ENGINEERING

DESIGN
PORTFOLIO

ELIZABETH
MILLER
ABOUT ME…

My name is Elizabeth Miller (Betsy for short), and this is my Design Portfolio! I
graduated from the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University with a
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Honors in Mechanical
Engineering, a minor in Engineering Leadership Development, and a certificate in
Engineering Design. During college, I had the privilege of working with numerous
international design teams, spending time studying at the National University of
Singapore and the Hasso-Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Through my
travels, projects, activities, and education, I have developed a unique skillset to:

Lead Manage Develop

design teams projects creative designs

Empathize Communicate Work with people

with target users technical concepts from other cultures
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DROWSY DRIVING DETECTION SYSTEM 3

SHOES TO WALK ON WATER 3

JUNK YARD WARS: MINI GOLF HOLE 3

TABLE CLEANING DEVICE 4

MORINGA SEED OIL PRESS 4

ANALYZING ACCOMMODATION OF AIRPLANE SEATS 5

PROSTHETIC DYNAMIC ALIGNMENT SYSTEM 6

BAKERY TRENDS APP 6

RAILWAY STATION BOARD 6

RESUME 7

Want to learn more about a design?

Contact me at elm5388@gmail.com to set up a time to chat or check
out “My Work” on my website, emillerpsu.weebly.com.
 DROWSY DRIVING DETECTION SYSTEM

DESIGN CHALLENGE: PROBLEM IDENTIFIED: DESIGN SOLUTION:

Make cars safer, greener, or Drowsy driving is dangerous A system to detect drowsy
more connected and needs to be prevented driving, wake fatigued drivers

PROJECT SPONSOR:

MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
Concept Generation, Screening & Selection || Customer Needs & Metrics || Technical Report

SHOES TO WALK ON WATER

DESIGN CHALLENGE: DESIGN SOLUTION:

Build shoes to walk fifty Potato buckets, kickboards,
meters across water soda bottles, duct tape

MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
Concept Generation, Screening & Selection ||
Prototyping & Testing || Video Production

JUNK YARD WARS: MINI GOLF HOLE

DESIGN CHALLENGE:
Build something out of pieces of junk
with at least one moving part

DESIGN SOLUTION:
Miniature golf hole with a spinning
windmill & various obstacles
 TABLE CLEANING DEVICE – SINGAPORE

DESIGN CHALLENGE: Develop a product to improve cleanliness in

Singaporean common areas while increasing sustainability and efficiency

PROBLEM: SOLUTION:
Stickiness and lack of A hand-held device with a food scraper and rag + a waste collector
cleanliness of hawker to clear hawker centre tables, then sanitize cleared table surfaces
centre tables while saving water and making the cleaning process easier

MY CONTRIBUTIONS: User Interviews & Observations || Concept

Global Team
Generation & Selection || Customer Needs & Metrics || Technical Report

MORINGA SEED OIL PRESS

DESIGN CHALLENGE: Develop a cheap,

effective way of extracting oil from moringa
seeds

MISSION: To provide an engineering

solution for third world rural communities
to take full advantage of the versatility of
moringa seeds

SOLUTION: Low-cost thread bar and

plunger mechanism. Seeds are inserted, the
handle is turned to press the seeds, and oil
exits the oil tap.

MY CONTRIBUTIONS: Prototype Design, Construction & Testing || Design Showcase

Concept Generation & Selection || Technical Report || Poster Best Poster Award
 ANALYZING ACCOMMODATION OF AIRPLANE SEATS

PROBLEM: Airplane seat size has decreased while

US anthropometry has increased

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for predicting

passenger accommodation in airplane seats on
US flights

SOLUTION: Simulation to conduct virtual fit

tests on a plane full of passengers and predict
accommodation under different conditions

VARIABLE OBSERVATION
Seat Dimensions ↓ Accommodation ↓
Load Factor ↑ Accommodation ↓
Allocation: Random Accommodation ↓
Bideltoid Breadth
Male Ratio ↑
Accommodation ↓
Hip Breadth
Female Ratio ↑
Accommodation ↓
 PROSTHETIC DYNAMIC ALIGNMENT SYSTEM

