capstone project ideas for covid 19

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Vaccine Distribution System

A vaccine distribution system is a network of facilities and staffs that is responsible for the distribution of vaccinations to approved healthcare professionals. A vaccine distribution system can be defined as follows: Manufacturers, distributors, warehouses, carriers, and healthcare providers are examples of entities that may be included in the system, but are not restricted to them.

As a response to the issues and requirements for immunization, the researchers presented an automated Vaccine Distribution System. The technology will automate the process of documenting the number of vaccines that have been distributed and the number of patients who have been immunized. The suggested technology will assist people in registering for vaccinations and reserving their immunization appointments. In addition, the system will manage information on medical front-line workers, patients, vaccination clinics, and vaccines in an electronic fashion. Patients and medical front-line personnel will have easy and convenient access to the information they require to complete the immunization process.

Vaccine Distribution System Bootstrap Template

Curfew and Travel Pass Information System

The purpose of the Curfew and Travel Pass Information System is to provide a means for curfew administrators to track curfew violators and to issue travel passes to authorized individuals.

System Components

The Curfew and Travel Pass Information System consists of the following components:

Curfew and Travel Pass Information System Free Template

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Public Health Capstone Projects

Capstone projects from 2022 2022.

Survival of Anthrax Patients with Fluid Collections by Treatment Status , Sophie Binney

A Review of Economic Policies to Reduce and Prevent Child Maltreatment and Other Adverse Childhood Experiences , Kaila Farmer

Behavioral and Epidemiological factors behind Vaccine Hesitancy in The United States , Maggie Hanusek

The Evaluation Plan for the LGBTQ+ Runaway & Homelessness Youth (LRHY) Outreach Program , Jade Matthews

Analysis of the Association between Physical and Mental Health in Adults: Understanding the Literature and Developing a Plan for Future Research , Max Moskowitz

Health Insurance Status and Severe Maternal Morbidity Outcomes in the United States - A Policy Review , Adejumobi Otekunrin MD, MPH

The Associations Between Overweight/Obesity Among Children and Select Social and Economic Predictors , Lauren A. Powell

“We Really are Seeing Racism in the Hospitals”: Racism and Doula Care , Ayeesha Sayyad

Concepts for Antiracist Policy Formulation , Sophia Steinberg

“a Doula Is Not a Visitor...a Birth Doula Is an Essential Part of the Birth Team”: Interprofessional Dynamics among Doulas, Doctors, and Nurses , Kaniya Williamson

Capstone Projects from 2021 2021

Challenges and Prospects of Implementing Mobile Health in Angola: Lessons Learned from Kenya and Denmark. , Maria da Graca Ambrosio

Evaluating Funding Structures of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Metropolitan Atlanta: A Basis for Public Policy , Mamta Sanam Chaudhary

Levels of Engagement in a Comprehensive Parenting Intervention to Reduce Child Neglect Among Mothers without a High School Diploma: A Profile Examination , De Gao

The Need for Speed: Broadband Access as a Social Determinant of Health , Mwoddah Habib

An Evaluation Plan for Georgia's Injury Prevention Program , Joy Ngene

Examining United States Drug Policy from 2010-2021: A Qualitative Summation Using PEST Framework Model , Izadora A. Nunes

U.S. Rural Healthcare Shortage: A Review of Strategies in the U.S., Canada, and Colombia. , Carlos Perez

Comparing Water Quality Data of Atlanta's Sewage Overflows and Spills , Bonnie M. Pirlot

Policy Recommendations to Address Disproportionate Health Outcomes Caused by Healthy Food Access in Relation to Housing Districts Segregated by Class and Race , Roselyn Quarcoo

Characterization of Hand Hygiene Techniques Among Intensive Care Nurses: A Descriptive Study , Ashley L. Reyes

Analysis of Loss of Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States , Mira Shah

Research Proposal: COVID-19 Pandemic and Birth Experiences: Describing the Relationship Between Policies and the Birth Experiences of Georgia Mothers , Katherine Thornburgh

Georgia Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Resource and Protocol Guide , Sanon Williams

Developing and Disseminating the Children’s Environmental Health Index with Web GIS , Allegra Yeley

Branched Chain Amino Acids and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Literature Review , Alina Yemelyanov

Capstone Projects from 2020 2020

The Role of Policy in Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Childhood Trauma in Georgia , Hallie Andrews

StayNeighbor: Community Platform for Essential Supplies and Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic , Samuel Archbold

Strategies in Maintaining Financial Sustainability of National Health Insurance Under A Single-payer System in Indonesia, Taiwan, and Canada: A Comparative Study , Arif Budiman

