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College of Engineering
Capstone

We’re looking for partners to help us identify and launch about 25 engineering projects that will directly benefit the world.

Each project will be completed by a team of about 5-10 Capstone students.

Whether the benefit is to an entire community or a single individual, we want to hear about opportunities for our dedicated, creative engineering students to develop solutions that will make a lasting impact.

SUBMIT A HUMANITARIAN PROJECT IDEA
CO-SPONSOR OR SPONSOR A PROJECT
SUBMIT AN IDEA AND CO-SPONSOR A PROJECT
ASK A QUESTION

HOW YOU CAN HELP

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HELP US IDENTIFY PROJECTS

Do you know of a need that could be addressed by a team of talented engineering students? We want to hear from you. There is no requirement to provide project sponsorship for a project you help us identify.

Your idea could become the foundation of a life-changing project. Maybe it's a software product that helps someone manage a physical condition. Perhaps it's an open-source cybersecurity solution that will protect thousands. Or a low-cost platform that provides educational content to a community in Africa (we've done this!). Anything engineering students can do is a possibility.

We have Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Chemical, Civil and Construction, and Manufacturing Engineering and Cybersecurity students all waiting to be put to work for the benefit of the world.
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CO-SPONSOR A PROJECT

Every project has the power to lift someone in need, from a child walking with a new prosthetic to a community building safe classrooms with their own soil. But these life-changing efforts can’t happen without generous partners like you.

You can co-sponsor a Capstone project for as little as $1,000. Sponsors will be gratefully recognized in promotional materials and at public events, unless anonymity is preferred. You are not required to be involved with the execution of the project, but the teams will keep you updated on the progress of the project, as desired.

If you are part of a company or organization that might be interested in sponsoring a project, we would love to hear from you.

Each project costs us around $10,000 to complete.
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DO BOTH

If you have a meaningful project idea and want to help fund it, you can play a powerful role in making it a reality.

By sponsoring your own submitted project, you’ll receive regular updates from the student team as the project progresses, and you're welcome to offer input or guidance throughout the process. Your level of involvement is entirely up to you; there’s no obligation to meet with the team unless you choose to.

This is your chance to combine inspiration with action—for the benefit of the world.
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I WANT TO HELP
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When we serve others we serve God...He expects us to use our gifts, talents, and abilities to bless the lives of Heavenly Fathers children. We are to use the gifts we’ve been given: time, talents, and blessings to serve Heavenly Fathers children, especially the most vulnerable and needy.
Elder Dale G. Renlund
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Key Deadlines

7/25/25
Project Idea Submissions
8/22/25
Sponsor Commitments

PROGRESS TOWARD OUR GOALS

21 of 25
Projects Identified
14 of 25
PROJECTS FUNDED
10
Project Co-Sponsors

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

We will update this list as we learn of additional project opportunities. These are projects we have identified as projects that can be done by an engineering Capstone team. We will continue to seek sponsors through August 2025 so that students can participate on as many of these projects as possible.
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Clean Water for Odisha India

In partnership with Gram Vikas, a nonprofit organization with over 45 years of experience in rural development in Odisha, India, this humanitarian Capstone project will focus on providing clean water to underserved villages. Many of these communities face significant challenges from nitrate and bacterial contamination in their drinking water. Our student team will work with local leaders and Gram Vikas experts to develop sustainable, community-operated water treatment solutions that address these urgent health and environmental concerns.
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Empowering Mobility-Challenged Farmers

Empower mobility-challenged farmers with a student-engineered, motorized harvest cart that glides between crop rows on wide, soil-friendly wheels, restoring independent work and income to those who can no longer walk. By sponsoring this project, you’ll fund the design, prototyping, and field deployment of an affordable, open-source solution that began with one rural Utah family’s need but is scalable to smallholder communities worldwide—turning a single act of compassion into a harvest of hope.
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Smart Relief for Ukraine

We are exploring a Capstone project in partnership with Center for Humanitarian Technology (CFHT) to support their Humanitarian Assistance and Response Platform (HARP), with a specific focus on aiding operations in Ukraine. A student team will collaborate closely with CFHT to develop a key software or systems component that enhances the platform’s ability to deliver rapid, coordinated aid in the region.
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Building with the Earth

In partnership with Africompassion, students will design a low-cost, interlocking earth block machine that allows local families and schools to build safe, durable structures using the soil beneath their feet.
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Restoring Mobility in Gaza and Beyond

Working alongside Amparo Prosthetics, projects will focus on creating modular pediatric prosthetics and field tools that allow for compassionate care in clinics with limited resources. (Three unique projects)
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RescueRat

APOPO’s RescueRat program turns friendly African giant pouched rats into lifesaving first responders. This project builds an ultra-wideband + IMU tracking system that pinpoints each rat within 0.5 m beneath collapsed buildings, streaming a live map of likely survivor locations when GPS is useless. By fusing low-power electronics, advanced sensor fusion, and rugged packaging, the student team will deliver an affordable field kit that disaster crews can deploy worldwide to speed up search-and-rescue operations.
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Water for the Forgotten: Clean Water Access for the Navajo Nation

