Cornerstone students redesign everyday systems to maximize functionality

How can engineering design improve everyday items and practices? 

Mines students in the Fall 2024 Cornerstone Design Competition collaborated in teams to examine an existing product or system and uncover shortcomings for specifics user groups, communities and individual stakeholders. They then worked together to create solutions that address those issues in an innovative way. The teams presented their final projects at an in-person pitch event Dec. 5.

The winning team – which took home a $1,000 grand prize – was Guardians of the Garage. Focused on reducing theft of at-risk vehicles in the Denver metro area, the team proposed an all-in-one car monitoring system that detects break-ins via AI cameras and GPS. Team members included Angel Segovia, Brody Collander, Bryan Williams, Evrett Lewis and Jamal Kasim.

Second place and $500 went to Scrub Innovations. Their solution aimed to help restaurants cut down the time spent completing menial tasks, like washing dishes. Team members included Maika Webster, Landon Fowler, Felix Graves, Sam Monk and Anthony Chen.

Third place and $250 went to Team Taekwondo. The team created a system for automatically scoring taekwondo spinning kicks, both reducing the number of corner judges needed and making scoring more objective. The team included Axel Adams, Josh Ary, Jathan Busby and Zack Johnson.

The Subject Matter Experts pick and $250 went to Card Cloak, a team that focused on reducing data theft caused by credit card skimming.

“Cornerstone Design is a signature Mines undergraduate student experience that provides students with the opportunity to apply STEM tools and skills to address a real-world, open-ended problem with a novel design validated through stakeholder engagement, research, prototype building and testing, and analysis,” said Yosef Allam, director of Cornerstone Design. “Students engage with real people outside the classroom to ensure that they are addressing the needs of those experiencing the problem and are receiving guidance from professionals and experts. The Cornerstone Design Competition is our favorite time of the semester as we, students, faculty and staff alike, all get to experience the culmination of our students’ design and problem-solving journeys.”