M.Eng. students showcase projects to Boeing, BorgWarner, others

It’s not every day you get to present your work to some of the top engineering corporations in the world, but that was the case for 14 materials science and engineering M.Eng. students earlier this month.

Each student has been working on a project under the guidance of an industry partner or faculty member – a real-world, hands-on experience that is the hallmark of the M.Eng. program – and on Friday, Dec. 3, they had the opportunity to present those projects to a panel of expert judges from The Boeing Company, BorgWarner Morse TEC, Universal Instruments Corporation, Indium Corporation of America, and Corning Incorporated.

The students were competing for the Boeing MSE M.Eng. Project Award, and a chance to showcase their research projects such as next-generation diffractive optical elements for the ams OSRAM Group, contactless probers for measuring 2D materials for Xallent, and perovskites for solar energy for Professor Qiuming Yu. A full list of students, projects, and partnering companies can be found here.

“These projects create value and connections for our industry partners by providing access to talented students as well as Cornell’s state-of-the-art facilities such as CCMR, CNF and CHESS, where many projects are carried out,” said Alex Deyhim, senior lecturer and associate director of the M.Eng. program.

The award winners were:

First Place $750
Student Name: Simon Olschansky
Company Name: Dimensional Energy
Project Title: Synthesis and Characterization of Metal-Based and Ceramic-Based Catalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Second Place $500
Student Name: Sarah Chay
Major: Materials Science & Engineering
Company Name: AeroShield
Project Title: Characterization of Crack-Free, Ultra-Clear, and Super-Insulating Aerogels for Energy Efficient Windows

Third Place $250
Student Name: Grace Wu    
Company Name: Professor Juan Hinestroza
Project Title: Metal-Organic Frameworks as Protective Shields for Arc-Flash Events

Students celebrated together after the showcase with a pizza party in Duffield Hall and the awards were formally presented to the winning students during the Materials Science and Engineering holiday gathering on Dec. 9.

More information about the M.Eng. program can be found here.