Aligning the Georgia Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Plan with Governor Kemp's Priorities and Initiatives , Taylor Jennings

Healthcare for All: Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Strengthening of Health Systems , Diene Kaba

Youth Vaping: An Analysis of an Epidemic , Tina Kilpatrick

Georgia’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Technical Assistance Resource Guide (TARG) Evaluation Report , Maureen Oginga

U.S. Opioid Epidemic: Challenges and Opportunities for Evidence-based Policies , Imoh S. Okon

The Association between Mental Illness and Incarceration Among the African American/Black Population in the United States , Brittany Oladipupo

Capstone Projects from 2019 2019

A Cross-Sectional Study to Identify Factors Associated with Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis Among Foreign-Born In DeKalb County Georgia During 2008-2018 , Chinedu F. Egbuonu

WHO Drinking Water Guidelines , Aja Jagne

Evaluating Strategies for Community-sourced Photography for Mapping Alcohol Adverts in the Urban Slums in Kampala, Uganda , Joseph Madden

Community Organizing as a Vehicle to Promote Public Health in Clarkston, GA: A Literature Review & Case Study of Georgia Refugee Health and Mental Health , Maylott Mulugeta

The Use of Art to Increase Awareness about Mental Well-being and Promotion of Mental Health among the African American Community , Andromada Murden

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Opt-out Testing in a Southern Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) , Leah Pinholster

A Resource Guide on the Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Opioid and Other Substance Use. , Anthony F. Rotoloni

Promoting an Urban Utopia: The Role of Community Gardens on Community Vitality , Kayla Danielle Staley

Augmenting Coastal Georgia’s Fresh-Water Supply while Reducing Local Salt-Water Intrusion into Groundwater Reservoirs , Forrest A. Strickland

Capstone Projects from 2018 2018

A Resource Guide To Empower Older Adults to Make Informed Health Decisions About Prescription Opioids And The Potential For Misuse , Kandia S. Al-Haddad

Program Evaluation Aspects of Atlanta Streets Alive , Rebecca A. Ament

A Systematic Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Screening Trends and Linkage to Care Program in the United States , Ijeoma Azih

Understanding Educational Vulnerability in the Context of Disasters Using Visualizations , Cherish Caldwell

Tobacco-free Campus Post-implementation Program , Ashley Campbell

Examining the Relationship between Drought and Mental Health Outcomes of Depression and Anxiety in the U.S. , Robyn J. Cathey

Urban Water Planning in Lagos, Nigeria: An Analysis of Current Infrastructure Developments and Future Water Management Solutions , Adaure Chiori

A Review of Childhood Obesity Prevention Efforts among Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs , Olga Costa

Prevention Messages to Reduce the Risk of Shigellosis among Men who have Sex with Men , Steve Evener

A Baseline Comparison of PATSCH and Parent as Teachers , Irasema Garcia-Rosales

A Mobile Initiative for Waste Disposal in Bringing Awareness to the Damage Littering Behavior Has on Storm Drains , Kimberly Hung

Examining the Community Outreach Efforts of Local African American Religious Organizations in Relation to Drug Use and HIV Transmission , Alyshia Jackson

A Qualitative Analysis of the Environmental and Personal Factors which Influence the Help-Seeking Behaviors of Men who have Sex with Men in Light of the Emerging Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance to Shigella Bacteria , Kathleen Jacobson

Alcohol Use among Orphans in Sub-saharan Africa: a Literature Review , Megan M. Mallett

Community- Based Walking Programs to Reduce Chronic Illness Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities in Limited Resource Neighborhoods: A Literature Review and Program Materials for Walk the Line , Alanti McGill

Consolidating Resources for the Aged-Out Human Trafficking Population Using a Mobile Application , Soumya Nalli

Mobile Application for Survivors of Domestic Violence , Varsha Neelam

A Historical Review of the Influenza Outbreaks Within Military Settings and Understanding the Viral Spread of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic , Naomi Ngadiman

How Social and Lifestyle Factors of African American Women Influence Behavior and Prevalence of Obesity: Literature Review , Briana E. Oliver

The Epidemiology of Wasting in Nigeria , Oluwatoyin Victoria Omotosho

Understanding Open Access Data Using Visualizations in R , Hazel Shah

An Evaluation of A National Sexual Violence Prevention Program: The Rape Prevention and Education Program , Arielle Shiver

Protecting College Students with Good Samaritan Policies: A Call to Action! , Nia Sutton

