Freeman Design Award May 11, 2011
S
ince 2004, Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc., has sponsored the Andrew Freeman Design Innovation Competition. The competition, which honors UND Engineering alumnus and former general manager of Minnkota Power, Andrew Freeman, recognizes innovation and excellence in senior design. It requires individuals or teams of engineering students to present their senior design projects to a panel of judges comprised of UND Engineering alumni and faculty and a representative from Minnkota. This year, the annual competition was held on May 5. Six teams participated in the competition, and
the winning teams were recognized at a ceremony held on Wednesday, May 11.  First Place: LaserComm: The LaserComm project aims to address and resolve the growing problems associated with traditional Radio Frequency (RF) communication methods—mainly, limited bandwidth, spectrum crowding, and security. Award: $1,650. Team Members: Brian Adkins (EE), Michael Link (EE), Jennifer Meyers (ME), Michael Locke (ME), and Brock Setness (ME) Second Place: System Combination of Renewable Energy by Alternative Methods (SCREAM): SCREAM supplies power to a RTK (Real Time Kinematic)
DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System). RTK allows for location tracking of agricultural equipment. Award: $1,000. Team Members: Nathan Hillerud (EE), Casey Hansen (EE), and Derek Clark (EE) Third Place: Extraction of Fatty Acids from Thermally Cracked Crop Oil: The team designed a process by which crop oils, such as canola oil and soybean oil, can be converted into liquid transportation fuels. Award: $750. Team Members: Raymond Aslesen (ChE), Benjamin Jones (ChE), Joshua Knutson (ChE), and Shane Emineth (ChE)
STUDENTS Pictured: Brian Adkins, Michael Link, Brock Setness, Jennifer Meyers, Michael Locke, Wally Lang, (VP, Transmission, Minnkota Power), Dean Hesham El-Rewini, Casey Hansen, Nathan Hillerud, Derek Clark, Benjamin Jones, and Shane Emineth SUMMER 2011
11