Virginia Tech Students Win First Place at QL Plus National Design Competition for Prosthetic Cooling System
At this year’s QL Plus National Design Competition, a team of biomedical engineering students from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering took home first place for their groundbreaking work addressing a critical challenge faced by lower-limb amputees: heat and moisture buildup in prosthetic sockets.
Led by student Reagan Green, the team developed a dual-function prosthetic socket and liner system that incorporates both active and passive cooling mechanisms. Their goal was to provide a safer, more comfortable solution for amputees—especially veterans—who often experience discomfort and skin issues due to overheating within their prosthetics.
The system, which was researched, designed, and prototyped over the course of two semesters, was built on a foundation of extensive user feedback, clinician input, and testing. One of the project’s standout features is its user-centered approach—balancing technical excellence with real-world application and empathy for the end user.
Reagan and her teammates—Aleksandra Grodzki, Scott Mahaney, Daniel Rhodes, and Alison Hunsberger—collaborated closely with mentors and faculty advisors Christopher Arena and Kristie Yelinek to ensure their solution was functional, safe, and grounded in the lived experience of prosthetic users.
“We were challenged to develop a prosthetic socket and/or liner system to mitigate heat and moisture buildup—a critical issue for many lower-limb amputees,” said Green. “I hope I can continue impactful work like this in my future career.”
QL Plus is proud to celebrate this outstanding achievement and to support student teams like Virginia Tech’s as they apply engineering talent to solve meaningful, real-world problems for injured veterans and first responders.
Partner universities represented at the competition included:
Virginia Commonwealth University
University of Dayton
University of Cincinnati
George Mason University
Florida Atlantic University
Rowan University
Congratulations to the entire Virginia Tech team on this well-earned victory!
