A three-student team has won the second-annual "Engineering Challenge" organized by Stryker Corporation in Kalamazoo.
The Hope team was one of nine teams competing in the challenge, held on Saturday, March 28.
The students on the Hope team were junior Joel Blok of Schoolcraft; senior Bo (Christopher) Buckley of Caro; and junior Joel Mulder of Jenison. Representing Hope as well as the college's student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, they won a $1,000 prize that will be used to support the chapter's involvement in the on-going, interdisciplinary project at Hope focused on water quality and health in the village of Nkuv, Cameroon.
Stryker Corporation is one of the world's leading medical technology companies with the most broadly based range of products in orthopaedics and a significant presence in other medical specialties. The company's products include implants used in joint replacement, trauma, craniomaxillofacial and spinal surgeries; biologics; surgical, neurologic, ear, nose and throat and interventional pain equipment; endoscopic, surgical navigation, communications and digital imaging systems; as well as patient handling and emergency medical equipment.
Through the challenge, the competing student teams were given the opportunity to work directly with Stryker's engineers in solving real-life engineering problems related to the company's work. They were given time to develop a "second generation" of the product involved, and then presented their ideas to a panel of judges from Stryker. Blok, Buckley and Mulder won for developing the most feasible and innovative solutions to the specified issues.
The other teams at the challenge represented Grand Valley State University, Purdue University and Western Michigan University.