Katie Kearns

Senior Mathematics and Creative technologies double major

Build a Bit


Build a bit is a way for young girls ages 10-12 to explore electronics. The building set comes with metal shapes, magnet connectors, and magnetic electronic bits that enable your build to come to life.
CRT 499: Senior Project Capstone
Spring 2021

3D Maze of Doom


This is a team-building activity that has the users guide a marble through a PVC pipe maze. The users will spin and twist the maze by holding the ropes attached. There are various holes and obstacles along the way before you get to the end.
CRT 300: Rapid & Improvisational Prototyping
Spring 2021

Giant Breadboard


This fully functional oversized breadboard with LED and battery was designed to help instructors when teaching a class about breadboards. The size allows for multiple students to see the connections from far away.
CRT 300: Rapid & Improvisational Prototyping
Spring 2021

Leafy box


This jewelry box was repurposed from an old cigar box. The purpose was to create a way to store necklaces when traveling so they don’t get tangled. This system uses a stretchy string to create tension, therefore, preventing the necklace from tangling.
CRT 300: Rapid & Improvisational Prototyping
Spring 2021

HackChella


This project is a clothing piece completely made of laser-cut acrylic. The purpose was to use contemporary material to create a unique look for a top.
CRT 300: Rapid & Improvisational Prototyping
Spring 2021

Mighty Mouse


Prototype of a computer mouse that is designed for those who enjoy interesting looking desk items. The process that was used to make this was a creating a mold of a foam prototype and then making a plastic version that was then decorated.
CRT 360: Advanced Prototyping
Spring 2020

Desktop Device


This project is an LCD screen that displays 5 different screens and uses WiFi enabled ESP32 to acquire data from the web in order to be displayed.
CRT 360: Advanced Prototyping
Spring 2020

PopArt PCB


This is a customized PCB with a tree silk screen design. There are 25 neopixels surface mounted on the board. The board uses an ATtiny 85 microcontroller with a button that switch’s the state of the lights each time the button is pushed.
CRT 360: Advanced Prototyping
Spring 2020

Game Pad


This is a customized PCB powered by a Teensy micro controller. The game is a side scroller game centered about a cat's adventure with 5 levels increasing in difficulty. Your score is the time it took you to complete all 5. Bases on my very own cat.
CRT 360: Advanced Prototyping
Spring 2020

Midi Mixer


This is a mixer that can be paired with Audio Tool. It can physically control those sounds with toggle buttons,single push buttons,state buttons and potentiometer. The enclosure is a laser cut wood that was designed specifically for a PCB that I designed.
CRT 360: Advanced Prototyping
Spring 2020

Germ Buster (check out Joey Pratt Alex Brice for their portions of the project)


This device is designed to help slow the spread of Covid-19 by alerting when someone is about to touch their face. It uses a Hall effect sensor and a magnet inside the elbow. My portion was to create the scoring visuals and a physical arm strap.
CRT 320: Advanced Robotics
Spring 2020

Teaching STEM


I was hired in 2019 as a Creative Technologies STEM instructor at a local foster care center. I developed a lesson each week and taught the kids how to use a variety of technologies, from 3D printers to laser cutters, to Arduinos.
ART 340 Graphic Design
Spring 2020

SilverWEAR


SilverWEAR is a business I developed that repurposed fine sterling silver flatware into high-quality jewelry. Rings were the most popular but I made anything from earring to money clips and tie clips.
CRT 101: Introduction to Prototyping
fall 2020

HackBerry Helper


This small hand held device is designed to signal when a student needs help in class, creating more relaxed self guided assignments. It has a second button to signal when a student has completed a task. Status's are displayed on a projected screen.
CRT 450: Professional Development
fall 2020

Architecture Modeling


I had the opportunity to abstract some of the first versions of the remodeling of the Our Lady Guadalupe shrine in Chicago. I interned with the architecture firm Wheeler Kearns Architects in the summer of 2018.
CRT 450: Professional Development
fall 2020

Path Monitor


The goal of this project was to capture an estimation of how many people walk across the cage lawn grass on a given day. We used a microwave sensor and a custom PCB. We also developed a website to display the data and a touch screen kiosk.
CRT 399: Intermediate Design Studio
Fall 2020

Path Monitor


The goal of this project was to capture an estimation of how many people walk across the cage lawn grass on a given day. We used a microwave sensor and a custom PCB. We also developed a website to display the data and a touch screen kiosk.
CRT 399: Intermediate Design Studio
Fall 2020

Perplexus 3D model


This is a 3D modeled version of the classic Perplexus 3D maze toy that allows a small marble to follow a track by rotating and twisting the toy.
CRT 420: 3D Printing and Design
Fall 2020

Window Ledge


This was a product I designed to double as a cat bench and a shelf for plants. There is a carpet mat for a cat and can easily be removed. The prototype is unique because it has pulleys and hinges so that it can fold up for storage while staying on the win
CRT 101: Introduction to Prototyping
Spring 2018