Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Senior Design is the two‑semester capstone of Penn’s practice‑integrated Mechanical Engineering curriculum, where students transform curiosity into creations. Over the course of the sequence, teams tackle substantial, open‑ended engineering challenges—applying theory, technical skills, and inventive energy to conceive solutions that can range from market‑ready products to explorations of fundamental principles. With no “typical” project, the program celebrates surprising diversity and real‑world impact, showcasing the full breadth of mechanical engineering.
2025 Teams Awards Archive
Team Helium Solutions, comprised of Ali Al Ayssami, Harrison Azrak, John Michael Hatheway, and Samuel Sullivan, were winners of the of the Judges’ Choice Award for excellence based on the discretion of the judges.
Helium Solutions enables, for the first time, researchers and engineers to test full-scale or near-scale aerodynamics in their field environments, able to be transported easily in a passenger car. By leveraging resin 3D printing and designing for modularity, the system can be easily modified and repaired in the field in less than 30 minutes for setup and 15 minutes for changes. Manual controls enable the user to easily adjust gas ratios while local data recording creates a library of viable settings that accumulate over time.
Team Flash, comprised of Camila Pazos, Clarice Pranyoto, Ainsley Rexford, and Maya Shroff were winners of the William K. Gemmill Memorial Prize for outstanding creativity.
Developing film is costly, time intensive, and hard to master. If film is not developed correctly, the film is ruined forever and the precious memories captured in the photographs are lost. Film development involves technical processes that are hard to learn and require expensive equipment, costing users anywhere from $500 to $3,000. Current solutions attempt to simplify certain steps of the film development process but do not automate the entire process like Flash does. Flash works by taking in a user’s film canister and automatically reeling the film; a novel process that does not exist in the market. Then, Flash dunks the film reel in the properly heated chemical baths, returning the developed film to the user in less than 30 minutes.
Team Velox, comprised of Tyler Chaudhary, John Fera, Ryan Kagarise, and Thomas Rebstock, were winners of the Francis G. Tatnall Prize for an outstanding project showing ingenuity, proficiency and usefulness.
As the world shifts away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles, environmentally friendly electric bikes grow increasingly popular, especially in inner cities where traffic and congestion are a major concern for commuters. However, these e-bikes often cost more than four figures, are bulky, and lack the ideal range of 15 miles for urban consumers on a budget with limited storage space. Velox provides a cheap, easy-to-install alternative to electric bikes in the form of an electric bike converter kit. This kit is perfect for bike riders who want the perks of riding an electric bike without spending over $1,000.
Team Robopicker, comprised of Rohan Maliekkal, Finn Maniscalco, and Eli Katz were winners of the John Couloucoundis Prize for the best senior design presentation.
Robopicker is a handheld, pneumatic robotic fruit picker tool designed for peaches. The device integrates a cloud-based, offboard computer vision ripeness detection system with a lightweight peach gripper and onboard display, ensuring higher-quality, undamaged fruit is picked. This system reduces yield loss while maintaining the industry-standard picking rate of six peaches per minute. Its affordability (<$750) and ease of use (<2 hours training) make it accessible to large and small-scale operators.
The Francis G. Tatnall Prize is awarded to the senior(s) whose senior design project is judged to be the most outstanding and which reflects the qualities of ingenuity, technical proficiency, and usefulness which characterized the work of the distinguished alumnus after whom the prize is named.
The William K. Gemmill Memorial Award is awarded annually to the student(s) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics who demonstrate(s) outstanding creativity in an senior design project.
The prize is given to the best presentation of a senior design project. The purpose of the prize is to encourage students to present as professional and polished discussion of their work as possible. That means being able to explain the project in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner. The presentations will be judged to use the same guidelines under this category used in the school-wide competition. (How is the project presented? What arguments does the presenter give to support his/her project? Are the arguments clear and easy to understand? How are the presenter’s language skills? Is the supporting material focused and convincing?) Recipients of this prize must present their design at the School-wide competition.
The award is presented annually to the senior(s) whose senior design project is chosen for its excellence, based on the discretion of the judges.
