UVA engineering supp--"Food scanner"

We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words. Engineering: If you were given funding for a small engineering project, what would you do?

For my engineering project, I would design a portable scanner that people could use to track the nutritional quality of the food they eat during the day. With this device, people would be more aware of their eating habits and would know if they were getting adequate nutrients, if they were overeating, etc. The scanner would consist of a handle and two plastic disks with enough space in between to place an item of food. Embedded into the handle would be an electronic screen used to display facts about the nutritional content of the food item. Located on each of the two disks would be both a transmitting and receiving antenna, which would send electromagnetic waves across the space so that information about the food could be processed. This information would then be sent to a small computer located within the handle, and the computer would display the nutritional information on the electronic screen. After a person scanned a piece of food, the scanner would store the new information in its database. At the end of the day, the person could press a button to view a record of their dietary patterns for that day. The screen would then display a comprehensive list of nutritional information obtained from every item of food over the course of the past twenty-four hours and would place red flags next to any numerical values that seemed unhealthy. By using this scanner every day, people would become more aware of the nutritional quality of their food and would likely be motivated to eat healthier. I can only imagine what would happen if every person in American had one of these scanners.

I know my idea is kinda "out-there", but tell me what you think.

Maybe you can use a hook for the beginning of your essay. That will always captivate readers. However, if it deviates from the intended message, stick with the upfront approach, which you already have.

I like the idea. Yes, it is "out-there" but schools (particularly engineering) are looking for innovators and you clearly show the characteristics of an innovator.

But remember, this is for a SMALL engineering project. No need to create something ground-breaking.

Can you take a look at my essay too? I'm doing the same exact one as you.