Assessment of Policies and Programs That Apply Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study Research , Rohjan Tajik

Capstone Projects from 2017 2017

Policy Recommendations for Addressing Health Insurance Network Adequacy and Provider Network Standards in the Georgia Insurance Market , Oluwatoyin Adedapo-Jimoh

A Grant Proposal to Evaluate the Effect Antibiotic TB Treatment has on the Gut Microbiota and on Metabolic Functions of Pediatric TB Patients in Dekalb County , Oluwatobiloba Adeola Akingbade

An Evaluation of a School-based Behavioral Health Initiative in Three Rural Counties , Bianca Anderson

Relationships Between Physical Activity and Neighborhood Walking Characteristics: Analysis of the 2015 National Health Interview Survey , Colby Brown

Epidemiology of Type 2 Diabetes in populations of African Descent , Kenyatta Bruce

Physical Injury as a Result of Intimate Partner Violence: An Individual, County, and State Level Analysis , Sharon Caslin

Factors That Contribute to The Disproportionate Rates of HIV among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): A Systematic Review , Santanna S. Comer

Exploring Mental Health Services for Women Post Incarceration , Jalisa Cruver

An Examination of Metabolic Syndrome in Asthmatic Subjects: A Study Using the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey , Jasmine N. Cunningham

Health Interventions to Promote the Polio Vaccine within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative: A Systematic Review From 2000-2014. , Aime Serge Dali

Evidence of Injury Following Sexual Assault: A Research Proposal , Brea Echard

Street Medicine: A Program Evaluation , Ariel L. Edwards

Exploring Strategies to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Students in a School Cafeteria , Abigail Furtner

Branched Chain Amino Acids: Causal or Predictive of Type 2 Diabetes , Jency George

A Systematic Review on the Association Between Hormonal Contraception and Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV-Positive Women , Evan Graham

Incorporating Health Activities into the Friends of the Park Agenda: A Health Program Plan Framework , Hayley Hamilton

Analysis of the Quality, Integration, and Cost-effectiveness of Primary Care, Electronic Health Records, and End of Life Care: Lessons from the American Healthcare System to Inform National Health Insurance in the Bahamas , Brittney Jones

Geographic Information Systems Analysis of Walkability Data for the Atlanta Beltline Communities , Michale Kanchik

The Legacy for Children™ Program-- A Capstone on Fidelity Monitoring and Certification , Camille Kramer

Effectiveness of Pharmacist Delivered Medication Reconciliation Interventions on Hospital Readmission Rates: A Literature Review , Charles S. Lee

Factors Leading to Occupational Injuries and Illnesses among Hispanic Construction Workers in The United States: A Systematic Review , Luis Felipe Leon Cubides

Analysis of Anti-Retroviral Procurement for HIV-Affected Countries from Fiscal Years 2012 to 2014 , Dejene' Marshall

From Coverage to Care Implementation Plan , Michelle Mavreles

Bicycling for Transportation at Georgia State University: Findings and Recommendations for the Georgia State University Bike Plan , Sarah Braunstein McCartha

Categorizing Vending Machine Snacks at GSU for Metabolic Syndrome Dietary Recommendations , Allie Micheli

Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Conducting Research on the Effects of a Child Neglect Prevention-Focused Parent-Child Interaction Module (SafeCare PCI) on Home Language Environment and Toddler Expressive Language , Ambra Noble

Methodology to Cultivating Hand Hygiene Compliance in Healthcare Facilities , Ugo Okeke

A Review of the Relationship between Screen Time and Low Levels of Physical Activity with Obesity and Sedentary Behaviors in Children and Adolescents , Christal S. Oliver

Framework Analysis: Potential Repatriation and Mental Health System Recovery in the MENA , Yasmin Othman

A Program Evaluation of a Peri-Urban, Multi-Location Care Coordination Program in Georgia and Comparative Analysis of Other United States Care Coordination Programs for Uninsured, High-Risk Patients to Develop Promising Practice Recommendations , Amanda Parker

Effects of Exposure to E-cigarette Advertising on Adolescents: A Systematic Review , Paayal Patel

An Evaluation of Asthma Surveillance Packaging and Dissemination Efforts in Georgia , Lauren Potts

A Historical and Political Review of the Response to the 2015-2016 Zika Outbreak in Puerto Rico , Laura Riquelme

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2021 capstone project proposals - day 1.

March 4, 2021 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Please join the Master of Science in Global Health students as they present proposals for their capstone research projects. Master’s students begin their capstone research in the spring quarter and present their project proposals to the Master of Science Examination Review Committee. Outside feedback and participation are welcome.

