In the Design Kitchen

OEDK: 15 Years of Design Innovation

Since 2009, the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) has provided a space for undergraduate engineering students to design, prototype and deploy solutions to real-world challenges. Known as Rice University’s hub of undergraduate engineering innovation, the OEDK offers students a chance to collaborate across engineering disciplines to make an impact on society.

In the OEDK, interdisciplinary design teams tackle problems proposed by partners in the Texas Medical Center and other industries. Over the past year, undergraduate groups have worked on more than 130 projects to solve real-world challenges. Current projects include concepts that address pediatric neurodegenerative disorders, fetal surgery, breast cancer, water purification, sustainable energy and more.

The annual Huff Engineering Design Showcase, renamed last year in honor of longtime supporters Harrell Huff and his late wife, alumna Carolyn Huff, features students’ final design projects and celebrates their process of collaboration. The winner of the 2024 Woods-Leazar Innovation Award for Excellence in Engineering was Heartbeat HERoes, an all-woman team of seven whose project developed a prototype for a novel catheter designed to simplify alcohol ablation, a surgical procedure that removes anomalous heart tissue causing premature ventricular contractions.

Sixteen other top prizes were given, including the Willy Revolution Awards for Outstanding Innovation. In this category, AeroForge took home first place for its cold spray additive manufacturing device which aims to improve the mechanical properties and expand the range of printable metallic components. Bay-Max won second place for enhancing underwater vehicle efficiency and maneuverability with improved buoyancy control devices, ideal for subsea tasks like inspection, exploration, monitoring, and cleanup.