For this academic year, the mechanical engineering (MNE) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department joined their capstone programs. The capstone program brings together the technical and interpersonal skills needed for a student, in a team environment, to successfully plan, complete, and deliver a significant engineering project to a real customer. The culmination of this was the ECE and MNE Joint Senior Design Presentation Day held on May 1, 2025.

Team Aurelia, advised by Prof. Amit Tandon and Patrick Pasteris, and comprised of undergraduate students Ben Claxton, Eli Kroll, Shane Mercuri, and Jacob Tavares, with team lead James Bonnell bagged third place at the event. Their project involved improving the existing drive system on the Aurelia Upper Ocean Profiler – improving the depth capability and increasing operational life. They worked on testing out different motors for their power consumption and on designing a parking brake to install the profiler at depth without requiring active power. They also designed a variable gearbox to improve torque from the piston and increase the depth capability of the profiler.

Congratulations on this achievement to everyone involved!