Presentation Schedule - Day 1

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College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology

Seniors adapt to capstone projects during a pandemic.

Capstone Senior Design Projects Rise to the Challenge of COVID-19

Capstone senior design projects are challenging enough without the constraints imposed by a global pandemic. These student-led projects typically give seniors a chance to put their theoretical skills into practice by working in teams to solve a real-world engineering or technology problem defined by a corporate client. The teams, consisting of four or five engineering, computer science, or technology students, a faculty advisor, and often a technical liaison from the sponsoring company, are required to deliver a product—a prototype, software program, technical design, or working algorithm—by the end of the academic year.

In the early spring of 2020, ECST seniors were working hard to complete their projects on time. Then came the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order in California.

“It was a train wreck,” says Mike Thorburn, Director of ECST’s Capstone Program. “Without warning, students were told to ‘go home and don’t come back.’ They had no chance to finish their projects.”

Instead, students were asked to write up the status of their projects and report on whatever results they had. “We were incredibly flexible,” says Thorburn. “We had to be.”

Knowing there would be no end to the pandemic by the start of the fall semester, Thorburn had to revamp the Capstone program in time for this academic year’s seniors.

“We had to fundamentally change the make-up of the whole program,” says Thorburn. “My predecessor, Ted Nye, was a superman who created an amazing program that gave student teams the chance to work together in our Makerspace and build prototypes. That couldn’t happen this year. But we didn’t want students gathering at their homes either. So, we needed projects that students could do on their own and remotely for the entire year.”

Thorburn describes himself as more of an “analytical guy” than “a lab guy.” With a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering, he had a long career in space science and electronics, capped by two years as Division Head for the Department of Engineering and Project Manager at the Joint ALMA Observatory in Chile. The astronomical observatory is the most complex on Earth. Thorburn returned to the United States in 2013 to work for AT&T Satellite Communications. Periodically throughout his corporate career, he also taught undergraduate math and statistics classes and graduate classes in engineering at various colleges and universities.

In 2017, while still at AT&T and considering what he wanted to do next, Thorburn met Dean Emily Allen. Thorburn told her he was considering teaching high school students. Instead, Dean Allen invited him to become a lecturer in MATLAB and Numerical Techniques and serve as Ted Nye’s deputy on the Capstone Senior Design Project team. Thorburn became Director of the program starting in the 2019-2020 academic year.

Based on his background and areas of expertise, and to meet the challenges of Capstone projects during a pandemic, Thorburn decided to emphasize projects that involve computer-aided design, analysis, modeling, and simulations. “We didn’t have a choice, but I believe these types of skills are also valuable for students to learn,” he says. “Employers these days expect engineering students to have computer skills and proficiency at the abstract as well as physical aspects of design.”

Of the pandemic-revamped Capstone program, Thorburn acknowledges that some of the students are disappointed they can’t work in-person with their peers and industry advisors. “Some feel like, ‘Gee, it would have been nice to build something,’” he says.

Still, Thorburn emphasizes that despite the challenges, students have been resilient and have found creative ways to get the most out of their Capstone experiences. For example, they still share and work in teams virtually, using applications such as Zoom, Discord, and Slack.

“By the time these students get to their senior year, they’ve already accomplished a lot,” says Thorburn. “They’re finishing up their degrees in engineering, computer science, or technology and most of them are looking for jobs. I don’t want to overstate my contributions… but it’s great to have an opportunity to help them accomplish even more.”

This year there are almost 550 senior students in our five departments, working on 70 capstone projects, each with a faculty or volunteer industry advisor. A small set of examples of capstone projects this year are:

Capstone Diaries: Racial Disparities in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Karel tinkler shares her capstone experience, week by week.

Capstone Diaries is a feature where CGS sophomores share their Capstone experience week by week, from choosing an idea to completing their oral defense. This installment is by Karel Tinkler (CGS ’21, COM ’23), a student on Team W whose project focused on racial disparities in the Covid-19 pandemic in Massachusetts.

Week 1: Capstone Kickoff

At the end of March, we transitioned from finishing out our CGS classes to beginning our Capstone project. Toward the end of classes, the professors sent out a Google survey where we put down five to six other namesof people that we wanted to work on Capstone with. I would recommend forming a group before the survey is sent out, but if you do not have a preference, the professors will place you in a group where more members are needed.

