Dayton Engineer

By Sarina Tacović

University of Dayton engineering students worked on a project for Stingley Elementary School to reduce cafeteria noise, offering hands-on learning and sparking excitement about college and engineering among fourth graders.

Senior UD students Adam Dulay, electrical and computer engineering; Alison Hardie, electrical engineering; and William Maurer, mechanical engineering; created a battery-operated traffic light signal to place on cafeteria tables. The lights change from green to red depending on the detected volume, which allows the elementary students to regulate noise levels.

“This project was a fun way to give back and inspire the next generation,” Dulay said. “All of us were these kids a few years ago, and I’m sure I didn’t help with the noise problem in our cafeteria growing up. I had no idea what I wanted to do at that age, but if I was introduced to engineering then, maybe I would have been doing it a lot earlier.”

The UD students met with the 77 fourth graders every few months to provide updates on the project status. They also taught the Stingley students about the concepts used in the project, including circuits and lasers.

The fourth graders’ curiosity was palpable when they asked questions:

• “Is this the same laser that would cut diamonds?”
• “Will it alert the teachers if it stays too loud for too long?”
• “Can the microphone pick up just the length of the table, or will it pick up other tables, too?”

Stingley fourth-grade teacher Craig Chabut selected a smaller group of his students, because of their keen interest in the project, for additional learning opportunities with the UD students. At one of those meetings, the fourth-graders built a circuit.

“As a teacher, I do my best to bring the real world into my classroom. This is not only a peek at the real world through the lens of an engineer, but also ties elementary and college together for our students,” Chabut said. “This experience has been fantastic for all of us, including teachers, and I have been blown away by the efforts of the UD students. From their willingness to work with our changes and opinions throughout, to the small group work they did with students, to their presentations, it has exceeded any expectations we have had.”