Steeped in theory and fundamentals throughout their four years at the Whiting School, students from all departments get to step out as seniors and, working in teams, apply what they’ve learned through a senior design project. The projects they tackle, proposed by industry experts, clinical faculty at Hopkins Hospital, and medical device companies, truly test their engineering mettle, forcing them to communicate clearly with nontechnical colleagues and customers to create solutions that not only work but are economically viable.

The fruits of their labors have been impressive. Over the past three years alone, senior design projects have resulted in at least 16 provisional patents, three full patent applications, four licensing agreements, and two start-up companies. Herewith, meet four design teams from the Class of 2008, whose creative solutions—for everything from cleaner streams to better pain relief—show particular promise.