I already had a group in mind, so I put down the six other group members’ names and we began forming a group text message to stay in contact and start planning. On Friday of that week, there is a Capstone Kickoff where your professors and the rest of your CGS team meet to go over the Capstone syllabus and deadlines. The professors give you helpful advice on how to effectively work with group members and set a schedule for three mandatory meetings with your group. The professors are really good about accommodating everyone’s class schedule and finding a time that works for everyone to meet.

Week 2: Research and outlining

By the time your first meeting with the professors rolls around, your team is supposed to have agreed on a topic, constructed a group contact to hold everyone accountable, and chosen a format for your written report. Your group can either provide a policy recommendation or have an adversary format where the group argues both sides of the topic. Additionally, the professors provide a comprehensive list of 20 topics that change year to year that your group can decide on. It can get a little overwhelming trying to agree on a topic among seven group members, so I would recommend using a survey platform to narrow down the group’s preferences for the topics. My group used a survey to help find everyone’s top three topic choices, which helped us more easily agree on a topic.

During this week, we spent most of our time on research. I definitely recommend dividing the research among group members by topic, such as background/history, current legislation or a case study. That way the research can feel more purposeful and manageable. Furthermore, through my Capstone experience I learned the importance of creating an in-depth and well thought out outline from the beginning. Creating an outline not only helps to organize the structure of your paper, but can guide your research and assist in dividing up work among your group members.

Week 3: Collaborating with professors

During this week, we started to transition from pure research to writing the paper itself and had our last assigned meeting with the professors. The professors take pride in being a sort of “coach figure” through the Capstone process, so take advantage of the professors and the advice they can provide you. For example, one of my group members wanted to do a case study illustrating the relationship between wealth and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. My group member did not know what neighborhoods within Boston to focus on that would demonstrate the problem we were trying to solve. After a quick office hour session, the professors happily provided three neighborhoods to focus on that illustrated real life variables that affect vaccine distribution and access.

At times the Capstone project can be overwhelming, but you have to remember the professors created the topics, so they have a good amount of background knowledge to push you in the right direction. The professors may help by giving you advice on how to structure your paper or may help with the content of the paper by giving you key terms to look for when you research or certain scholarly journals to guide your research.

Week 4: Writing the paper

With just two weeks until the final paper is due, my team was now completing research, writing, and beginning the stages of editing. If your group makes sure you have a strong outline from the beginning, this will alleviate the struggle of editing and compiling everyone’s writing together at the end. Although this is a group project, each member needs to take it upon themselves to carry their load of the work. By week 4 if everyone has a solid rough draft of their work you will be on the right track to have time to edit and read through the paper multiple times.

As part of the editing process, this can be a good time to look at the flow of the paper and page length. After compiling individual group members’ work, you may have to make little changes to make sure the voice or tone of the writing is cohesive. There may also be holes in the writing that could potentially need more background or a specific case study. After reading the paper all the way through, this is your last chance to add more writing to clarify points within your paper.

The editing process is tedious and tiresome after completing all of your research and writing, but it is so important to make sure your paper sounds like it was written by one collective unit, rather than seven individuals that just happened to combine their writing.

Week 5: Editing

It is time to collectively sit down as a group and popcorn read or individually read aloud your paper from start to finish. Capstone is due at the end of the week and by reading aloud as a group you can catch errors that the writer may not have seen and check again for the flow of the paper.

If you have set deadlines for your group throughout the process, this week will not be as stressful. Week 5 is all about finalizing punctuation, spelling, the glossary, the works cited, and formatting of your paper. Your CGS experience is coming to a close, so make sure you go out on a high note by taking advantage of this last week and turning in Capstone with no regrets. The last few weeks have been exhausting and stressful, but they probably have flown by and it is such a relief when you turn in your project on Friday. You not only addressed a real life problem and completed a 50 page paper with six other individuals, but have hopefully made some new friends or established a stronger friendship while bonding over the Capstone process, or if anything have been provided an opportunity to build your character by being flexible and adapting to a variety of personalities while trying to complete Capstone.

Week 6: The Oral Defense

The final step to the Capstone project is the oral defense, which sounds very intimidating, but essentially is just an educated conversation about your paper with your professors. I was worried about the oral defense, especially because it was during finals week when other classes were finishing up. However, if your group has read through the paper and you have done your research within the last weeks you will naturally know your paper front to back. The professors are good about making you feel comfortable from the beginning. During my oral defense, the professors started out the conversation by going around to each group member and asking what we learned from the Capstone experience, before beginning to ask questions about the content of the paper. One lesson learned from the oral defense is to be self-aware of how you act in a group conversation. Everyone needs to talk within the group, but talking for five minutes is just as bad as being silent.

