Innovate to Grow, or I2G as it’s known on campus, is a twice-a-year showcase for UC Merced engineering and computer science students demonstrating projects they have been developing.
Students compete on teams that are judged by experts from around California. People can see the fall showcase Dec. 19, when teams display the results of their work.
These capstone projects are the culmination of students’ undergraduate careers, but the impacts are far more than academic: Teams work together to tackle real-world problems brought to them by clients.
Solutions from the experiential learning program have been adopted by companies. Some have grown into businesses of their own.
There are projects are aimed at making industrial processes more effective. Others produce entirely new products or services. Sponsoring community partners, many of which are already doing cutting-edge work in their fields, include The Morningstar Co., Hilmar Cheese, the Turlock Irrigation District and Gallo Winery, among many others. Numerous smaller companies also take part.
Two of the challenges students tackled this year are reducing dust during almond harvesting and making almond drying more cost effective. These projects were recently featured in a news report on ABC30.
The teams developed a stockpile drying system that uses minimal electricity, and hopper trailer modifications to easily discharge wet almond loads.
“The systems we developed render end-to-end, off-ground harvesting and drying feasible and cost-effective, rather than letting the almonds fall to the ground to dry, and then stirring up huge amounts of dust," UC Merced Director of Innovation Stefano Foresti said.
The solution the teams developed to dry the almonds are based on ambient air aeration, rather than using propane or electric heat, which are too expensive.
Representatives from community partner Arnold Farms said the ideas show great potential and they plan to test the processes on a larger scale next harvest.
Other I2G projects this year are aimed at challenges such as estimating crop yields using robotic images, connecting students with learning and internship opportunities through a “digital AI backpack” and using machine vision to manage wine inventory.
The Fall 2024 I2G competition will be held Dec. 19 at the Joseph E. Gallo Recreation & Wellness Center gym. The exposition will begin at 10 a.m., with presentations starting at 1 p.m. and awards and reception at 4:45. Unlike in previous years, the presentations will not be available via Zoom. More information is available at the I2G website.
