The Autodesk Technology and Engagement Center, one of CSUN’s newest facilities, was brimming with activity and innovation on May 1, as seniors in the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science displayed the “capstone” projects they’ve worked on with faculty advisers for the past year. The annual Senior Design Project Showcase features live demonstrations by students, who also create displays and oral presentations to showcase their concepts and how they bring them to life.
Their inventions and presentations are judged by a panel of industry experts, including alumnus Andrew Anagnost ’87 (Mechanical Engineering), Hon.D. ’24, president and CEO of Autodesk, one of the world’s leading design and make technology companies. Last year, Anagnost demonstrated his commitment to his alma mater by donating $20 million to the university. In recognition of his unwavering support, at the request of CSUN President Erika D. Beck, the California State University Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the university’s engineering college in his honor.
Houssam Toutanji, dean of the Anagnost College, noted in his welcome message that this experience is an opportunity for students to show they’re ready to make meaningful contributions within their chosen fields.
“These projects represent the culmination of a journey where students have applied their knowledge, creativity and determination to address real-world challenges with impressive ingenuity and craftsmanship,” Toutanji said.
There were more than 40 student innovations on display throughout ATEC and the college’s classrooms, including a fire-resistant structure, a stadium, and a wastewater treatment facility created by teams of civil engineering and construction management students; a pill reminder and monitoring system for patients taking multiple medications, designed by computer science students; and a household compact compost blender created by engineering management technology students.
Senior mechanical engineering majors Victoria Bures and Leo Haroutoonian worked together on the 16-person team behind the S.M.A.R.T. Hawk — a shape-morphing, artificial red-tailed hawk. Bures led the design sub-team and Haroutoonian led the avionics sub-team. Both are moving on to graduate engineering programs. Haroutoonian said that the work ignited his interest in aerospace technology.
“I got a lot of flight testing experience and very good experience on the technical side of things, creating a control architecture for our model,” he said.
Bures said she learned a great deal about manufacturing and working with a group.
That manufacturing experience included “working with composites, carbon fiber and making our first cambered (curved) feathers,” she said. “But also, what I took away was actually working with the team and the three sub-teams to make one coherent model that actually flies.”
This year’s showcase grand prize winner was the team behind CSUN ISAM (In-Space Assembly and Manufacturing), made up of mechanical engineering and computer science students. The group developed an autonomous rover for future NASA missions on the moon and future Mars exploration.
For more information about the Senior Design Project Showcase, visit the Anagnost College webpages.
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