Roughly 30% of households on the Navajo Nation lack access to running water. In collaboration with tribal leaders, NGOs, and engineering mentors, this BYU Capstone project aims to design and pilot a modular, solar-powered water purification and delivery system. The focus will be on isolated households or clusters without infrastructure access, targeting uranium- and arsenic-contaminated groundwater, a major local health issue.
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Modular Tractor for Sustainable Farming in Côte d’Ivoire and Beyond

This project aims to design a low-cost, modular tractor that can be assembled in Côte d’Ivoire using recycled or locally sourced materials. By equipping smallholder farmers with affordable mechanization, the initiative empowers rural communities to increase yields, reduce labor strain, and improve livelihoods. Sponsors will help bring accessible, scalable innovation to the heart of West African agriculture, including Côte d’Ivoire and five other African countries. Elevate will ensure this project is able to move forward and help as many people as possible.
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Real-time Language Translation for Historic Site Tours

Real-time language translation is needed at places like church historic sites to enable visitors to fully engage with the tours and sites. The project will not only enhance the experience of non-English-speaking visitors but also empower tour guides to serve more effectively across language barriers without needing fluency in multiple languages.
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Low-cost, Multi-link Satellite Terminal

The Africa Central Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requires remote internet for hundreds of thousands of remote members to increase self-reliance through education (e.g. Gospel Literacy, Succeed in School, BYU Pathway Worldwide, S.T.E.M. and more) and increase remote jobs (e.g. and Bloom). A Capstone team will design and develop routing software, prototype a dual-link village terminal, and test/evaluate the terminal with two spaced-based internet solutions in remote villages in Africa, providing cost-efficient, reliable internet connectivity across remote areas.
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Addressing Student Housing Insecurity

Help bring dignity and comfort to students facing housing insecurity. This project will support a Capstone team in designing an ultra-efficient shower system for use in tiny homes. The goal is to provide a hygienic, space-conscious solution that fits the needs of students living in transitional or low-cost housing.
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Lightening the Load

Students will develop a powered assistive device that attaches to wheelchairs, making it easier for caregivers to help those with mobility challenges.
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Human Powered Machine for Breaking Down Concrete Debris

In poorer areas of the world after either natural disasters or war, it is hard to clean up the damaged concrete and rebuild. The inability to move debris and rebuild has creates horrible consequences. One solution is to create a simple, human-powered machine for breaking down concrete debris for recycling into new brick, road base or for reuse in other ways.
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Havasupai Trash Lift Project

A BYU Capstone team will design a lifting device to help the Havasupai community manage trash more safely and efficiently. By making it easier to collect and remove heavy waste sacks, this project will reduce health risks for workers, protect the village from scattered trash and wildlife intrusion, and improve the overall cleanliness and dignity of the living environment. This effort directly supports the Tribe’s vision for a healthier, more sustainable future.
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Energy Kites

This project explores the the use of robotic kites to harness renewable energy from high-altitude winds. The goal of this project is to develop a small-scale prototype that charges a battery pack sufficient to power a single small household contributing to sustainable energy solutions in off-grid or mobile applications. This technology has strong potential for humanitarian applications, particularly in off-grid or disaster-affected regions where access to reliable electricity is limited.


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Inexpensive Bush-Capable Wheelchair

In many less developed places in the world, particularly in Africa, there is a need to help children with mobility limitations have a wheelchair than is usable and rugged enough to handle rough terrain in the bush. The wheelchair would be able to handle rough, rocky, dirt conditions and made from materials that can be available in these areas so they can be maintained and repaired easily and cost effectively.
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Portable Water Purifier

A BYU Capstone team would develop a compact, low-cost water purification device to help provide safe drinking water to underserved communities around the world. The system would use UV LED technology to sanitize thousands of gallons of water daily, making a life-saving difference in clinics, homes, and villages.
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Low-Cost Airway Simulator for Life-Saving Training

To address the global shortage of trained providers in airway foreign body removal, a BYU Capstone team is designing an affordable, anatomically accurate simulator that can be built using locally available materials in low- and middle-income countries. This hands-on project empowers students to apply mechanical design and medical innovation skills to create a scalable training tool that could help save the lives of children worldwide by improving access to critical surgical skills.
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ATL Meetinghouse Wall System Design – Africa Central Area

To support the rapid growth of the Church in the Africa Central Area, this project seeks to improve the construction process for modular meetinghouses known as ATL (Alternate to Lease) buildings. A Capstone team will identify and evaluate wall system materials that are faster to build, more affordable, and better suited to rural conditions. The team will conduct on-site research in Africa, test local materials, and develop a decision-making tool to help select the best wall system for each location—ultimately enabling more worship spaces to be built more quickly and sustainably.
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SCROLL THROUGH THE VIDEOS BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PAST CAPSTONE PROJECTS COMPLETED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE WORLD

Village Drill: Clean Water to 23 Countries

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Clean Water for Pakistan

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Protecting People and Polar Bears

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Cleaner Air in Mongolia

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Conserving Molokai's Coral Reefs

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Adapted Bike Pedal

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Lightweight, Inexpensive Motorized Wheelchair

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Improving International Eye Care

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QUESTIONS?