Engineering EXPO 2025: SUNY New Paltz students showcase innovative prototypes and projects
More than 60 SUNY New Paltz engineering students presented exciting capstone projects and prototypes at the 2025 Engineering Design EXPO on Friday, May 2.
Part of SUNY New Paltz’s annual Minds @ Work celebration of graduating seniors’ creativity and ingenuity, this end-of-year tradition for the Division of Engineering Programs is the culmination of the Senior Design Project, a two-semester sequence that challenges engineering undergraduates to use their technical skill and their creativity to solve real-world challenges.
“This is a living example of what it means to be a public university connected to our community,” said New Paltz President Darrell P. Wheeler. “Your creativity in the academic spheres of engineering, science and technology demonstrates the mission of academic excellence.”
Within a year, future engineers learn to address real-world problems with original projects or improve upon existing structures from previous capstone courses, while being guided by exceptional faculty.
Engineering students often collaborate with local businesses interested in harnessing SUNY New Paltz’s ingenuity to advance projects that, in some cases, serve a critical need for an underrepresented group.
“This was a great opportunity to support a stakeholder in the community while doing something meaningful,” said Antonio Gonzalez ’25 (Mechanical Engineering), who worked as part of a team that built a prototype for a bedframe supporting individuals with physical disabilities in partnership with Poughkeepsie-based company, Accessadoor. “Through developing this prototype, we gained a lot of understanding on these conditions, and this made us all the more motivated to arrive at a solution that would satisfy our client.”
Projects and prototypes at the EXPO bring together students from mechanical, electrical and computer engineering backgrounds, creating an atmosphere where students learn quickly how to meld these backgrounds together while ironing out the inevitable kinks that come with design and construction of technological innovations.
“There are little sacrifices you have to make when you start from scratch,” said Faith Apostolides ’25 (Mechanical Engineering), who was part of a team that conceived LawnPilot, a robotic lawnmower. “Whether it’s working out the kind of material or how many motors to use, there’s always something that comes up. Ultimately, it was useful to have all of us with different experiences, because it made it easier to work out these challenges we encountered early on.”
For engineering seniors, knowing that their time-intensive work has potential to make an impact, or become a viable commercial product, outweighs the challenges.
“This is my first step into the professional field, and no matter where this project goes, it’s a way for me to gain knowledge and experience before I graduate,” said Korey Barber ’25 (Electrical Engineering), who worked on a voice-controlled boombox.
The Division of Engineering Programs thanks Central Hudson®, The Council of Industry and ELNA Magnetics for their support of the spring 2025 Engineering Design EXPO.