Ceremonial graduation for the next generation of engineers

212 graduates completed their Bachelor of Science, 18 a Master of Science. In their theses, they tackled challenging issues from industry and business and developed innovative and creative solutions, products, processes or systems, thus skillfully transferring the knowledge they learned during their studies into practice. This year, nine outstanding theses received special recognition for their achievements. In addition to the two Styner Prizes, the regional Siemens Excellence Award and the Ruag Innovation Award, the Creaholic "Most Creative Thesis Award" and the prize for the best thesis in the field of mechatronics and systems engineering (medical technology | robotics) were also presented this year. In addition, the winners of the Prix d'Excellence, which was awarded on September 18 in Biel, were honored in the three categories of innovation, concept and implementation. In addition, with the kind support of Ypsomed AG, the best degree in the field of medical informatics was honored. The award for the best degree in the field of electrical engineering and information technology was made possible by the commitment of the Swiss Engineering Association STV.

The Styner Prize

This year, the Styner Foundation once again honored two outstanding Master's theses that are characterized by a high level of innovation and have the potential for practical economic application.

Lucien Porta won the first prize of CHF 10,000 for his Master's thesis in partnership with the company e+a Elektromaschinen und Antriebe AG entitled "Analysis of Eddy Current Losses in End Winding Encapsulations of High Speed PMSM". The design of electric motors and generators for high speeds requires a comprehensive design supported by modern numerical calculation tools. The Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) graduate had already conducted research on this topic during his studies at BFH in Prof. Dr. Andrea Vezzini's laboratory for electric drives. With this thesis, he was therefore able to demonstrate and expand his skills by developing a simulation interface integrated into the company process and then analyzing some specific problems related to electromagnetism. The results include the implementation of a new analysis tool that can now be used by the company, as well as several concrete concepts to further optimize the energy efficiency and robustness of future high-performance electric drives.

The second prize, worth CHF 5,000, went to Yan Scholl for his work on plasma electrolytic polishing (PEP). The PEP method is an innovative polishing technique that uses environmentally friendly electrolytes to achieve better polishing results than conventional methods. In his thesis, Yan Scholl developed a concept for a new type of machine for plasma electrolytic polishing with a jet (PEP-Jet) and investigated the possible applications of the PEP-Jet process. His machine can be used for precise and efficient plasma-electrolytic polishing at the desired points. To develop a market-ready machine, Yan Scholl founded the spin-off "Swiss Plasma Polishing" with the support of Gebert Rüf Stiftung.

Regional Siemens Excellence Award

The Siemens Excellence Award honors outstanding theses in order to motivate young engineers to engage in scientific research on practical issues. Tobias Zaugg, Jonas Brülhart and Nicola Janis Stettler received this year's regional Siemens Excellence Award, worth CHF 4,000, for their thesis "Rock Monitoring 2024 - LoRa Gateway". In addition to the scientific achievement, the degree of innovation and social relevance as well as the practical feasibility of the work were evaluated. In their thesis, the three graduates of the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology dealt with the development of a rock monitoring system for the early detection of landslides and rockfalls in Switzerland. The system consists of sensor nodes, a solar-powered LoRa gateway for data transmission and a web application for real-time monitoring.

Their work has resulted in a flexible and versatile system that not only reliably collects and transmits data on potential threats, but also provides a user-friendly web interface to monitor this data in real time. This innovative solution creates a valuable basis for future applications based on LoRa technology and supports preventive measures in areas at risk.

Ruag Innovation Award

Security and self-sufficiency are issues that will occupy Switzerland for decades to come. The Ruag Innovation Award, endowed with CHF 1,000, is intended to encourage future university graduates to address these issues and rewards innovations in these areas. Patrice Begert and Lukas Roth, graduates of the Bachelor in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, impressed the jury with their thesis on the continuous monitoring of airport runways. The work addresses the limitations of traditional methods, which often only provide selective and time-consuming measurements.

