Senior Design
The MAE 451 / MAE 494 sequence connects students with authentic challenges from industry, research, competitions, university partners, museums, and community organizations.
Program overview
Student teams define stakeholder needs, develop measurable requirements, investigate prior solutions, generate and evaluate concepts, complete analysis, build and integrate systems, and verify performance through testing and evidence.
Annual project videos
Each annual overview highlights the breadth of student work, including industry-sponsored systems, national competitions, manufacturing, robotics, autonomous platforms, biomedical devices, energy systems, and internally proposed innovations.
Selected projects included semiconductor-manufacturing systems, UB smart parking system, robotic arms, mannaed and unmanned electric boats, underwater vehicle, sport analyzers, and other multidisciplinary prototypes.
Watch on YouTube
Selected projects included semiconductor-manufacturing systems, laser weeders, the X-22 interactive exhibit, water-disinfection equipment, automated surgical lighting, electric propulsion, and other multidisciplinary prototypes.
Watch on YouTube
Selected projects included PEP manned and unmanned boats, the Moog pump test stand, the Niagara Aerospace Museum wind tunnel, OlympusBar, manufacturing systems, and internally developed student concepts.
Watch on YouTubeProject portfolio
The portfolio is presented as a concise index rather than a separate image card for every project.
Selected research-oriented senior design projects—including two piezoelectric energy-harvesting systems—are being used as case studies for the AI-enabled engineering design platform.
See AI-Assisted Senior Design →Facilities
A dedicated space supporting team meetings, mechanical and electrical integration, prototype assembly, troubleshooting, and preparation for technical reviews and demonstrations.
A dedicated small lab with an overhead door, accessible to the street, suitable for industry heavy machine development.
A dedicated workshop for the PEP Club and its manned and unmanned electric boat teams to build, integrate, maintain, and test competition systems.
Poster and demonstration events
Every December, teams present design posters and receive technical feedback. Every May, beginning in 2024, teams demonstrate completed systems and verification results. Select an event to view featured images, awards, and the complete gallery.
Fall 2023 Poster Presentation
The December poster presentation introduced project problems, stakeholders, requirements, concept alternatives, early analysis, and proposed implementation plans.
Award results and team captions will be added when confirmed.
Spring 2024 Demonstration Day
The May demonstration event presented completed prototypes, experiments, software, test results, and evidence of performance against project requirements.
A. Williams, E. Ulatowski, A. Cline, L. Sullivan, N. Sud, M. Garrison, and J. Gowanlock
B. Covell, S. McFeeley, and D. Gerstner
M. Smith, N. Schin, J. Belyea, and D. Yuan
K. Zachgo, B. Zilch, S. Saptarshi, E. Fort, and E. Fanara
Fall 2024 Poster Presentation
The December poster presentation brought student teams, faculty, industry judges, and visitors together for design review and technical feedback.
Award ceremony photographs coming soon.
Award results and team captions will be added when confirmed.
Spring 2025 Demonstration Day
The May demonstration event showcased selected industry-sponsored, competition, biomedical, manufacturing, and internally developed projects.
T. Verboys, M. Hranitz, A. Patel, A. Upadhyay, P. Salian, J. Rydzynski, and E. Hansen
D. Spier, J. DiFrancesco, A. Nabinger, E. Sandle, V. Valencia, and D. Vickery
P. Loos, N. Dillenbeck, and M. Nusbickel
J. Velesko, M. Bukovsky, S. Brumbaugh, C. Saldanha, S. Petrishin, and A. Ensminger
Fall 2025 Poster Presentation
The December poster presentation documented the front-end design work for the 2025–2026 project cycle, including requirements, concepts, analysis, and verification planning.
Award ceremony photographs coming soon.
Award results and team captions will be added when confirmed.
Spring 2026 Demonstration Day
The May demonstration event presented working systems and prototypes from the 2025–2026 project cycle, followed by project awards and recognition.
A. Pollak, A. Patti, C. Behlok, D. Ball, J. Gable, J. Marasciulo, and N. Roussinos
A. Azrul Syahrin, J. Gray, J. Mizrahi, P. Carrillo Colquehuanca, Z. Nikander, Z. Pike, and A. Carvalho
C. Sickau, J. Peterson, J. Lin, J. Sit, J. Scherer, and S. Huang
J. Bojarski, K. Dholakia, M. Fuad, M. Haque, H. Pabrekar, and S. Patel
PEP Club and national competitions
Sponsor a project
Strong projects have a meaningful stakeholder, feasible scope, measurable outcomes, appropriate technical access, and a committed sponsor advisor.
Problem context, constraints, regular feedback, appropriate data, and project support or materials.
Problem framing, requirements, concept development, analysis, prototyping, testing, and technical documentation within an educational setting.
Prior senior-project leadership
At SUNY Alfred, I served as department chair and senior-project coordinator for an engineering department spanning four engineering technology majors—mechatronics, mechanical, electrical, and computer. The senior-project experience was multidisciplinary by design, bringing the department’s programs together around authentic engineering problems, industry interaction, and project-based learning. In Fall 2022, all 13 senior projects were fully sponsored by industry partners.
Projects addressed industrial automation and manufacturing, robotics, energy and water efficiency, electric-power systems, food-safety equipment, building systems, CNC data analytics, and vehicle design. The semester culminated in the first Fall senior-project poster presentation that I organized, along with a senior-project showcase during the 2022 Pioneer Walk associated with the inauguration of President Steven Mauro.
A compact selection is shown below. Open any photograph, or use View all photos to browse the full seven-image gallery, including poster-event photographs and selected project examples.