Ethan & Owen Rowney: A Computing Capstone Collaboration

Many siblings bond while playing video games. Not as many can say they share an interest in brain-computer interfacing. Ethan and Owen Rowney have definitely played a few hours of Destiny 2 together, but also recently completed a Computing Science capstone project that combined brain activity with software.

Ethan, the elder by two years and a day, was the first to enroll at Northwestern Polytechnic following a one-year detour to study engineering in Vancouver. That sparked an interest in programming which coincided with the launch of NWP’s Bachelor of Computing Science degree.

Owen joined the program a year later after some helpful discussion with NWP’s Advising team. “They talked through my interests and suggested Computing Science,” Owen recalls. 

“I think I influenced Owen by raving about the instructors,” adds Ethan. “Libero Ficocelli and Franco Carlacci are such great profs.”

The focus of their project was inspired by psychology professor Ali Al-Asadi, who expressed frustration with the lack of good neurofeedback software. To quote the students’ project poster, “Neurofeedback is the practice of having a patient respond to a graphical or otherwise perceivable form of their brain activity to train their cognitive ability.” It can be used to treat patients with conditions like ADHD, anxiety and addictions, and as a cognitive training tool. Dr. Al-Asadi also provided the necessary hardware: an electroencephalogram (EEG) headband, which uses electrodes to measure electrical activity in the brain, and a hemoencephalography (HEG) headband, which uses near-infrared light to measure blood oxygenation in the brain.

While the capstone project is technically a 4th year requirement, the program allowed Owen to team up with his brother to tackle it during his third year. The brothers were also joined on the project by classmate Hafza Ahmed. Together, they set out to develop an open-source neurofeedback application that would be user-friendly, comprehensive, and applicable to multiple objectives.

The team members brought specific skills and interests to the table: Owen concentrated on integrating the application with Minecraft, allowing potential users to incorporate neurofeedback into a fun and popular game instead of the less engaging games that are often used. Hafza created a focus mode, designed to motivate users to stay focused longer using changing stimuli. Ethan worked to build the visualizer and user interface, along with incorporating machine learning skills.

“One of the best parts of the project was the presentation and how it was received,” the Rowney brothers note. Owen, Ethan, and Hafza put in long hours to polish their final presentation, and were rewarded with a warm reception. The brothers credit fellow computing science graduate Matt Martin for his honest feedback which pushed them to integrate their voices for a stronger demonstration.

With his capstone project already completed, Owen is looking forward to a lower-stress fourth year. He’s spending his summer interning with Xcel Automation, learning how programming intersects with oilfield automation. Ethan is officially a graduate, and is happy to be working in frontline IT with the City of Grande Prairie, with the goal of moving into their programming department.

“Our courses are hands-on and really applicable to various fields,” Ethan says of the Computing Science curriculum. Owen agrees. “A lot of students might think, will I ever use this? But last semester I took web development – and now I’m really doing it.”

The brothers attribute their close relationship to being schooled at home by their teacher mom, and say they’ve been “super close forever.” This collaboration on their compelling capstone project is only the latest demonstration that Owen and Ethan Rowney make a good team.