More than 360 Florida Polytechnic University seniors presented high-tech, industry-sponsored projects at the eighth annual Capstone Design Showcase on Wednesday, April 29, gaining hands-on experience and solving real-world challenges.
Through the capstone program, multidisciplinary student teams spend months designing, building and refining solutions tailored to sponsors’ specific needs. Fifty teams participated in this year’s showcase.
Among the top projects, a 10-member team earned first place in the large team category for designing Running Mate Scout, an autonomous drone system intended to improve runner safety.
“They really took what I gave them – my vision, my thoughts, all the security and safety features that we needed it to have – and they brought it to life,” said Dena Lewis, the company’s CEO and founder. “Now we have a working prototype we can present to investors, and I’m so happy. I’d love to employ every single one of them.”
Jordan Fahringer, a mechanical engineering major with an aerospace concentration, was part of an eight-member team that built a prototype robotic system to support lunar exploration and construction.
The project was sponsored by the Florida Space Institute at NASA Kennedy Space Center. The team designed a 3D-printed cone penetrometer rover to test lunar surfaces and identify the best locations for construction.
“This was a really good experience because we not only had access to the project sponsor but were also in communication with a subject matter expert who helped with some of the more technical aspects,” said Fahringer, who will begin working at Kennedy Space Center this June as a NASA contractor supporting the Artemis mission. “I feel really happy about what we accomplished.”
Other capstone projects included real-time manatee vocalization detection for New College of Florida, automated acid sampling for the Mosaic Company, and an obstacle-scaling robot for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
“Students, you took on real problems, built real solutions, adapted when things changed, and figured it out when it was not obvious,” said Dr. Matt Bohm, director of industry engagement and capstone projects at Florida Poly. “That matters, and you should be proud of what you’ve done.”
The event concluded with awards for first-place teams in the small, medium and large categories, as well as with runner-up honors in each category.
2026 Capstone Showcase Winners
- First Place – Large Team: Running Mate Scout, sponsored by Running Mate. Team members: Nasir Billah, Nigel Braithwaite, Joseph Companion, Marisa de Cormier, Daniel Freer, Jeremy Goff, Norbert Krajewski, Devon Parcase, Sterling Peters and Rob Rodriguez. Majors: computer engineering, computer science and mechanical engineering.
- Runner Up – Large Team: Lunar mobility and terra-mechanics for robotic construction – A, sponsored by FSI – NASA Kennedy. Team members: David Chazbani, Viktor Johansen, Kalia Lafferty, Gabriel Lesak, Andrew McDonnell, Hollan Sellers, Aidan Sieger, Aden Smith and William Polan. Majors: applied mathematics, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
- First Place – Medium Team: LIDAR image generation and stitching, sponsored by Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Team members: James Allegra, Gaspar Chayer, Gerardo Claudio, Jackson Giles, Leon Harry, Michael Stevenson, Daniel Taylor and Lillian Wright. Majors: computer engineering, computer science and electrical engineering.
- Runner Up – Medium Team: Fall risk predictor and Avasure suitability model, sponsored by Lakeland Regional Health. Team members: Hailey Bauer, Daniel Drysdale Josephine Johnson, Melanie Najera, Kelly Resetar, Nolan Ross, and Ryan Skornia. Majors: applied mathematics, business analytics, computer science and data science.
- First Place – Small Team: Gamification of activities in healthcare settings, sponsored by Lakeland Regional Health. Team members: Samantha Bentley, Ariel Concepcion, Daniel Dewar, Bassil Ghareeb, Jarrett Lane and Joseph Underwood. Majors: computer science.
- Runner Up – Medium Team: MicroTransit app, sponsored by Citrus Connection. Team members: Colby Rountree, Daniel Hamilton and Jordan Alcira. Majors: computer science and computer engineering.
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
