. Tuskegee University’s performance at the AMIE Design Competitions over the years is a testament to the quality and competitiveness of our engineering students,” said Dr. Heshmat Aglan, Dean of the College of Engineering.
The winning design from Tuskegee was an app to enable a more cost-effective alternative to Uber/Lyft to college students in rural areas without access to public transportation. The seven-member Tuskegee team includes Langston Hines (team lead), a senior double-majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering; Omari Jones, a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering; Jillian Harris, a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering; Morgan Walker, a sophomore majoring in Aerospace Engineering; Courtland Meeks, a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering; Tyriq Turner, a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Michael Roberts, a sophomore majoring in Aerospace Engineering.
Since 2018, the Tuskegee University teams have been advised and supported by Dr. Mandoye Ndoye, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Toya Dean, the College of Engineering coordinator of student activities.
“This annual design competition has been a terrific opportunity to expose our students to industry challenges and processes and directly engage with technical leaders from industry and government agencies,” added Ndoye. “They have also developed valuable critical thinking, technical and interpersonal skills as they work collaboratively to identify, implement, and present solutions to real-world problems.”
The College of Engineering has won the most at the annual design competition, having secured a winning spot at three convenings in 2018, 2021, and 2022. In addition to monetary prizes for participating students, these winnings have resulted in thousands of dollars for the College of Engineering to support outreach and retention activities.
