A Rescue Dog Inspires OU Engineering Students

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NORMAN, OKLA. – A dog named Duck may someday get a new prosthetic leg thanks to engineering freshmen at the University of Oklahoma.

Over four weeks this summer, teams of incoming engineering students designed mobility devices for Duck, a young rescue dog born without a front leg. Students in OU’s Engineering Summer Bridge program designed and prototyped mobility devices tailored to Duck’s needs, using CAD software, electronics and 3D printing while applying the engineering design process to a real engineering problem.

Duck was rescued after she and a sibling were found abandoned along a roadside and taken to Free to Live Animal Sanctuary near Guthrie. Although she gets around well on three legs, she gets tired on long walks, staff said. They approached OU with a challenge: Could engineering students design a device to help Duck?

The project was not just about helping Duck, though, said Rebecca Scott, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering and faculty project lead. “It is about teaching students that there is not one perfect answer and every design decision involves tradeoffs between technical performance, usability and safety.”

Working in teams of four, students researched canine anatomy, mobility devices and Duck’s specific needs before brainstorming and narrowing their ideas into a final concept. They then built prototypes, tested their designs and iterated on them throughout the program. The prototypes developed during the program provided a strong foundation for a mobility device for Duck, and plans are in place to continue refining the most promising designs after the program concluded.

Beyond the design challenge, students built technical and professional skills by using CAD software, designing electronic circuits, incorporating 3D-printed components, collaborating in teams and presenting their work to an audience.

Engineering Summer Bridge is the Gallogly College of Engineering’s and Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy’s transition program for incoming students. Participants lived on campus, completed a for-credit mathematics course, connected with faculty and classmates and tackled hands-on engineering challenges before beginning their first semester.

For the 2026 program, Engineering Summer Bridge drew 160 applications, the largest pool in its history. The 40 students selected represented 29 cities and towns, with 30% identifying as first-generation college students. Of the 31 Oklahoma residents in the cohort, 42% received Oklahoma’s Promise, an income-qualified state scholarship that covers college tuition.

“Being part of Engineering Summer Bridge has opened my eyes,” said Elias Sutterfield, an incoming OU engineering student from Ardmore, Oklahoma. “Before, I thought I lacked a reason. Being here reminded me that I do have a want, a why.”

“We want students to leave with a broader definition of engineering than the one they came in with,” said Brandon Abbott, the program’s director. “Technical skill is the foundation, but engineering is a service discipline. The problems worth solving belong to people and students who understand that early become better engineers for it.”

A 2025 study in the Journal of Engineering Education, led by OU science education professor Jacob Pleasants, Ph.D., followed 24 Engineering Summer Bridge participants and found that those who arrived with the least prior exposure to engineering were the most likely to come away describing it in both social and technical terms.

Corporate partners and donors played a role in the program. Whether through mentorship, industry site visits, guest speaking, project support or sponsorship, there were many ways to connect with the emerging engineers. The 2026 program partners included ExxonMobil, Dolese, Williams, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Chevron, ONEOK and AT&T.

Applications for the 2027 Engineering Summer Bridge program open Dec. 1, 2026. To learn more, visit the program’s webpage or email brandonabbott@ou.edu.