Seminars

Spring 2026

• Week 1 - April 3 - Senior Poster Session- ISEC ATRIUM

  Our graduating seniors will be showcasing their hard work and the final results or their Senior projects.

  This Mechinar will be held in the ISEC Atrium

• Week 2 - April 10- Senior Experience Panel

  Six Seniors have been invited, including those headed to top graduate programs and others who have secured positions at companies like General Dynamics and Lockheed Marti, to share their journeys with you.

• Week 3 - April 17- Professor Jiajing Huang- Kennesaw State University

  This presentation introduces Eigen-Entropy (EE), a novel framework designed to overcome the challenges of detecting faults in modern HVAC systems. While IoT tools offer potential for energy efficiency, they often struggle with unreliable performance baselines and the gap between simulation and real-world data. Join us to explore how EE uses information theory to create robust baselines and extract features from complex data, significantly improving the accuracy and efficiency of building performance monitoring.

• Week 4 - April 24- Navigating Your Senior Experience

  This is a critical session for your planning, as it covers the different tracks available to every Mechanical Engineering student.

  What to expect:

  • The Big Picture: Our Department Chair will introduce the various senior experience options and requirements.
  • Research & Projects: Professors will present their current research projects and highlight specific openings for senior project students in their labs.
  • Q&A: You will have the chance to ask faculty directly about the scope and expectations of their projects.

  Whether you are interested in faculty-led research, or student-centered design, this session will help you secure your spot for next year.

• Week 5 - May 1- Fellowship & Scholarship Opportunities with Dr. Lynn Evans

  For this Mechinar session, we welcome Dr. Lynn Evans, the Director of Fellowships and Doctoral Pathways at Union College.

  In this session, you will learn about:

  • Various fellowship and scholarship opportunities available to Mechanical Engineering students.
  • How to start the application process early to give yourself the best chance of success.
  • Resources available through the Office of Fellowships and Doctoral Pathways for those considering graduate school.
• Week 6 -May 8- Steinmetz Day (No Mechinar)

  Mechinar will not be held on this day due to the Steinmentz Day event.

• Week 7 - May 15- Professor Smitesh Bakrania '03, Rowan University- How History Makes You a Better Engineer

  Golden Alumni Awardee, Dr. Bakrania Smitesh '03, Rowan University presents- How History Makes You a Better Engineer. Engineering is often taught as equations, models, and optimization—but real innovation rarely begins there. It begins with people, pressure, and imperfect choices. Why do some ideas take hold while others fade? How do conflict and constraint accelerate creativity? And what happens when solving a problem creates new ones? This talk explores how looking backward—at the context, motivations, and consequences behind past innovations—can make us more thoughtful, effective engineers today. By examining how value has been created across history, we uncover a deeper truth: great engineering is not just about what we can build, but understanding why we build it.

• Week 8 - May 22- Dr. Jihong Ma, University of Vermont

  Quantum Dots, Symmetry, and Material Science with Dr. Jihong Ma, recent recipient of the 2026 NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Ma’s research bridges the gap between fundamental physics and mechanical engineering to create tunable, high-performance materials.

• Week 9 - May 29- MER-498 Senior Project Elevator Pitches & Featured Alumni Speaker

  Part 1: Senior Project Elevator Pitches
  We will kick off the seminar with fast-paced presentations from three of your fellow seniors. Each student will deliver a 2-minute elevator pitch covering their MER 498 senior project, followed by a quick 1-minute Q&A session. Come support your peers and see the impressive projects they've been working on!

  Part 2: Featured Alumni Speaker - Mallory Epstein (Silver Awardee)
  Following the student pitches, we are honored to welcome back Union Mechanical Engineering alumna and Silver Awardee, Mallory Epstein.

  Mallory is currently a Senior Sales Solutions Engineer for a major heat pump manufacturer. After graduating from Union, she furthered her engineering and business acumen at Cornell University, where she earned her Master's in Engineering Management.

  Talk Focus: Many students assume that an engineering degree only leads to traditional research and development (R&D) roles. Mallory will speak about her career path in sales engineering and discuss how engineers can successfully apply their technical problem-solving skills on the business and management side of the industry.

• Week 10 - June 5- No Mechinar will be held

  No Mechinar will be held