2025 IEEE Susquehanna Section Capstone Award Ceremony
September 18th, 2025 IEEE Susquehanna Section Capstone Award Ceremony
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In 2021 the IEEE Susquehanna Section established the annual Capstone award to recognize the best undergraduate Capstone project in the Section’s geographic area. Local universities and colleges, who require their undergraduate students to participate in Capstone project activities as a requirement to receive a degree, submit in their judgement the best Capstone project which represents their school to the IEEE Susquehanna Section. The Section then judges each project and present the Section Capstone award to the winning contributors.
This event will honor the 2025 recipient of the IEEE Susquehanna Section Capstone award, Benjamin Westhafer from Penn State Harrisburg, and his project entitled "Universal Retro Controller Tester (URCT)."
Pizza will be provided, followed by the awards ceremony, and finally a technical presentation of the winning project by this year's recipient.
Parking for the event is free and is in either the parking lot south of the library or the parking lot north of Olmsted Building. See the below map of the PSU Harrisburg for an overview on where the building and parking is located. |
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Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
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Add Event to Calendar
- Penn State Harrisburg
- 777 West Harrisburg Pike
- Middletown, Pennsylvania
- United States 17507
- Building: Madlyn L Hanes Library (Building D)
- Room Number: Room 101, Morrison Gallery
- Contact Event Host
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Jack Burbank, IEEE Susquehanna Section
jack.burbank@ieee.org
- Starts 04 August 2025 04:00 AM UTC
- Ends 18 September 2025 11:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Benjamin Westhafer
Universal Retro Controller Tester (URCT)
Efficiently testing game console controllers is desirable for game store owners, game collectors, and repair technicians who are assessing controllers for purchase & sale, or to evaluate repairs. This project presents the design and implementation of a standalone device that allows users to test the following 9 retro gaming controllers: Atari 2600, Nintendo NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Genesis, Saturn, NEC TurboGraphx-16, PC Engine, and the SNK Neo Geo. Each controller has its own programmed test routine that is selectable through a user-friendly menu interface. Power is provided by an external 9-20 Volt DC or 12V AC RMS power supply. The supply is fed into a linear voltage regulator to create a 5V power rail. The device utilizes digital logic circuitry, hardware multiplexing, and an ATMega328 microcontroller to process the controller input data. An LCD Screen, 4 control buttons and a menu system are used to control the device. Test results for button presses are given by adjustable volume auditory tones, and a controller shaped LED array that respond instantly. The data output from the device allows the user to quickly evaluate the controller under test for proper electrical operation of all controller buttons.
Agenda
Dinner: 6:00 - 6:45 PM
Award Ceremony: 6:45 - 7:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 - 7:30 PM
Q&A: 7:30 - 8:00 PM
