People :: ECE 445 - Senior Design Laboratory

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TA Office Hours

Held weekly in the senior design lab (ECEB 2070/2072). NOTE:

There are no office hours during the weeks of board reviews or final demos.

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Spring 2026 Instructors

Name Area
Prof. Arne Fliflet (Instructor)
3056
afliflet@illinois.edu		 microwave generation and applications
Prof. Viktor Gruev (Instructor)

vgruev@illinois.edu
Prof. Rakesh Kumar (Instructor)

rakeshk@illinois.edu
Prof. Michael Oelze (Instructor)
ECEB 2056
oelze@illinois.edu		 Biomedical Imaging, Acoustics, Nondestructive Testing
Prof. Cunjiang Yu (Instructor)

cunjiang@illinois.edu
Haocheng Bill Yang (TA)

hy38@illinois.edu
Gayatri Chandran (TA)

gpc4@illinois.edu		 Super-resolution imaging, force microscopy, nanoscale light-matter interactions
Shengkun Cui (TA)

scui8@illinois.edu
Shiyuan Duan (TA)

sduan9@illinois.edu
Lukas Dumasius (TA)

lukasd2@illinois.edu
Jason Jung (TA)

jasondj2@illinois.edu		 Imaging Systems, Circuit design, Signal Processing, Computer Vision
Shengyan Liu (TA)

sl90@illinois.edu
Wesley Pang (TA)

qpang2@illinois.edu
Rishik Sathua (TA)

rsathua2@illinois.edu
Wenjing Song (TA)

ws33@illinois.edu
Eric Tang (TA)

leweit2@illinois.edu		 IC, EM, proficient with PCB and soldering
Weiman Yan (TA)

weimany2@illinois.edu
Jason Zhang (TA)

zekaiz2@illinois.edu		 AR, Robot and human interactions
Zhuoer Zhang (TA)

zhuoer3@illinois.edu
Frey Zhao (TA)

yifeiz10@illinois.edu

Other Important People

https://ece.illinois.edu/about/directory/staff

Automatic Water Bottle Filler

Priyank Jain, Jakub Migus, Abby Mohan

Automatic Water Bottle Filler

Featured Project

# Automatic Water Bottle Filler

Team Members:

- Priyank Jain (priyank3)

- Abby Mohan (ammohan2)

- Jakub Migus (jmigus2)

# Problem

In normal liquid dispensing and water bottle filling systems, the process requires the user’s attention and constant manual activation of the device. This may require the holding of a button, the action of pushing the bottle against a sensor for a specific amount of time, or holding the bottle in front of a sensor until it is full. If the user gets distracted or is unable to provide that attention (blindness or lack of motor function), liquid may spill or the bottle may not be filled enough.

# Solution

Our goal with this project is to make an automatic water bottle filling station. Our device senses when a water bottle is placed underneath it, begins filling the bottle with water once a start button is pressed, determines when the bottle is full and shuts off automatically. After placing the bottle on a platform and pressing a button, the user can walk away knowing their bottle will be filled accurately.

# Solution Components

## Sensing Component

This subsystem utilizes multiple sensors including an ultrasonic sensor to measure the water level and a light-based sensor to determine the height of the bottle.

## Control

This subsystem connects the sensors to the water system. It receives data from the sensors, compares the water level height to the height of the water bottle, then decides to either begin, continue, or stop dispensing water.

## Display/Interface System

An LCD display will show instructions for the user and will display simple messages. A few push buttons will be included for manual filling and selection of desired amount of liquid (ex. Half bottle, full bottle)

## Water System

This subsystem utilizes a water tank attached to a pump and tubing, which transport water to the dispenser.

# Criterion for Success

The device…

- detects a water bottle and accurately measures the height

- monitors the water level in the bottle

- stops filling when a desired water level is reached

If there is no bottle/ the bottle is removed, the device stops filling water.

Project Videos