CHALLENGE: Develop a tool that makes the dynamic alignment of transtibial prostheses more
repeatable, quantifiable, and easy to execute for non-expert technicians

DESIGN: Wearable device with in-shoe foot pressure

sensing insert for analyzing sagittal & lateral pressure
distribution + video analysis of ankle-foot rollover shape

MY CONTRIBUTIONS: Prototype Design, Construction & Testing || Research & Benchmarking ||

Stakeholder Interviews || Video Processing || Technical Report || Presentation

Global Team

GLOBAL DESIGN THINKING WEEK SEPT. 2017 GLOBAL DESIGN THINKING WEEK MAR. 2018
BAKERY TRENDS APP RAILWAY STATION BOARD

CHALLENGE: CHALLENGE:
Redesign customer- Redesign the 3-S
supplier relationship experience (service,
for bakery businesses security, cleanliness) for
in a digital world stakeholders on future
railway stations
SOLUTION:
An application that SOLUTION:
highlights current food A self-driving board to
trends, informs bakers carry and guide elderly
about evolving or disabled people
customer wants/needs around railway stations

Global Team Global Team

 ELIZABETH L. MILLER
elm5388@gmail.com
(484) 624-1060
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Minor in Engineering Leadership Development, Certificate in Engineering Design
Schreyer Honors College, Pennsylvania State University
Graduation: May 2018
WORK EXPERIENCE
Process Management Intern, Tech SOX Governance June 2017 – August 2017
Capital One Management Rotation Program – McLean, VA
• Documented eight processes for assessing and tracking SOX (Sarbanes Oxley) applications migrating to Amazon Web
Services (AWS)
• Analyzed AWS change data to devise logic for identifying unauthorized changes made by developers
• Improved risk assessment to understand controls in SOX applications migrating from on premise to AWS
• Developed Python code for validating AWS change management algorithm
Product Management Intern, Energy Management May 2016 – August 2016
Siemens Engineering Leadership Development Program – Atlanta, GA
• Analyzed and updated technical literature for residential energy management products
• Gathered data about competitor products and established logic to create a cross reference tool for determining
Siemens’ equivalent offerings
• Developed website for surge protective devices to improve visual appeal and usability
• Designed product accessories guide to provide a consolidated tool for sales engineers
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
OPEN Design Lab Undergraduate Researcher, Design for Human Variability September 2016 – May 2018
Pennsylvania State University – University Park, PA
• Created a method of assessing seat accommodation for airplane passengers
• Explored the effects of seat width, load factor, and passenger demographics on airline passenger accommodation
Global Engineering Teams Program Participant September 2017 – March 2018
Amparo Prosthetics – Berlin, Germany
• Worked on six-month dynamic prosthetic alignment project with international team
Global Design Thinking Week Participant September 2017 – March 2018
Hasso Plattner Institute of Design – Berlin, Germany
• Utilized engineering design process with international teams to design application for bakeries and a self-driving board
for future railway stations
Summers by Design Program Participant May 2015 – June 2015
National University of Singapore – Singapore, Singapore
• Utilized engineering design process in collaboration with native Singaporean students to develop prototypes for
sustainably cleaning hawker centre tables
LEADERSHIP & INVOLVEMENT
Engineering Ambassador, PSU Engineering Ambassadors May 2016 – May 2018
• Served over 60 hours giving tours and presentations for the College of Engineering and conducting outreach to
promote STEM to middle and high school students
Small Group Coordinator, CHAARG January 2015 – May 2018
• Planned and facilitated weekly workouts to encourage other women to lead healthy lives
SHOTIME Mentor, Schreyer Honors College Freshman Orientation August 2015 – May 2018
PUBLICATIONS
• Miller, E. & Alley, M. (2017). The Assertion-Evidence Approach to Technical Presentations: Overcoming Resistance in
Professional Settings. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, OH.