Fall 1998

Reaching for the Future

Students apply engineering skills to help two-year old boy

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology senior Jodi Barcus admits accepting an assignment to build a pediatric therapy device because it "looked interesting" and offered a challenge.

That's before she met two-year-old Dillon Mitchell.

Then it became personal.

Barcus joined fellow mechanical engineering students Jason Anderson and Brad Garrett in designing a mechanical device that help the former siamese twin complete such simple tasks as clapping his hands, playing a xylophone or identifying letters on a computer keyboard. "We wanted to do something to help him. He's such a great kid," says Garrett. "We fell in love with him in an instant." "Actually, we wanted to do more for him," stated Barcus. "However, we had to complete the assignment in 10 weeks (during winter quarter)."

Anderson added, "Unlike many other (senior mechanical engineering design) projects, where you're designing apart for a machine or looking to improve a mechanical system, we were building a device that helped a child have a better life."   Mitchell suffers from arthrogryposis, a congenital disease in which children are born with stiff joints and weak muscles. He was separated at the colon shortly after birth from his twin brother, Landon. Mitchell's weak arms restricted his ability to complete therapy exercises at Terre Haute's Union Hospital.

That's when pediatric therapist Martha Sullivan summoned assistance from Rose-Hulman students through the senior machine design course, organized by Professor Darrell Gibson.

"I knew what type of device Mitchell needed, but didn't have the engineering expertise to turn my ideas into reality," Sullivan said.

Mitchell received the device in mid-April. His response?

"He squealed with delight and his eyes got real big," says his mother, Gwenda, a nurse. "He liked it right away."

"He can't wait for us to put it on his arms, because he knows what it allows him to do," adds his father, Mark. "It's great to see him playing and not becoming frustrated because he can't move his arms."

The students were especially pleased they were able to apply their engineering knowledge to a real world application that has the possibility to improve the child's life.

"What's more important: Making something that goes Mach 1 or making something that helps Mitchell have a better life?," asked Anderson, who will work in Caterpillar Inc.'s service support engine division in Peoria, Ill., after graduating on May 30. Barcus added, "I learned that there's a lot more to engineering than what looks good on paper . . . It opened my eyes about what mechanical engineering can do." She will be an operations resource manager at Frito-Lay's plant in Frankfort, Ind., while Garrett has one more quarter to finish his undergraduate studies at Rose-Hulman. He will spend this summer at Delphi Electronics in Anderson, Ind.

Sullivan was thankful for the students' desire to complete the project and is looking forward to a long-term relationship with Rose-Hulman's senior design project program.   "This just shows what students, with a little engineering knowledge, can do for kids like Mitchell," the therapist said. "You have to see the potential, not the disability."