in Mechanical Engineering

Design Teams

Spring 2025 Design Teams

Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) Glovebox Adjustable Elevation Mr. Dinwiddie

The design project will have students working with Los Alamos National Labs professionals to develop several concepts and ultimately a preliminary design of a mechanism that will adjust the height of a glovebox to match that of the user. Students will be responsible for performing all calculations and simulations as well as producing detailed CAD models and manufacturing drawings. Students will hold Preliminary Design Review and once the PDR has been completed, students will be responsible for overseeing the fabrication process and installing and testing the prototype. Students will then present their results as well as iterations to the design at a Critical Design Review with LANL and NMT.

Space Cup Competition Team Dr. Lim

This project involves designing a rocket to compete in Spaceport America’s Space Cup Launch.

Spaceport America Launch Rail Advisor Dr. Mier

The purpose of this one-semester project is to design and build a launch rail for Spaceport America (SA), which will be used for both student and commercial launch customers. The launch rail must be affixed to an existing steel structure that is bolted to the concrete at Launch Complex 3. This steel structure is approximately 20 feet tall, and thus provides a stable support for a 25+ ft long rail.

Sandia National Labs Kolsky Bar Advisor Dr. Mier

Students will design and prototype an environmentally controlled test chamber along with a Split Hopkinson Bar to pass through it for testing insulation materials in high strain-rate environments. The test chamber must maintain a controlled environment, achieving a relative humidity (RH) of less than 10% during testing, with a stretch goal of 5% RH or lower. The box must allow for easy insertion and manipulation of test samples while maintaining these environmental parameters.

Owens Corning Calibration Rig Advisor Mr. Ruff

For this project, a student team will take the previous LVDT calibration rig that was programmed in NI LabVIEW and finish industrialization of that instrument. The project will involve mechanical design for guarding and containment and a good bit of controls, safety interlocks, programming and demonstration of accurate calibration. The finished product should contain an embedded power supply, self-contained controls (PLC, embedded micro-PC) with some display capability showing cycle status etc. and a USB stick file output.

Model Airplane Dr. Hassanalian

This project involves designing, building, and flying a model airplane in a Spring competition.

Baja SAE Project Mr. Dinwiddie

This project involves designing, building, testing and racing an offroad vehicle in competitions.

3d-Printed Aircraft Competition Mr. Ruff

This project involves designing and building a 3d-printed aircraft that will fly at a competition in Arlington, TX.

NASA Lunabotics Competition Dr. Hassanalian and Mr. Dinwiddie

This project involves designing and building a lunar mining robot and participation in the NASA-sponsored competition.

PESCO Passive Solar Salty Water Heating Unit Dr. Wei

To design and build an appropriately-sized prototype of the passive solar salty water heating unit. The goal of the unit is to quickly and efficiently heat input water (for PESCO’s desalination process) to 40 degrees C above ambient temperature.

CubeSat Frame Structural Simulation and Optimization Dr. Zagrai

Students will develop a CubeSat frame that is easily manufacturable while being able to withstand loading and vibration associated with space launch. Students will refine an existing CubeSat design for the purpose of manufacturing. The design will need to undergo loading and vibration simulation associated with space launches. Students will develop CAD models and perform simulations. They will also develop detailed manufacturing drawings and oversee the fabrication process.

Drone Garden Dr. Hassanalian

The objective of this project is to design bioinspired drone housing/charging stations (nests) inspired by paper wasp nests, blooming flowers, water lilies, bird nests, and trees.

Robot Combat Competition Teams Dr. Naghdi

Design, build, test, and compete a robot in multiple competitions, including NMT’s own tournament in April.

Quad Tile Project Sponsored by Upsite Group Dr. O’Malley

Upsite would like to create a supply tile for data centers with a 2x2 sub grid, that breaks a tile up into four quadrants that can each accept a variety of inserts that affect airflow in different ways. This project entails designing the base structure for the quad tile and designing the inserts to achieve different flow characteristics, while ensuring that the tile has a similar weight rating as other supply tiles on the market to facilitate equipment movement and pedestrian traffic.

Sandia National Labs Strain Gauge Adhesion Methods Dr. O’Malley

This project involves the design and build of a test fixture and test procedure for evaluating different adhesion methods for strain gauges.

Sandia National Labs Camera Housing Dr. O’Malley

This project sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories’ Mechanical Flight Systems lab aims to improve the performance of onboard flight cameras for in flight data collection. The student team will study, downselect, design, and prototype production of a sealed camera housing design.

Wildlife Monitoring Ground Rover Dr. Lee

This design clinic project aims at developing a ground rover for wildlife monitoring mission sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The developed rover system will monitor

wild animals such as mule deer, coyotes, and pronghorns at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge

while autonomously moving around areas in the refuge. The main goal is to manufacture a rover system that can autonomously navigate the refuge to detect wild animals while staying at the site for long-term monitoring.

Past Design Teams