At the end of the two-hour defense, the professors will give you time to do peer reviews and that is the end of CGS. It is crazy how quickly your two years go by, and Capstone is a great way to end it – an experience that makes you proud and an experience that could potentially be a valuable asset for employment. At age 20, you have learned to work in a group, speak publicly, and solve a real life problem. In the moment Capstone may seem intimidating, but once it is done you will realize all of the valuable tools and lessons Capstone has taught you from just those six weeks.

— Karel Tinkler

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Navigating a Capstone Project with the Center for Global Health during the Coronavirus Pandemic

The repercussions of COVID-19 have put many lives on hold. Graduations, weddings, businesses, and even family vacations have been set aside as we protect ourselves and attempt to prepare for a new normal. What began as an anomaly in a foreign country, has impacted us in ways we never imagined possible. COVID-19 has become a significant variable in our professional, personal, as well as our academic lives.

During the Spring 2020 semester, we had the privilege of working alongside Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security (CGHSS) . CGHSS is a self-directed research center that helps decision-makers worldwide prevent, detect, and respond to public health emergencies, specifically pandemics. We did not expect the impact the Center would have on our final semester at Georgetown and our everyday lives.

After our initial meetings with CGHSS, it was clear that their work was extremely valuable but had not achieved the recognition marks it deserves. We agreed to work together before the spring 2020 semester had even started and before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19.

When we began the semester in January, our work consisted of introducing our fellow Capstone classmates to CGHSS and explaining what a pandemic was. Ebola was the most well-known by our peers. As we explored the industry and analyzed the competitive landscape, the COVID-19 situation was beginning to arise internationally but was not considered imminent here in the United States.

As COVID-19 exacerbated, we began conducting our research. As we participated in Zoom meetings with our clients and worked from home, we found that the COVID-19 pandemic was a live example of our capstone project and would play a key role in our research and campaign plans.

Throughout the semester, we had the opportunity to join CGHSS for team meetings to learn more about their impact and the work being done around COVID-19. CGHSS emphasizes a practical connection between global health research, policy, and practice to help develop capacities to address some of the world’s most pressing global health challenges. With the current COVID-19 outbreak, it was clear how preparedness policies play a vital role in protecting global health security.

Our research results concluded that CGHSS must enhance its digital and online visibility to increase the awareness and recognition levels among the global health community. Our brand awareness strategy aimed to increase the frequency of communications while content strategy aimed to enhance the quality of content’s representation among the various communication channels.

We anticipate that CGHSS will begin to see new funders arise due to the significant impact of COVID-19. In the future, funding for pandemic research may come from large companies as an act of corporate social responsibility due to the increasing support for pandemic preparedness and response. As more people see this significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on our economy and wellbeing, organizations will find it difficult to not participate in this vital research. By supporting research centers like CGHSS, we may see how the work done at these centers can help prevent the next pandemic before it occurs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it. How we conduct meetings, how we shop for groceries, and how we catch up with family and friends have all been impacted by the virus. As we prepare for this new normal, one may ask, what does this mean for the future? As businesses and schools begin to reopen, we will see just how significant COVID-19 has been to our way of life.

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Home / 2020 / June / A new challenge for engineering students’ capstone projects—COVID-19

A new challenge for engineering students’ capstone projects—COVID-19

Engineering students always face obstacles in completing their senior capstone projects, but the pandemic created unique challenges for this year’s teams

June 22, 2020

By James McGirk

Students in the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz were racing to finish their senior capstone projects when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a mandatory shelter-in-place order for Santa Cruz County starting in March. The lockdown posed yet another obstacle for student teams that were already grappling with challenging projects.

Senior capstone projects are ambitious, student-led efforts to tackle an engineering problem or create a product or service. Intended to be the crowning achievement of an engineering education at UCSC, the projects may be sponsored by campus organizations or corporations, while others are entirely conceived and executed by students.

Capstone projects revolve around teamwork, which usually means long hours working together in the lab. During the pandemic, however, students were forced to find ways of collaborating on their projects without getting together in person.

The Coronanaut (Continental Automotive Indoor Robotics)

One of the most ambitious projects in 2020 was the Indoor Robotics team sponsored by Continental. Their goal was to fuse Continental’s LiDAR, radar, and camera sensor information together into a single coherent “view” of a robot’s surroundings. In other words, they wanted to give a robot a new way of seeing the world and recognizing objects around it.

