The Mechanical Engineering Department is the largest department at Cal Poly with more than 1,250 undergraduates and is ranked as the second-best undergraduate focused mechanical engineering program in the country by U.S. News and World Reports.
The curriculum shares a common philosophy that real engineering work requires not only a solid understanding of theory but also hands-on experiences and skills to finish the job. With state-of-the-art laboratories, student clubs and organizations, and machine shops, the program effectively combines theory and practical application to prepare students for careers in a wide variety of industries and graduate school.
Modified from me.calpoly.edu
Senior Projects from 2027
Elevate Hardcase, Caleb J. Bailey, Colby M. Cordoba, Marissa McCleod, and Shaan Sandhu
Senior Projects from 2026
Smart Sleeve, Evan Abalos, Bright Jung, Owen Bowling, and Wyatt Eberhart
Elevate Grill, Tanner Bachmann, Lance Anderson, Caden Huang, Jonathan Li, and Brady Alexander
Design for Repairability Demo, Wyatt Barnes, Andrew Petersen, Aaron Schiff, and Ethan Dickson
Baja SAE Gear Testing, Selina Bayles, Lucia Giacalone, Claire Cornelsen, and Sarah Talbert
Wind Power Turbine Pitching, Sierra Bindseil, Olivia Hoffsis, Izik Hingeley, and Tucker Donahue
Desktop Dynamometer, Ryan Boister, Zachary Chung, Molly Koretz, and Tyler Lum
SMART Avian Repulsion Technology, Caiden Logan Bonney, Isabel Angeline Janka, Amelie Alphonsine Dean, and Antonio Joaquin Venitmiglia
Mars Mini Rover Sample Retrieval Robotic Claw, Cami Chambers, Ani Lachikian, Alexa Ramirez, and Alex Power
Semi-Automated Wine Barrel Filler, Elliot Jason DeJong, Carlo Caesare DeIanni, and Brady Emerson J. Leib
Semi-Automated Oxide Etch System, Chloe Dodson, Andrew Korpela, Bobby Machado, and Thomas Slayton
Project STRATA, Hobbs Hegedus, Antony Chen, Adrian Scancich, Peter Constantine Psefteas, Ryan Kreis Roth, and Jack Douglas Mitchell
StakBlocks, Micah Satoshi Inoshita, Ava Rose Doerschlag, Cody J. Ellis, Zach M. Lawton, Fernando M. Nalin, Nicholas Humphrey, Aiden Reed Anderson, and Sara Maya Suratkal
Power At Sea DEVELOP Phase, Jake Lauer, Isabella Heinemann, Bailey Gargasz, and Zachery Boyer
Pollinators Exhibit for Paso Robles Children’s Museum, Isabelle Moll, Matthew Moore, Joseph Hovanesian, Evan Stock, and Matthew Wiecking
Sensory, Light, and Sound Box, Galilea Andrea Portillo, Hannah Elizabeth Henderson, and Marcus Kiyoshi Kanenaga
Operation Bite Block, Jennifer Aline Robles, Laura Marie Strobbe, William Pearce Graham, and Annabelle Katherine Thalken
Mars Rover Wheels and Drive, Presley S. Sacavitch, Ryan W. Trevena, Dylan A. Mack, and Daniel Hudak
Cathy’s Catcher, Marlee Scott, Regen Worsley, Alessandra Valenzano, and Aviv Ben Zeev
DOR-E: Final Design Report, Arav Singh, August Hogen-Esch, Bruce Le, Patrick Mcgee, and Spencer Major
CVJ Torque Loss Dynamometer, Malaika Sriram, Coleman Brown, Zachary Norris, Logan Mast, and Chris Mattis
Cathy's Trike, Jameson Stengel, Victor Robles, and Asher Becker
Formula SAE Planetary Gearbox Characterization Dynamometer, Trevor Marco Toma, Thomas Welden Pierce, and Ethan Liu
25-26 MECC: Magnetic Thread Wave Energy Converter, Adolfo Torres Flores, Maya Malay, Grayson Houghton, Chase Eavis, Ramyasree Kaja, Tyler Chin, Malia Merager, Chad Haines, Noah Borkum, and Raina Moore
FSAE Bespoke Brake Calipers for Hub Motor Architecture, Connor William Vaughan, Liam Upton Walsh, and Bradley Brian Kern