Honda helps steer students on path to success ahead of graduation

From curbing distracted driving to smarter traffic control using artificial intelligence, students at The Ohio State University have ample opportunities to engineer real-world solutions thanks to a thriving partnership with Honda.

Through the Honda-Ohio State Partnership, more than 140 students from the College of Engineering benefited from working on a Honda-sponsored capstone project this academic year. As part of the college’s focus on experiential learning, all undergraduate engineering students are required to spend one to two semesters tackling a real-world problem before graduation. An unwavering supporter of providing students with hands-on experience, Honda sponsored a record-breaking 35 projects this year, setting a special milestone ahead of the partnership’s 25-year anniversary in October 2025.

“At Honda, we believe in the importance of nurturing the next generation of engineers through providing students with real-world problem-solving opportunities,” said Honda-Ohio State Partnership Co-director Meredith Reffey. “By sponsoring capstone projects year after year, we see that these students are growing their engineering knowledge and are well prepared to enter engineering roles, like those at Honda. As we approach the 25-year anniversary of our unique partnership, we look forward to continuing this impactful activity and fostering the growth of future leaders.

Putting the brakes on distracted driving

Drivers deal with all sorts of distractions while operating their vehicle, particularly from their phones. But what if a device could help steer your attention back to the road ahead of you? This is the focus of the project from the Honda R&D: Driving Away Distracted Driving capstone team.

“Our capstone team aimed to understand the biggest distracters to drivers and create a solution that would help them keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel to enable a safer driving environment,” said computer science and engineering major Rhea Mehta, who is in the Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) Program. Her teammates include fellow IBE students Pranav Chati (computer science and engineering), Manny Mehta (economics), Arpita Patel (finance) and Austin Towle (economics).

The team was able to work on its project and test their heads-up display prototype with volunteer drivers at Ohio State’s Driving Simulation Laboratory on West Campus. The experience of working with an industry partner like Honda using advanced technologies has been invaluable, said Rhea.

“The capstone project has given me a holistic understanding of what it is like to walk through an entire product life cycle,” she said. “From identifying user needs to creating a prototype to finally being able to test it and draw from those results, I have learned so much about what it's like to think like a consultant, entrepreneur and engineer.”

In addition to gaining experience working on a real-world problem, the capstone program also helps students hone vital soft skills such as project management and communication.

“Working with non-engineers taught me to be able to speak their language,” said Rhea. “If I am explaining a technical concept to them, I need to be able to explain it in a way that makes sense to them.”

Students help Honda Aircraft project soar

Recently the Honda-Ohio State Partnership has expanded beyond Honda’s automotive business and the state of Ohio with the inclusion of multiple capstone projects from Honda Aircraft Company, located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Choosing one of their sponsored capstone projects was a no-brainer for aerospace engineering major Spencer Cannon, who recently completed a summer internship with the company.

Federal Aviation Administration aircraft certification requires determining the amount of unusable fuel in the fuel tanks during flight. Cannon’s team was tasked with making both a fluid simulation and a functioning scale tank with the hopes to have the simulation validate the experimental results. His teammates include aerospace engineering students Colby Swager, Cesar Aoun, Tao Dodeja, Gene Harada, and Anns Rajarethinam.

Students appreciate the opportunity to put classroom learning into action with the hands-on experience provided by Honda and the capstone program.

“Through this project, we had to construct and operate our test rig which helped me develop my manufacturing techniques and expertise,” noted Cannon. “This will be important when it comes to industry as having knowledge of all areas in a field makes it easier to diagnose problems and innovate solutions.”

Advancing flight sustainability

Another capstone team that’s helping Honda’s aircraft work move forward is “Development of Fatigue Testing Matrix for Aircraft Leading Edge Materials.”

Advised by Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Assistant Professor of Practice Russell Marzette, the project enhances the sustainability of the newest HondaJet by identifying which materials best withstand loading conditions when in flight. Team members include mechanical engineering students Tarek Chowdhury, David Lampman, Caden Wilson and Haiyang Zheng.

Through fatigue testing and analysis, students compared the performance of three potential materials to determine which offers the best combination of strength and durability. Because one of the materials had not been fully tested, the team designed and conducted experiments to generate the data to fill that gap. Their work will help guide informed, data-driven decisions in the material selection process.

“Our students are learning about engineering design and the real-world fundamental engineering science that drives innovation,” said Marzette. “Working on a project like this allows them to connect classroom theory with an application directly impacting an industry leader. Our collaboration with a company like Honda gives them insight into real engineering challenges, industry standards and professional expectations—this is high-impact experiential learning.”

Other Honda-sponsored projects include thermal runaway detection in Lithium-ion batteries and a test fixture for aircraft landing gear. These projects are among the nearly 200 innovations on display during the 18th Annual Engineering Design Showcase on April 22. Open to the public, projects will be on display throughout several engineering buildings on campus—Baker Systems, Fontana Laboratory and Scott Laboratory.