By Caitriona Foley
When Sophie Sinnet applied to Berkeley’s Master of Engineering (MEng) program, she was drawn to the opportunity to take part in a hands-on project and earn a technical certificate on the side. Ranked choice project selection led her to work alongside Tony Wang, Trisha Gupta Sarma, and Sudipta Das, all students studying different disciplines of engineering at the Fung Institute, and united by their interest in creating a medical device to address clinical need.
The team is advised by Dr. Sunghoon Kim, a pediatric surgeon at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Kim approached the project from a surgical perspective, wanting to address the difficulties associated with the Nuss procedure: a relatively novel, noninvasive procedure used to treat Pectus Excavactum, or sunken chest. Under Kim’s advice, the team was made aware of how the procedure could be enhanced.
Performing the surgery himself, Kim realized the challenges associated with the Nuss procedure. Notably, the procedure requires lifting the patient’s chest, which can cause undesired cosmetic effects, resulting in additional work for the surgeon. This also puts the patient’s life at risk. Recognizing this, Kim approached this project to build a device that is safer than the current standard of using a metal bar and can be inserted into a patient’s chest to lift it and remain safely implanted as the child grows.
From start to finish, that is exactly what the team has done. As the end-of-year Capstone showcase approaches, the team has begun to experiment with materials for their implant, as they prepare to present to the Berkeley community and its industry partners. Throughout the semester, they’ve had unwavering support to prepare for this presentation. Classes and career workshops enhance collaboration and communication skills, strengthening the partnership between all parties. Course assignments have added accountability throughout their project, while the four of them were left alone to design a model from start to finish, save for communication with Kim to fine-tune the details.
Irene Demoisy regards this “duality of having very regular deadlines and a solo project” as a hallmark of the Fung Capstone experience. Demoisy is another MEng student who works alongside Weiqi Chu and Shiyuan He on their project “Marine Growth Impact Assessment and Mitigation Strategies for Floating Offshore Wind Platforms.” The three have spent the past eight months developing a software for their industry partner, Principle Power, to model the effects of marine growth on their floating offshore wind platforms installed across the globe. The company builds wind turbines on semi-submersible deep-sea platforms in an effort to expand access to renewable energy and further the carbonization of the planet. The software this Capstone group developed will enhance the resilience of the product, deepening knowledge of the platform’s performance in various oceanic environments and informing the company on how inhibitory factors can be mitigated.
Through their partnership with Principle Power, the team has been able to conduct extensive research, with access to data collected across the globe, in a variety of locations and environments, including the Oregon Coast, the Mediterranean Sea, and the North Sea. Advising by industry partners has offered regular communication and support to navigate the project when uncertainty arises. This collaboration has enabled the group to design a software tool to model the effects of various forms of marine growth on offshore wind platforms in a variety of oceanic environments. The three describe the experience of working on the project as being “guided but never dictated to.” They are allowed complete control in the design of the model, but a web of support to resolve challenges. “That sense of ownership and trust is incredibly motivating,” they add.
As a civil engineer, this project is unlike Weiqi Chu’s past experiences in academia. “In my undergrad, most of the projects I worked on were about my major. This project is quite different because it requires interdisciplinary experience,” Weiqi notes. “Irene is a mechanical engineer, so when working on a problem with her, I need to think from her perspective. Shiyuan previously did financial engineering, but most of the parts of the project are new to me, so I need to learn a lot from [Irene and Shiyuan].” Chu explained that, unlike assignments she worked on during her undergraduate career, the group was not united by a shared major, culture, or schedule. From arranging meeting times to learning each other’s nuances over text, this project required open communication and a willingness to make concessions. This flexibility and collaboration has ultimately been valuable to the group, fostering lasting friendship between the three of them, in addition to a strong working relationship.
The three pointed to the affiliation of industry with this project as a highlight of the Capstone experience, as it allowed them to take part in a commercial project without entering the sector. They are instilled with a sense of purpose, having created a product that will have real-world impact. Similarly, Sophie Sinnet recounts watching Kim perform the Nuss procedure at the early stages of the project. “Until [then], the work I was doing in engineering was enjoyable,” she says. “But [at Fung] and watching Kim perform surgery, it hit me in pieces that this is real, and the work we’re doing matters. This confirmed I wanted to continue on the path I’m on, and I was glad to have this clarification so early on.”
Through a network of support, these students have each created working products from start to finish to foster tangible change in society. As they conclude their projects and time at Fung, they will prepare for the end-of-year Capstone showcase under the guidance of Fung faculty. From the ever-attentive professors and graduate student instructors to personalized career counseling, Fung has cultivated a lasting community of peers, alumni, and industry partners for these students as they deepen their expertise and prepare to become changemakers.