Marie Millares, a 2019 SURP researcher at UAlbany. Marie Millares, a 2019 SURP researcher at UAlbany.

The Capstone Experience

Where talent meets innovation.

Students Building The Future, Today

Real-world design experiences integrating multidisciplinary engineering design solutions that deliver results.

Two students examine equipment
Youseff Jalwaj-Soubai, left, and Abdullah Qureshi work on their automated paper ream opener. Their project won top prize at the 2023 CREATE Symposium. (Photo by Jonathan Muckell)

Each UAlbany engineering student’s senior year includes a culminating experience that builds confidence and teaches integration of discipline-specific knowledge with engineering practice on challenging, multidisciplinary design projects.

The capstone experience is an opportunity for students to practice real-world engineering as they prepare to enter the workforce. Students meet with industry sponsors to identify an important problem and then work together to provide design solutions. The projects, selected by the students, are technically challenging and encompass a broad array of important, contemporary issues.
 

Capstone News

 

UAlbany CNSE students are helping people living with disabilities in New York by creating a device to help them sort mail.
Engineering Students Aid Workers with Disabilities
Engineering students Shak Williams, Jordan Jung and Jacob Bruno have built a device designed to aid New Yorkers living with disabilities who work at a mail sorting facility through the Center for Disability Services.
UAlbany Senior Kevin Reyes works in a lab at NYCREATES' Albany NanoTech complex.
Showcase 2024: From Nanoengineering to Music, Reyes Embraces Learning
UAlbany senior Kevin Reyes has always been fascinated with engineering concepts, whether building complex lego sets or folding the perfect airplane. At UAlbany's College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, Reyes has found a home to explore the cutting edge technology of the future.
two students work on a mechanical device designed to remove the cover on reams of paper.
Engineering Students Earn Top Prize at CREATE Symposium
Three College of Engineering and Applied Sciences students have been honored for their work in developing solutions to aid workers living with disabilities at the annual CREATE Symposium.

Pioneering Research, Diverse Partnerships

The College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE) selects a diverse range of projects that represent a multitude of technologies and skills, while applying the fundamental concepts developed in our programs.  

Capstone projects provide students with exposure to a breadth of different paths available with their engineering degree, as well as opportunities to engage passionately and commit to their own success. The partners include connections with corporate industry, academic research labs, community-service engineering and computer science projects, and team-based projects aimed at competitions.  

 

Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)

The University at Albany College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering is a proud member of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) University Consortium. This consortium is a network of more than 40 universities that share ideas and opportunities to improve engineering education through the implementation of project-based community engagement and experiential learning experiences. 

We encourage non-profit and community organizations with high-impact projects to submit project ideas and reach out to discuss potential collaboration.
 

Award Winning Success Stories

Research teams at UAlbany are no strangers to success. Three of our capstone teams have successfully won $35,000 in prize money competing in the statewide New York Industries for the Disabled (NYSID) Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive Technology (CREATE) competition. The competition focuses on developing technology to help employ disabled workers.

 

Recent Projects

Department of Computer Science
Amanda Berryman adjusts equipment.

 

  • GenAI-based Multimodal User Profile Generator sponsored by Dr. Chidansh Bhatt, IBM Watson Research Center, NY 
  • Applying Graph Database Technology to Better Understand Patients Journey through Chronic Disease sponsored by Nordisk
  • Dual Aggregation Transformer for Satellite Image Super-Resolution sponsored by the University at Albany CNSE
  • Mobile App for Location-Privacy Aware Driving Habit Detection sponsored by the University at Albany CNSE
  • My Lawyer is a Cat: A Game sponsored by the University at Albany College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity
Department of Environmental & Sustainable Engineering
Two researchers talking in ESE Biology Lab

 

  • In Situ Solidification (ISS) and lower GHG emitting concretes sponsored by Evelyn K. Hussey, Jasmine N. Stefansky and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Sediment Dewatering/Solidification and lower GHG alternatives to Portland cement sponsored by Evelyn K. Hussey, Jasmine N. Stefansky and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Sticky PCBs and water treatment alternatives sponsored by Evelyn K. Hussey, Gail A. Dieter and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • CNSE Acid Wastewater Design: Design for Nanofab North Acid Wastewater Treatment System sponsored by Heather Fariello, AVP of Facilities Engineering & Infrastructure Group at NYCREATES
  • University at Albany Green Roof Evaluation and Re-Design sponsored by Brad Bunzey, Project Manager / Stormwater Management Program Coordinator at the University at Albany
  • Solar Carport and Electric Vehicle Charging Station at the University at Albany sponsored by the University at Albany
  • Loyd Ray Farms Carbon Offsets Peer Verification Report  sponsored by Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative
Department of Nanoscale Science & Engineering
Student examines computer chip at Nanoscale Science and Engineering lab.

