MSU mechanical engineering seniors, FEMA partner to aid in tornado recovery efforts
Contact: Camille Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.—When the 2025 Tylertown tornado struck, it left more than damaged homes in its wake. For many residents with mobility challenges, it also threatened an essential aspect: their independence.
This academic year, seniors in Mississippi State University’s Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering capstone design course stepped in to help mitigate these issues. Partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, students have developed customized accessibility ramp designs for residents affected by the storm.
“The capstone design course is meant to bring together everything our mechanical engineering students learn at Mississippi State,” said instructor Aidan Duncan. “What makes it unique is that every project is developed with a real partner. Companies and organizations bring us real challenges, and our students work with professional engineers to develop practical solutions. In the case of the FEMA project supporting recovery in Tylertown, students were able to apply their technical training to something that directly serves a community in need.”
As part of the yearlong effort, students have designed detailed CAD files for ramps that FEMA contractors could construct in Tylertown and in other communities impacted by 2025 weather, which included more than 100 tornadoes across the Midwest and Southeast. The work required students to interpret federal and local regulations, account for site-specific constraints and produce a fully engineered, code-compliant plan.
Duncan said designing the ramps has not been a one-size-fits-all process. While federal guidelines establish baseline requirements for slope, width, landings and safety features, local policies may impose additional standards depending on terrain, building codes and community considerations. Each ramp design requires careful evaluation of elevation changes, property layout and usability for residents with differing mobility needs, and has allowed for a set of adaptable, code-compliant designs that FEMA can deploy in disaster recovery zones.
The project’s impact is already extending beyond the state. Duncan said FEMA also plans to bring the ramp design framework developed by his students to Kentucky, where fellow engineering students will use the plans as a foundation for similar recovery efforts.
“The work our students have completed in Mississippi has helped establish a framework for how these ramp projects can be developed with FEMA,” he said. “Now, we’re applying that same process, working with the Kentucky Emergency Management Agency and FEMA teams there. Students will travel to the sites, gather measurements, meet with the residents, and then return to develop the ramp designs. The goal is to replicate and expand the model that started here.”
Mirroring the skills necessary for professional engineering practice, students have experienced client communication, iterative problem-solving, deadline management and adherence to regulatory standards.
“This is what we mean when we say we give our students hands-on, real-world experience,” Duncan said. “Our students are learning how engineering serves communities, and they are seeing how thoughtful design can directly improve the quality of life.”
The project is one of several industry-sponsored efforts included in the senior mechanical engineering capstone course each semester.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.