Old Westbury, NY – April 27th was an exciting day for NYIT and the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. At NYIT's Old Westbury campus, the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) held a student professional development conference with over 120 students from 18 schools including Columbia University, Stevens Institute of Technology, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Rochester Institute of Technology, and judges and professionals from the tri-state region. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for engineering students to engage in a day of competition, networking and professional development with peers.

NYIT's ASME team took first place in the robotics competition and will be heading to the finals in San Diego in November. Matt Wahl from Union College took first place in the Oral Presentation competition, with his entry on "Technical Swimsuit Design using Silica Aerogels." Andy Wells of Drexel University took first place in the Technical Poster competition with his presentation on the "Fabrication of Nanoporous Membranes Using Biological Templates." Syeda Zehra of Stevens Institute of Technology took first place in the Technical Webpage competition with an "Advanced Heavy Lift Cargo Plane." Students from NYIT took first place in the Student Design competition with their robot, "Clampy the 6th Hero" which had the fastest time overall.

At the same time, the NYIT student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) held its first car show. The SAE event had over 30 vehicles in attendance, including a Tesla owned by U.S. astronaut Greg Olsen, a Lamborghini and McLaren owned by Ludmilla Amani, NYIT associate professor of telecommunications and electrical and computer engineering technology; and an Aston Martin owned by Michael Scarpa-Burnett, associate dean of Campus Life at NYIT-Old Westbury. The first SAE car show at NYIT drew a crowd of about 200 spectators and raised more than $350 for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., dean of NYIT's School of Engineering and Computing Sciences said, "These student-led events exemplify what our students are able to accomplish on their own, and I congratulate SAE President Anthony Reyes (Merrick, N.Y., Mechanical Engineering major), as well as  Derek Stack (Ridgewood, N.J., Mechanical Engineering), and Colin Vinson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Engineering Management), who are  president and vice president of ASME, respectively. Along with their teams, they did a masterful job organizing and running the events and are shining proof that NYIT prepares our students to become the leaders of the future."

To top it all off, NYIT invited its Dean's Honors Program students as well as newly admitted students to partake in the action. New students got a chance to see what it was like to be part of the NYIT community. They talked with Dean Anid, toured labs, met with current students, and enjoyed the beautiful day on the Old Westbury campus. New students also had the chance to meet one-on-one with Admissions and Financial Aid staff. A parent of an Honors Program student who attended the event said, "After attending this reception and other events on campus, I know my son has made the right decision to attend NYIT. He is looking forward to starting his college career in September."

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 92,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

Elizabeth Sullivan
Public Relations Strategist
516.686.3761