STEM students at YSU showcase projects, including a Da Vinci

STEM students at YSU showcase projects, including a Da Vinci

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Leonardo Da Vinci may have had a penchant for writing backward, but Samantha Rovnak is definitely planning to move forward.

Rovnak, a Youngstown State University junior and mechanical-engineering major, was one of 12 students who assembled a 20-foot-long concrete canoe that was an outdoor attraction during YSU’s annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics showcase event Sunday at Moser Hall.

The three-hour gathering gave people a first-hand look at students’ work as well as their capstone and undergraduate research projects that relied heavily on hypotheses, research and conclusions.

An estimated 30 projects, many of which the students worked on last semester, were displayed, noted Dr. Martin Abraham, dean of the College of STEM.

The canoe, nicknamed “Leonardo Da Vinci,” featured sketches team members made that depicted those of the famous artist, including the Mona Lisa. Another unusual feature were two Da Vinci quotes on the boat’s underbelly written backward but easily readable with the help of two mirrors under the vessel.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.