UK Libraries recognizes PRD student for excellence in undergraduate scholarship

University of Kentucky Libraries recognized rising product design and psychology senior Gabriel Portugal as one of the two recipients of the 2025 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship. The annual prize celebrates exceptional and original scholarship in a traditional paper and a media or digital project, and is awarded to students whose research makes substantive and creative use of UK Libraries’ collections, services and resources.

Portugal, a product design and psychology dual degree student, was awarded for his digital methodologies project, “Research and Development of a Hands-Free Jar Opener for Consumers with Limited Arm Strength.”

After observing his mother having difficulty opening stiff lids, Portugal was inspired to survey the existing market in appliances that help consumers to open jars. Finding few products that offered easy, automatic, and hands-free assistance, Portugal set out to design his own.

Portugal’s project included not only a 3D-printed prototype of the product but also an extensive report on the research and design process. Portugal began his research by conducting an “Internet ethnography,” reading reviews of existing projects and consulting dozens of user-produced videos.

“It was amazing what I was able to find,” Portugal said. “Here would be a video of someone who only had one arm, or who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, explaining their process for navigating difficulties like these. I found so many insights from people who were working their way through these everyday tasks and uploading their methods to help others with disabilities.”

After synthesizing insights from his ethnography, Portugal then conducted extensive research on existing appliances, anticipated market trends, and common specifications for jars. Next, Portugal put pen to paper.

“In the design phase I turned to drawing, getting out a huge array of ideas,” Portugal said.

He also spoke with peers in the product design department.

“One of my classmates cracked the most difficult problem: the ‘problem of the twist.’ He told me that oil filters deal with a similar challenge, so I picked up an oil filter and discovered that by adapting its mechanisms I could solve the biggest hurdle I’d been facing.”

Beginning with a cardboard prototype, then a foam prototype, Portugal determined the sizes of the appliance’s parts and how they would interact with each other.

“Then it was time to get the design into the SolidWorks design program, refining it further with each iteration,” he said.

After several months of research and design, at last a final prototype was 3D printed. The results have been promising so far: the prototype was displayed at the Lewis Honors College; Portugal was accepted to give an oral presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh; and the Dean’s Award has rounded out the project’s accolades.

Portugal was mentored throughout the process by Kristi Bartlett, Ph.D., associate professor of product design, and Mitzi Vernon, professor of product design. Portugal began work on his project as a submission to the International Housewares Association’s annual Student Design Competition.

UK Libraries resources were instrumental to Portugal throughout his research, design and project publication process.

“Dr. Vernon brought Carla Cantagallo (Liaison to the College of Design) to speak to our class, and she gave us so many insights into design-specific resources,” he said.

Among these were Mintel Academic, a database with market and consumer reports, forecasts and product information, and Academic Search Complete; numerous books on materials and manufacturing processes; and Adobe Suite software that allowed him to publish his design and research report.

“Design Research Methods is a critical area of focus for all product design students. That array of methods is a broad spectrum that includes and highlights library databases and librarians themselves, as we did this academic year,” Vernon said. “We are delighted that Gabriel understood that value and took full advantage of the library in his project. Gabriel successfully provides a model for other students in how to align more than one form of research within a complex design problem. As a program we are delighted to have a clear umbilical with the library through our students and student projects.”

“We are delighted that Gabriel has won this award. Gabriel’s use of library resources went above and beyond for a product design project,” Bartlett said. “Throughout the project, he frequently visited the library to check out books and consulted with the Design Librarian, Carla Cantagallo, for more information about design resources and online library pathways. We are excited to have our product design students taking full advantage of the valuable resources that UK offers.”

“I would love to partner with other students in business and marketing, and connect with students who are conducting engineering capstones next year,” Portugal said. “It would be amazing to release a product that from start to finish had been designed, engineered and marketed by students at the University of Kentucky.”

Although he aims to eventually secure a patent for the product, Portugal says that what he really wants to do is to help people.

“Seeing my mom struggling with jars was really eye-opening to me: how do people with much more significant limitations navigate these kinds of tasks that many of us take for granted?”

Portugal will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology this May and a Bachelor of Science in product design in May 2026. He hopes to pursue a career that combines insights from each.

The other awardee is Avery Schanbacher, a senior music and English double major. Learn more about Schanbacher's project here. As Dean’s Award recipients, Portugal and Schanbacher each will receive a $1,000 cash award, and their work will be published through UKnowledge, UK Libraries’ open access digital collection of scholarship created by University of Kentucky faculty, staff, students, departments, research centers and administration.

Portugal and Schanbacher were honored at the annual Spring Celebration on May 15 alongside this year’s recipients of the Medallion for Intellectual Achievement, the Paul A. Willis Award for Outstanding Libraries Faculty and the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Staff Performance.