 

  • Effect of Post Metal Annealing on HZO Grain Size and Associated Metrology sponsored by TTCA . The project strives to improve control over grain size of HZO in memory devices to make them more reliable and efficient.
  • Development of Tantalum Oxide Resistive Random Access Memory Through Silicon Doping sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratories. The  project aims to improve reliability in a novel memory device to improve memory density.  
  • Design and Fabrication of Micropatterned Indexing Substrates for Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (CLEM) sponsored by a SUNY RF Seed Grant, NYS CATN2, and NIH RO1. CLEM combines data from both light and electron microscopes but is difficult to use because there are few convenient tools to track interesting regions of a sample. By creating an indexing pattern using the polymer SU-8 as a platform for growing cell cultures, the project strives to make sample preparation easier and CLEM a more accessible technique for researchers.
  • Effects on EUV Resist Chemical Stochastics through Thermal Annealing sponsored by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). The project will strive to identify whether or not solvent annealing has an effect on the roughness and segregation on the photoresist layer after spin-coating.
  • Development of a Flexible Multielectrode Array for the interfacing of Neural Organoids sponsored by an NSF Future Manufacturing Grant. Human stem cell-derived organoids can help create patient-specific models of in vivo neural architecture better than 2D cell cultures can. Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) offer a noninvasive, stable platform to monitor electrophysiological activity of cultured neurons.  
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jacob Bruno, Jordan Jung and Shak Williams built a mail-sorting machine as part of a CREATE capstone project for Professor Jonathan Muckell's class.

 

  • Improving Medication Education in Heart Transplant Recipients sponsored by Hartford Hospital Heart Transplant Unit and 1st Playable Productions. The project aims to develop an educational game to help heart transplant patients follow a strict, complex medication regimen by filling a virtual pillbox using a medication list and virtual pill vials to practice dose adjustments and titrations reflecting their home routines.
  • EASy Exam: Artificial Intelligence for Pattern Recognition of Ultrasound Images sponsored by Nibras Bughrara MD, Albany Medical Center, Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center (BACC).
    The Echocardiographic Assessment using Subxiphoid-Only View exam, or EASy Exam, is a user-friendly way for clinicians to obtain a suggested patient management plan by analyzing a single view from a handheld ultrasound. A recently developed AI-based pattern recognition software program developed at the University at Albany helps in this effort by analyzing anatomical structures and suggesting patient management plans, but it was trained on a test data set. This project aims to further develop previous work by expanding the algorithm to read and classify subxiphoid ultrasound images. The updated software will then be applied locally, allowing its use at Albany Medical Center without being confined to a cloud.
  • Engineering Education with Extended Reality (XR) sponsored by Professor Aveek Dutta, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Extended reality (XR), comprised of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), can be a key component of experiential learning. To integrate XR into laboratory-oriented classes, this project will develop a VR/AR learning platform for fundamental classes within the ECE curriculum using development tools for iPhone and Android.
  • Spatio-temporal Assessment for Population RF Exposure sponsored by Professor Hany Elgala, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Various worldwide governing bodies have imposed emission limits on electro magnetic frequency radiation from wireless networks. The goal of this project is to determine total exposure for the general population rather than individual exposure to confirm compliance with recommended safe exposure levels in indoor scenarios.
  • Automation of a Moving Platform for Testing 3D Anemometer Motion Correction Algorithms sponsored by Campbell Scientific, Inc and Professor Scott Miller, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. Ultrasonic (sonic) anemometers can measure 3D wind vector, but when they're mounted on moving platforms the motion of the platform skews measurements and corrections must be applied afterward. To do so in real time, UAlbany researchers began developing a manually controlled land-based movable mount to mimic prescribed sensor motions (eg, pitch, roll, heave) and test real-time algorithms. This project is intended to automate and control the motion of a platform being built in the UAlbany machine shop for this purpose.
  • Uniaxial Tensiometer Instrumentation for Polymers Laboratory sponsored by the University at Albany Department of Chemistry. The Chemistry Department aims to build a laboratory where undergraduate students can synthesize new polymers and test their various material properties, including tensile strength. The lab needs a uniaxial tensile strength tester for this purpose. This project seeks to develop a low-cost alternative to expensive industry-grade testers that meets the specific requirements of the Chemistry Department's planned polymers laboratory.
  • Promoting Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities sponsored by the Center for Disability Services & New York Industries for the Disabled (CREATE Competition). This project involves competing in a statewide university competition focused on building assistive technology that promotes employment for disabled workers. The goal is to work with the mailing center to identify and develop a system to empower disabled workers to complete a job they would otherwise have difficulty completing.
  • Contactless Recording of Vibration Onset and Amplitude for Somatosensory R&D sponsored by the National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies (NCAN). This project will design and build a non-contact vibration sensor which relays information to a microcontroller in real time while being minimally affected by ambient or incidental sound. It will test the accuracy and precision of the sensor for detecting onsets of vibrotactile stimulation, and calibrate the sensor to determine the extent to which its readings reflect damping due to variations in finger pressure.
  • Multipurpose FPGA Detector Emulators sponsored by Naval Nuclear Laboratory/Fluor Marine Propulsion. This multi-year project involves designing low-cost detector emulators capable of producing variable currents, frequencies and low voltage AC and DC signals. The baseline goal is to research and develop an FPGA-based system that drives analog input signals into equipment for the purposes of testing and system qualification. This project builds upon and integrates work completed by student teams over the previous three academic years.

