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 2025
Air to Water Capture in Support of UN Sustainable Development Goals, Jordan MacConnell, Michael Tiscareño, Ari Dennis, and Baxter Mercy
Cal Poly Battle Bot, Miguel Martinez, Andrew Jones, Lawrence Lam, Jedidiah Tzou, and Robert Giacomini
LIDSS Raft Battery Pack Integration, Jack Maxwell, Vincent Stevens, Matthew Hoodmaker, and Colin Flanders
BAJA SAE Brakes, Carson Moore, Jaedyn Michael Imhoff, Will Duncan, and Matthew Shaffer
Shop Skills, Colin Moore, Bridget Davenport, Xavier Gagnaire, and Joseph Watanabe
Adjustable Dynamometer Motor Mount, Garrett Carson Ng, Elijah Siegel Reuven, Ethan Fong, and Daniel Larimer
Helical Products Parts Display Stand, Binh Nguyen, Emily Yuan Mendyke, and Zoe Porter
7LR-C Upper Limb Dancing Prosthetic, Victor Ochoa, Zoe Kelemen, Ged Mulingtapang, and Marley Paltiel
License to Drill, Gabrielle Noemi Orlando, Alexcias Olga Meeks, Dayana Guadalupe Gonzalez, and Mark Dahmen
Brush Seal Cycling Test Rig, Angelo J. Reis, Neil M. Bedagkar, Max A. Soury, and Eoin K. Lenham
Adaptive Riding Mount Block, Lucas R. Reynolds, Lukas M. Moreau, Patrick J. Michael, and Jandre D. Lafradez
Vanlife Desalination, Emily Rhee, Tomas Franco, and Marco Jimenez
Pendulum Wave Generator, Abigail Jocelyn Romero, Paul Staley, Wendy Dong, and Kyle Schumacher
Foot Pedal Assistive Device, Julian Rubinstein, Connor Jessen, Isabelle Utsler, and Sydney Alexander
Drone Package Delivery System, Aiden Tyler Sim, Ryan Anders O'Toole, Matthew Karl Wyant, and James Shaw Glanville
Wind Turbine Rotor Test Stand, Ashlen Brooke Sperry, Cayley Mckee, Kristofer Lee Pascua, and Francisco Medina
LLNL Raft Flash Pole Redesign, Jack Stangel, Evan Wolfson, Jake Borden, and Alexander Meeter
Torsional Vibration Kit Simulator (TKS), Joseph Thachet, Luca Lawson, Ryan Ota, and Otis Mcloughlin
Custom Low-Profile Vacuum Valve, Aiden A. Theocheung, Nate R. Greco, Gavin T. Weber, and Nate A. Ferrari
MECC Wave Energy Converter, Kenna N. Toohill, Samuel Rothstein, Ellie Abundo, and Paige Dixon
Expeditionary Ocean Power Generator, Otto Jacob van Willigen, David Scott Nyberg, Logan Christopher Schilling, Kyle James Hohman, and Travis Michael Eccher
Combustion Liner Optimization, William Weeks, Daniel Reed, and Isaac Trull
Development of Planetary Drive System For Formula SAE Electric Race Car, Brian Wong, Bradley Maruoka, Joshua Charles Fine, and Madison Kai
2-Axis Solar Panel Tracker, Danica Wong, Oliver Barnaal, and Anton Orme
Senior Projects from 2024
F56: Rocket Thrust Vector Control, Ethan Douglas Anderson, Yiming Trent Jia, and Sahil Sampat