In their work, they developed an advanced sensor network that continuously collects and transmits data. This network consists of multiple sensors and modular hardware optimized for low energy consumption and powered by solar panels. The system is robust and self-powered, enabling reliable data transmission and improved maintenance.

The successful prototype of the sensor system now enables the next step towards practical implementation on a runway. This will not only demonstrate the effectiveness of the system under real conditions, but will also significantly improve monitoring practices through more accurate assessments and timely maintenance.

Creaholic Most Creative Thesis Award

Innovation is key: the success of industries and society as a whole often depends on exceptional innovation. Although innovation is not a subject in its own right, it is central to all disciplines in the form of passion and curious, creative work. Creaholic, as a leading innovation factory with roots at the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Biel, is proud to honor the most creative thesis with this award to inspire the next generations of innovators to excel.

Creaholic AG honors the most creative bachelor thesis in the Mechatronics and Systems Engineering (Medical Technology | Robotics) degree program with the CHF 500 "Most Creative Thesis Award". Bastien Neukomm impressed the jury with the methodology and innovation of his Bachelor's thesis "Development of an Automatic Robot-Arm Path-Planner for Machine Tending". The thesis deals with the automation of machine operation by a collaborative robot (cobot) on a mobile platform, which is able to automatically adapt its movement path in dynamic working environments and avoid collisions thanks to a developed path-planning algorithm. The work was carried out together with industry partner Bachmann Engineering AG and the Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering at BFH.

Best thesis BSc Mechatronics and Systems Engineering (Medical Technology | Robotics)

The prize for the best thesis in mechatronics and systems engineering (medical technology | robotics) was again awarded this year with a Hamilton watch. The winner, Jürg Weyermann, impressed the jury with his thesis "Development of an autonomous gripper jaw changing system". He developed a mechanical interface that enables the autonomous exchange of gripper fingers and thus increases flexibility in automation applications. The functionality of the system was successfully tested in a demonstrator and shows great potential for use in industry. The relevance of the results for the industrial partner of the work, the BFH start-up Auto-Mate, should also be emphasized.

Prix d'Excellence

On 18 September 2024, the Prix d'Excellence was awarded for the eleventh time by Spitalzentrum Biel to six graduates of the BFH Bachelor's degree course in Medical Informatics. The best theses in the categories of innovation, concept and implementation were awarded a total prize of CHF 3,000. The award-winning Bachelor's theses stand out for their practical relevance and high relevance to the healthcare sector.

The 2024 award winners were honored for their outstanding achievements at a festive awards ceremony at BFH in Biel. Dominik Aeschbacher and Jessica Meisner were honored in the best innovation category. The prize for the best concept went to Aline Andres and Laura Flück; Michael Nguyen and Pascal Leuthold were honored for the best implementation.

At the graduation ceremony, the best degrees at Bachelor's and Master's level as well as the best degree across all degree programs at the department were also honored. These are listed below. BFH Engineering and Information Technology congratulates the graduates on their outstanding achievements.

Best degrees 2024: Bachelor of Science

Automotive and vehicle technology:

Bruno Fournier, Baar

Electrical engineering and information technology:

Michael Bühler, Münsingen

Informatics:

Simon Reto Gfeller, Berne

Mechanical engineering:

Lukas von Atzigen, Burgdorf

Medical Informatics:

Jorma Cédric Steiner, Hundwil

Mechatronics and systems engineering (medical technology | robotics):

Daniel Louis Beck, Moutier

Industrial Engineering:

Tom Oehler, Unterseen

Best degree 2024: Master of Science in Engineering

Yannis Valentin Schmutz, Berne

Overall best degree in 2024 at the Department of Engineering and Information Technology

Yannis Valentin Schmutz and Michael Bühler

BFH Engineering and Information Technology congratulates all graduates and prize winners and would like to thank the event and prize sponsors for their highly appreciated commitment: Creaholic AG, Electrosuisse, Ruag AG, Siemens Schweiz AG, Styner-Stiftung, Verband Swiss Engineering STV, Ypsomed AG, Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG, Zühlke Engineering AG.

Source: www.bfh.ch