Partner with UAlbany Engineering

The UAlbany College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE) has been called "one of the most advanced Nanotech universities in the world" by CNBC. It has received notoriety for being "first in the Nation" to concentrate and combine sustainability with environmental engineering. Our Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering programs are nationally recognized. These UAlbany engineering programs are distinguishable because we offer students the hands-on experiences they need to develop and create solutions to address society’s most pressing challenges. That’s why our motto continues to be "Science in Service to Society."

Companies, research labs, non-profits and other organizations are invited to partner with us. We are seeking projects that:  

  • Demonstrate an experiential challenge or problem to resolve in a team-based environment
  • Offer real-world project experiences that utilize student skillsets and knowledge
  • Assist in your recruiting efforts
  • Are not critical, but have a desired application for the company 

 

Previous Sponsors

 

  • Albany Medical Center, Hartford HealthCare
  • G&G Industrial Lighting, 1st Playable Productions
  • National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Naval Nuclear Laboratory

 

Sponsors typically commit time to cultivate their investments through multiple methods.  

First, sponsors are encouraged, not required, to provide resources that are necessary for successful completion of the project based on the scope of work including materials, shipping costs, travel (when necessary) and fees.  

Additionally, sponsors are asked to provide meaningful feedback and guidance that's essential for a successful partnership and project. Stakeholders are invited to pitch their project to teams, provide timely feedback and attend team presentations.
 

Intellectual Property

Under prearranged circumstances, our prospective project sponsors may retain intellectual property rights. Sponsors that have projects involving unprotected intellectual property that wish to preserve their intellectual property should communicate this in the project intake form. Arrangements can be made on a case-by-case basis.  

Any agreement must permit students to present their work in a public forum and to submit written technical reports and other documents to meet course requirements. Otherwise, by default, our senior project undergraduate students, and the University, are governed by the SUNY IP policies described in Section 335.28 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Per regulation, a student who is not also employed by the university, may retain ownership rights to intellectual property created through no more than incidental use of SUNY Resources, subject to those restrictions that may be required by an external sponsor, if any.
 

About Sponsoring Our Projects

CNSE is a proud member of the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) University Consortium. This consortium is a network of more than 40 universities designed to share ideas and opportunities to improve engineering education through the implementation of project-based community engagement and experiential learning experiences. 

We encourage non-profit and community organizations with high-impact projects to submit project ideas and reach out to discuss potential collaboration. 
 

Submit a Capstone Project

We welcome industry, research labs, non-profits and other organizations to submit project ideas for CNSE Capstone Projects. Throughout the academic year, student teams work with project sponsors to propose, design, build, test, demonstrate, present and document a working system prototype in their field of study.

Project Duration

By semester or academic year (September through May) depending upon each department’s major requirements.

Department Contacts

For general inquiries about the CNSE Capstone programs, contact [email protected].

 

Environmental & Sustainable Engineering

Paul Millard
Paul Millard
Professor of Practice and Director of New Program Development
College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering; Department of Environmental & Sustainable Engineering
518-437-4975/ 956-8250
[email protected]
ETEC 131

Department of Computer Science

Pradeep K. Atrey
Pradeep K. Atrey
Associate Professor
College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering; Department of Computer Science
518-437-4943
[email protected]
UAB 421

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Jonathan Muckell
Jonathan Muckell
Professor of Practice
College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering; Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
518-442-3167
[email protected]
ETEC 0223

Department of Nanoscale Science & Engineering

Vincent LaBella
Vincent LaBella
Professor
College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering; Department of Nanoscale Science & Engineering
518-442-8632
[email protected]
NanoFab East 4419
Scott Tenenbaum
Scott Tenenbaum
Professor
College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering; Department of Nanoscale Science & Engineering; The RNA Institute
518-442-8646
[email protected]
NanoFab East 4312