Student Organization and Resource Fair
September 15, Engineering Quad
On Tuesday, September 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Riccio College of Engineering will hold its Student Organization and Resource Fair in the event tent on the Engineering Quad in front of Marston Hall. All are welcome, and students may drop by at any time.
The event will inform new and returning students about student organizations, campus programs, and the college’s support resources, including the Career Development and Experiential Learning Center, the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) program. In addition, the event will provide opportunities to interact with the college's faculty, staff, and leadership.
Students can meet faculty from their departments during the following times:
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, 11 a.m.–noon
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, 11 a.m.–noon
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Biomedical Engineering, 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
- Meet the Deans, noon–1 p.m.
- Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
A highlight of the fair will be the Riccio College’s many student organizations. Participating groups will introduce themselves and help students find opportunities to get involved in professional, humanitarian, and career-advancing activities. Many address real-world engineering problems through hands-on projects while giving students opportunities to build skills, strengthen their résumés, and connect with classmates. You can explore details about all of the college’s student organizations here. Below are a few highlights:
The UMass Rocket Team gives students hands-on experience designing, building, and launching high-powered rockets. In 2026, the team finished 12th overall among more than 140 university teams from around the world in its first appearance at the International Rocket Engineering Competition. Its rocket successfully reached its 10,000-foot target altitude and incorporated student-developed technology including live telemetry, student-manufactured parachutes, and air-braking controls. The result followed an eighth-place overall finish and first-place New England finish at the 2025 NASA University Student Launch Initiative.
Another group, the 20-year-old UMass chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), is a student-run organization dedicated to working with local and international communities to create sustainable, community-driven, engineering solutions that improve quality of life. Currently, the more than 100 active members operate three separate projects: one in a village in Kenya, where EWB is collaborating with the local community on access to clean water; one that is planning trips to Ghana to work on water supply in a village there; and a local project in the Pioneer Valley that is restoring the greenhouse at a farm co-op and providing a biogas generation system for heating that greenhouse.
The newest Riccio College of Engineering student organization is the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) UMass Amherst student branch—consider joining if you are interested in being part of aerospace design and research. And if you are interested in aeronautics, consider also checking out the UMass Aeronautics Team, which competes annually in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design, Build, Fly International Competition—last year, the team finished first in New England.
Students can find community and professional development through engineering affinity groups such as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), which supports Black engineers’ academic achievement, career success, and community engagement. The UMass Amherst chapter recently earned its first regional honor, the Region 1 Large Collegiate Chapter Award, recognizing its programming, volunteer service, and impact. The chapter also brought a record 48 students to the national convention, where they participated in workshops, networking events, and a career fair.
Established in 2024, UMass iGEM is an interdisciplinary student organization that tackles real-world problems through synthetic biology and genetics. In its first year competing, the 16-member team earned a silver medal at last year's International Genetically Engineered Machine Grand Jamboree in Paris, which brought together more than 400 teams from around the world. For its prize-winning “CadmiCatch” project, the team engineered a soil bacterium to capture cadmium, with the goal of addressing heavy-metal pollution, protecting crops, and improving food safety. No previous experience in synthetic biology or research is required, and students from all majors are welcome.
The UMass Amherst student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers helps students apply their engineering skills through extracurricular projects and national competitions. In 2026, UMass teams earned first place in the ASME Student Design Competition with a trash-collection and distribution robot and fourth place in the Innovative Additive Manufacturing 3D Competition with a metal-collecting rover.
Interested in hands-on biomedical engineering experience? Consider MedTech, the student organization founded to give undergraduate engineers the opportunity to explore biomedical technology. Each year, the group designs a novel medical device, builds a prototype, and then presents it. According to cofounder and Biomedical Engineering graduate Aaryan Chaudhary ‘24, “Through our work, we’ve been able to win entrepreneurship competitions, enter engineering competitions around the U.S., interview healthcare professionals, and even present our device to the CEO of a medical-device company.”
For those interested in hands-on engineering projects right here on campus, there is the UMass Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (UMass AGC), which is involved in the construction industry, both on campus and in the community. UMass AGC recently rehabilitated a campus footbridge that was previously out of service, including replacing the rotting wood deck with fiber-reinforced polymer. Thanks to their efforts, the bridge is now fully repaired and once again open to the public.
These examples represent only a small sampling of the numerous student organizations in the college, which include affinity groups (such as SWE, NSBE, SHPE, oSTEM, SAME, and SASE) professional societies (such as ASCE, ASME, BMES, INFORMS, IISE, and IEEE), and design and build teams (such as Concrete Canoe, HackUMass, UMass Robotics, and the Steel Bridge Team).
Of course, there are even more clubs and student organizations available at the campus level.
