[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_video _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/1Cc_cha5nm0?si=7eSMH5fnG9YdP2bU” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
What started as a class project in ENGR 350 quickly became a lesson in resilience, collaboration, and self-discovery for a multidisciplinary student team tasked with developing a turbidity monitoring device.<\/p>\n
At the start of the semester, each student in \u201cEngineering Practices & Principles III\u201d pitched ideas for a potential project. Cailyn Spratt, a civil engineering student from Ellenboro, shared an idea based on her previous work for a general contractor. Part of her role involved erosion control inspections on construction sites, and she was interested in developing a portable, efficient device that would measure turbidity of water at Stormwater Drain Outlets or SDOs. Measuring turbidity could help determine whether erosion control systems on construction sites are working as intended, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the turbidity or water clarity exceeded a safe level, then inspectors could go back and check the Best Management Practices in the surrounding area to identify where the problem originated,\u201d said Spratt.<\/p>\n
The project was selected, and Spratt was part of a student team that took on the challenge. Unfortunately, partway through the semester, they lost a critical team member.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest roadblock was losing our electrical engineering team member when the project was about 75% electrical work,\u201d she said. \u201cThankfully, he left us with enough information to continue moving forward. The rest of us\u2014a civil engineering student, a mechanical engineering student, and an engineering technologist\u2014had to do a lot of independent research to compensate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Challenges Accepted<\/strong><\/p>\n Dawson Williams, an engineering technology student from Hendersonville, said the team divided up the electrical tasks that needed to be completed and asked for help from another team\u2019s electrical engineering students.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/405\/2026\/06\/WCU_Turbidity-monitoring-project-team-6.jpg” alt=”Turbidity Monitoring Project Team holds device” title_text=”WCU_Turbidity-monitoring project-team-6″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cThey were able to help get the basic electrical components up and working for us,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, the experience strengthened the team dynamic.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Spratt said, for her, the most enjoyable part of the project was working with her teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were supportive, hardworking, and made the experience much more rewarding throughout the semester,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n What They Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n Williams said the project stretched each of their abilities. Team members talked about learning more about coding, circuits, soldering, and software.<\/p>\n Luke Young, a mechanical engineering student from Hickory, added that they all, through the experience, learned more about each other\u2019s majors and concentrations, \u201crecognizing the importance of each discipline within the engineering world.\u201d<\/p>\n Spratt said it also taught her one of the most important skills an engineer can have: adaptability.<\/p>\n Martin Tanaka, professor of mechanical engineering, said the team did a fantastic job.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were really concerned when they lost their teammate, but when members from another team jumped in to help, they became inspired,\u201d Tanaka said. \u201cIt really shows the collaborative spirit at WCU.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What started as a class project in ENGR 350 quickly became a lesson in resilience, collaboration, and self-discovery for a multidisciplinary student team tasked with developing a turbidity monitoring device.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3401,"featured_media":10503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wcu-engineering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10486"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10509,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10486\/revisions\/10509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cet-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}