The team drew up plans to attach the complex sensors to a robot called a Husky UGV, an “unmanned ground vehicle” approximately the size of a wheelchair. Continental provided the robot and sensors. Team members Babak Farahmand, Daniel Luft-Martinez, Mayowa Borisade, Paige Riola, Shealtiel Mulder, and Walter Condori would have to mount the sensors to the robot and interpret the data they collected.

The shelter-in-place order kept students out of the labs, however, so they couldn’t access the robot or the tools they needed to measure its sensor data. Prospects for the team looked grim until Professor Emeritus Patrick Mantey, who directs the capstone program, proposed a solution.

“We could send her into the lab as if she were an astronaut on a spacewalk receiving instructions from the rest of the team over her headset,” Mantey said.

Hovanessian works with Baskin Engineering Lab Support (BELS), which meant she was one of the few people who had permission to be on campus during the lockdown. She said she was surprised to be summoned to a Zoom meeting with Mantey and Dean Alexander Wolf, who approved the plan.

Integrating the sensors was nerve-wracking work, and Hovanessian was careful to use a meter before connecting the expensive sensors. “Accidentally reversing polarity could cause a sensor’s functionality to stop, or even cause an explosion,” she said.

Once the sensors were attached to the robot and connected, Hovanessian began receiving transmissions from her distant teammates. They wanted her to tell them what the robot was ‘seeing’ through its sensors.

“Typically they would ask me something like “get us some data of what a chair looks like in front of the LiDAR sensor,” Hovanessian said.

The data she gathered was parsed by the rest of the team, who extrapolated conclusions and created models from what she gathered. Hovanessian said she was excited to be able to help the team succeed despite the pandemic.

Most of her teammates are graduating this quarter, which means there’s a good chance she might never meet them in person. “I hope when this is all over we can grab a beer or something to celebrate pulling this off,” she said.

The Potential Startup (Smart Seat for Posture Detection)

The Smart Seat for Posture Detection team created what they call a “smart seat” to help people maintain good posture while sitting.

“It’s a chair attachment that sends an alert if you’re slouching,” explained team member Ali Fallahi.

This required a great deal of engineering. There were proximity sensors and leaning sensors to wire, not to mention the challenge of creating an attractive, comfortable piece of furniture that someone would consider sitting on every working day. And then the coronavirus outbreak scrambled their plans.

“Testing was the most challenging aspect for us,” Fallahi said. “We needed testbed setups, oscilloscopes, and network analyzers to test the electrical system. During an outbreak that becomes really difficult.”

Their solution was to recreate the UC Santa Cruz labs at home. The engineering school let them borrow a few vital pieces of equipment and provided credits so they could use MATLAB from home. But the team realized they needed more than one team member running tests, so they bought additional tools to enable each member to work independently.

“Costs tripled,” said team member Christopher Cheney. “Initially we drafted it up around $200, now we’re looking at more like five or six hundred.”

Progress was slow without access to the lab, and the assembly became a much more deliberate, meticulous process. The students focused on perfecting their algorithms.

“Software-wise, our end result will probably be better than we originally planned,” said team member Zachary Haughton. “Our prototype won’t be as super nice and presentable as we wanted it to be, but at its core it will work really nicely.”

Communication was a major challenge for the group. “When you don’t have in-person contact, problem solving together takes much longer,” Haughton said. “You can’t just start drawing stuff on the whiteboard. But it certainly wasn’t an insurmountable challenge.”

The team thanked Professors Stephen Peterson and Tela Favaloro for their help with the project. The students hope their research into posture correction could be the start of a business or a partnership with an existing company. For the most part, they managed to hit their goals.

“When we look back at all of this, I think we’ll all be incredibly proud of what we managed to achieve,” Fallahi said.

The Homeless Charging Station

One team wanted their project to address the problems of homeless people in Santa Cruz. “There are about 2,200 homeless in the county, and we wanted to alleviate some of the stress they feel,” said team member Jordan Tam.

The team began by surveying homeless adults. One of the problems they discovered was that the homeless had very few places to charge their phones.

“Many of them would go into libraries or businesses to look for outlets,” Tam said. “Even in these areas outlets were few and far between.”

Homeless people use cellphones to trade information about resources, and having a fully-charged phone can mean the difference between a hot meal and going to bed hungry. The team partnered with the Homeless Gardens Project, a respected local organization that helps the homeless reintegrate into the community, giving them a job in the gardens and helping them find housing.

“We realized that the Homeless Garden was completely off-grid,” Tam said. “We decided it would be an excellent area to provide power to, so our original plan was to build them a solar-powered charging station.”

