Congratulations and well done to the latest group of The Australian National University (ANU) College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics prize winners!
Here is a summary of some of the amazing achievements recognised in our Semester 2 2022 student cohort.
Course prizes
Edmund Hofflin won the Erin Brent Computer Science Prize for achieving the best Honours result in any of the degree programs relating to Computer Science, Software Engineering or Information Technology. In recognition of his outstanding academic achievement, Hofflin also received a University Medal for academic excellence.
He received marks for his final semester courses and Honours research project, while taking in the panorama at one of the highest lookouts on a ridgeline stretch of the Larapinta Trail.
“I was absolutely delighted,” Hofflin said. “Shouted my lungs off.”
Read more: Decorated scholar takes machine learning to new heights
Rowan Schultz won the Mechanical and Manufacturing Prize. Each year the merit-based prize is available to students who achieved the highest marks in third year courses Manufacturing Technologies (ENGN3212) or Engineering Materials (ENGN3601).
Schultz graduated in December with Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and attained 1st Class Honours, which is the highest honour awarded to graduates and testament to a sustained academic track record.
Ziyue Yang took home the SmarterKnowledge Prize for Data Wrangling; which rewards top marks in COMP3430 to raise awareness of the value in gaining skills such as data wrangling to problem solve.
Robert McArthur received the Google Prize for Computer Science; awarded to outstanding third year computing students at ANU.
Nicholas Trenove won the PBSA Partnership Spotless Excellence in Engineering Prize; which supports engineering scholars who complete the third year course Engineering for a Humanitarian Context (ENGN3013).
Prizes for remarkable Capstone projects
A number of ANU Engineering Capstone student teams were also recognised, with many of the Semester 2 2022 cohort receiving prizes for their impressive design projects for real-world clients.
SmartBin
In 2022, there was a draw for the Waste Check Capstone Prize 1st Prize, which was jointly awarded to the SmartBin team – of Charlotte Jones, George Gardiner, Isaac Mahlab, and Max Cooper – whose sensor is in use at Canberra’s beloved Questacon science centre. The innovative Waste Check System measures and reports the weight of its contents in real time.
The SmartBin has been developed through years of collaboration with Capstone students. Capstone course convener Dr Catherine Galvin said the SmartBin project is a “beautiful example of how collaboration has produced real-world benefits”.
“Capstone is an opportunity for our local industry partners to work with final-year students, benefiting from their systems engineering skills and from an on-going relationship with the ANU School of Engineering,” Dr Galvin said.
Read more: The coolest thing at Questacon is in the bin
TOTUS
The second Capstone project that jointly received the Waste Check Capstone Prize 1st Prize is the student team behind TOTUS – Borui Chen, David Hayter, George Owens, Hugh O’Brien, Max Kennedy, Mitchell Grady, Yash Vardhan Sharma – who prototyped an autonomous driving system.
Project TOTUS aims to develop a remote vehicle control system, which could operate freight trucks, loading ports and other road vehicles using cellular-connected devices.
Here is what some of the TOTUS team members said about the Capstone Design Project course:
“The Capstone design project was an opportunity to demonstrate all the skills learnt across my entire degree and through extracurricular activities and to apply them to a real situation for a client. This allowed me to further develop those skills and learn to apply all of them together. “ (Mitchell Grady)
“Overall, the Capstone project allowed me to apply all the skills from different system courses into an industry-based project.” (Max Kennedy)
“The skills I developed through the TOTUS project will ultimately be very beneficial in future employment as I now have a much wider skill set, allowing me to be a useful asset in a variety of roles” (David Hayter)
Find out more about TOTUS, and view concept videos, on their website or on LinkedIn
Homing Pigeon Drone
The 2022 Waste Check Capstone Prize 2nd Prize went to Homing Pigeon Drone – comprising Ishwor Bhattarai, Jaydan Thorpe, Simon Sue, Xilun Yao, Yat Ting Hui, Yuanbo Geng.