Senior engineering students represented Fairfield University’s School of Engineering and showcased team research on biomechanics in front of an audience of engineering students, industry professionals, and research leaders at the 48th NEBEC Conference, held at Columbia University in New York City on April 23 and 24. 

Class of 2022 biomedical engineering majors Tobenna Ugwu, Chizimuzo Chibuko, John Minogue, Aina Razakamanantsoa, Rachel Jacobson, and Prince Addo were awarded first place for their senior research project — STEM Outreach Through Sports Biomechanics — developed under the mentorship of assistant professor of electrical and biomedical engineering John Drazan, PhD.

“Research shows that the STEM pipeline lacks diversity,” said Razakamanantsoa, “so the goal of our project was to diversify it by engaging youth with STEM through sports. Considering that a considerably high percentage of youth play sports, we designed biomechanical devices to measure their athletic abilities.”

During the course of the project, the students developed four devices that were used to measure the students’ athletic abilities. They engaged the students in sports while explaining the process of designing each of the devices.

On winning first place, Razakamanantsoa said, “I was pleasantly surprised that our project came in first place at a conference hosted by an Ivy League institution. It is an honor to have our work for the past school year recognized in such an honorable way.”

In addition to presenting their research, the students had the opportunity to attend research presentations and connect with industry professionals.

“The conference was very fun and engaging,” said Ugwu. “There were a lot of interesting projects and research presented at the conference.”