The original design included a solar-powered station with six locking compartments so individuals could safely leave their phones to charge while they worked. It was designed to be both theft- and weather-resistant and was to be made of stainless steel and a robust polycarbonate plastic.

Things were looking up. Sandbar Solar donated a large solar panel to the project. The team completed their designs and set aside the final quarter for fabrication, assembly, and integration.

Then the coronavirus struck.

“Sandbar Solar wasn’t considered an essential service,” Tam said, “so they weren’t open, and neither were the plastic and metal shops.”

Fabrication ground to a halt. Then most of the team had to go home. Tam was based out of Danville, and two others remained in Santa Cruz, but one went home to India, which meant the team also to adapt to the time difference.

Other problems arose. Since they couldn’t outsource fabrication, they focused on the designs, preparing the project for the next senior capstone team to take on. They simulated as much as possible, but simulation can only do so much. They weren’t able to test the weatherproofing and theft-resistance, nor were they able to properly debug circuit boards. (The ideal conditions of a simulation rarely measure up to the real world when it comes to circuit boards.

Despite the difficulties, the team was able to create a functional prototype.

“We created a prototype out of medium-density fiberboard, which is a pretty flimsy material, but the Homeless Garden Project asked for anything we could give them,” Tam said.

The Homeless Garden Project plans to place the charger in a weatherproof shed. The team also added a smaller solar panel and a battery, which would allow the machine to work during cloudy days.

Tam said it was hard having to scale back their plans. “We were really sad because we wanted to see a finished end product and to create something that would really help the Homeless Garden project,” he said. “I’m glad we’re giving them something, but it’s a huge step down from what we’d envisioned.”

All three groups said they thought rising to the challenge of working together during the COVID-19 pandemic was an experience that would eventually help them become better engineers. It was a sentiment shared by most of the Senior Design Project teams this year.

More information about the 2020 Senior Design Capstone projects is available online at csspp.soe.ucsc.edu/2020-partners-day .

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NUR 49800: Capstone Course in Nursing: COVID-19 Resources

Information and Misinformation

How can we separate fact from fiction, when there are so many conflicting sources of COVID-19 information out there? Begin by selecting a reliable source. Focus on reputable healthcare organizations, government agencies, or academic research sites. The links listed below are some good examples. Avoid sources that have a political, religious, commercial or other type of agenda -- even if it's one you personally agree with. These days it's not easy to find unbiased facts. But that's your goal.

Once you've selected a source, stick with it. When you see conflicting numbers between websites, that doesn't always mean that one is wrong. Different organizations often use different methods of measurement and reporting. But using the same source consistently should give you a clearer picture of relative increases and decreases. Then you can use your evidence-based practice skills to analyze and evaluate the data.

State Statistics: Indiana COVID-19 Dashboard

Homepage for daily COVID-19 stats and updates from the Indiana State Department of Health:

U.S. Statistics: CDC COVID Data Tracker

Homepage for daily U.S. COVID stats and updates from the Centers for Disease Control:

World Statistics: World Health Organization

The dashboard of the World Health Organziation provides an even broader look at the global spread of COVID-19:

COVID-19 Training for Nurses

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has developed several free COVID-19 courses for student nurses, new graduates, nurses returning to the workfoce, and for those who may be interested in learning more about the COVID-19 pandemic. They are online, self-paced and free of charge . Three of them provide CE credit.

The courses include:

Hoaxes to Avoid during the COVID-19 Pandemic

There are also additional resources such as how to don and doff PPE.

The courses can be accessed through CHROME at the following website: https://catalog.icrsncsbn.org .

JAMA Free Research & Resources

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/coronavirus-alert

University of Washington Information School

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On April 2, 2020, the worldwide number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, which causes an illness called COVID-19, topped 1 million. Much of the uncertainty and confusion swirl around the symptoms and what you should or shouldn’t ...
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A capstone course is a class designed for a student in college or graduate school to demonstrate mastery of a particular subject. Capstone courses have many different structures and vary among universities and departments.
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On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19, a novel strain of coronavirus, to be a global pandemic. So what is COVID-19, what symptoms should you be watching out for and how can you contribute to ...
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COVID-19 Capstone and Research Free Project Ideas 2022 · Smart Healthcare Support for Remote Patient Monitoring During COVID-19 Quarantine.
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NUR 49800: Capstone Course in Nursing: COVID-19 Resources
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of mobile audiences such as popular apps, genres, topics within each community.
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Index Terms—Capstone course, Cohort, Design Thinking,. Engineering education. I. INTRODUCTION. NGINEERING activities are often concerned with