As the spring 2025 semester ended, senior UMass Amherst engineering students put their inventions on display at senior design project showcases across engineering departments. Marking the culmination of their four-year Bachelor of Science degrees, these students’ projects reflect innovation as well as the skills they have developed within the engineering design process, including creating technical designs, prototyping, assessment and optimization.

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The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department’s showcase took place Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 and featured designs from 29 teams in the Gunness Engineering Student Center in Marcus Hall. 

“Our senior design project is the capstone of our curricula,” said Russell Tessier, professor of electrical and computer engineering and head of the department. “The showcase represents the very best of the ECE department and our undergraduate students.” To this year’s seniors, he said, “The department congratulates you on your outstanding achievements at UMass. We look forward to hearing from you as you move forward in your careers.”

The innovative designs on display included shoes that can turn the natural movement of dancers into music; a search-and-rescue map program that allows teams to update information in real-time without reliance on traditional communication networks; a wearable device that optimizes sun exposure for vitamin D production while minimizing skin cancer risk; virtual reality gloves that enable users to experience tactile sensations; and a pothole-detecting system for vehicles. 

Then, on Monday May 5, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) held its showcase in the Student Union Ballroom, with 30 teams of seniors.  

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“Our showcase event is a significant milestone, celebrating our students’ hard work and achievements while recognizing their ability to transform engineering education into real-world solutions through innovation and determination,” said Sundar Krishnamurty, head of the MIE department and Ronnie & Eugene M. Isenberg Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Engineering. “It is a testament to their dedication, creativity and technical expertise—qualities that will serve them well as they embark on their professional journeys.” 

A cross-section of projects included a robotic dog capable of climbing stairs, with applications for the visually impaired; an automated process for making environmentally friendly insulation panels; a virtual-reality simulator to study e-scooter transportation; a car-mounted camera stabilizer for capturing high-quality footage while driving; and various medical devices, including an automated suture device, a hip squeezer to reduce labor pains during birth and a shock-absorbing crutch.

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Lastly, the Biomedical Engineering Department showcased projects from 15 teams at the Campus Center on May 8. This year’s projects included a portable filter used for dialysis, a device to prevent patients from pulling out peripheral intravenous catheters, glasses for sensing and relieving bioelectronic stress, a lightweight lead apron alternative, and a UV-light sanitation device for hospital overbed tables. 

“The department focuses on training our students to arrive at simple and practical solutions to complex problems that face human health,” said Thai Thayumanavan, distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry and head of the Biomedical Engineering Department. “Senior design projects are not only the creative problem-solving highlights of the BME students’ tenure at UMass, [they] also highlight their ability to do so collaboratively with their fellow students. It is a very proud moment for all of [us] in the BME department.”