In-flight Technology and Beach Solutions Win Master of Engineering Awards

June 24, 2025 – In-flight entertainment technology, artificial heart valves and environmental beach solutions were among the real-world projects that UC Irvine Master of Engineering students worked on this year. The students showcased their progress at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Science & Engineering on June 12. 

“The projects are a celebration of our students’ ingenuity,” UC Irvine Samueli School of Engineering Dean Magnus Egerstedt said at the opening of the presentations. “Every other discipline deals with the world as it is. We, as engineers, we imagine the world as it could be — and we have the design tools to try to make it a reality, which is what today is all about.”

There were 18 student teams that worked with industry this year. Here are the winners:

Dean’s Top Choice: Panasonic Thermal Seatbox Evaluation Unit

This winning team created a thermal seatbox test unit for commercial airflight entertainment boxes to make sure they don’t overheat while passengers watch movies. The students designed a more agile and much smaller unit than what’s currently used.

Panasonic Avionics Senior Manager Suni Murata said he enjoys working with students and helps them discover their strengths. He appreciates the can-do attitude students bring to a project. “When I work with experienced engineers,” Murata says, “they’ll often say ‘No, it won’t work.’  Students are more open-minded — they’ll say ‘Yeah, it can be done. Let’s try this.’”

Mitchell Kiner, whom Murata highly praised for his leadership of the team, said Irvine is a great place to earn a Master of Engineering. “It’s really cool to see how much industry is here. Being surrounded by it is a huge plus if you’re looking for a job.”

Mechanical and aerospace engineering student Grant Orzechowski landed an internship at Panasonic due to this project, which he enjoyed. “We got a lot of industry experience and feedback from people who’ve been working in the field for decades and a lot of support,” he said.

Executive Committee Winner: UCI-City of San Clemente

San Clemente is facing severe erosion of its beaches, which has affected its railway. Diesel trucks have been hauling in sand but the city would like a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for beach nourishment.

Professor Brett Sanders says the students’ work has been groundbreaking. “For the first time, we’ve mapped out the available sediment across flood channels in Orange County,” he said. “They’ve also tapped into new technologies.” Their ideas include a slurry pipeline that would run on electricity, a conveyor built and rail spur to bring sand from the Prado Dam, and using hybrid trucks in the future.

City officials were impressed. "What we learn most from the students is to take the blinders off," said San Clemente City Manager Andy Hall. "We’re still working in the 1950s when it comes to putting sand on the beach. There’s got to be a better way. Hopefully we in San Clemente will discover that and change all of the West Coast."

Dean’s Choice Runner Up: Glidewell Dental

This team made a smart mouthguard and companion app that uses electrical sensors to pick up signals from mouth muscles when one sleeps. It can be used to diagnose bruxism, the involuntary clenching and grinding of teeth. Biomedical engineering student Apy Sen led the team and said it gave him valuable electrical engineering experience especially in circuit design.

 “The students knocked it out of the park,” Glidewell electrical engineering manager Fernando Vera said. “The team was able to show a proof of concept that we can do this.”  He said working with students is a win-win because students get to work in product development while Glidewell can enact projects they usually don’t have the bandwidth for.

Executive Committee Runner Up: Edwards Lifescience Tissue Processing System

These students worked on a tissue engineering process that aims to scale-up the usage of animal tissue for artificial heart valves. “We worked on making the soft tissue stronger and more durable,” said Jacob Marquez, an advanced manufacturing major. “I gained a lot of broader industry knowledge such as metallurgy, aerospace and chemistry.”

 “I loved working on this project,” said biomedical engineering student Nazanin Sardar Pour Godarzi. “I worked on the automation and was so happy that it actually worked the way we want it.”

Every year companies work with UCI by proposing projects they would like students to work on. This year, 87 students had the option to choose from projects spanning healthcare, electric vehicles, beach nourishment, advanced manufacturing and more. The unique nine-month program offers graduate students the opportunity to work with industry partners to create actual solutions. 

Advantech won the industry Gold Award for sponsoring six projects since 2020. This year, industry sponsors included Alcon, Bio-Leonhardt, Brelle, Edwards Lifesciences, Gaudi, Glidewell, Inari, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Magmotor Technologies, Panasonic, Phoenix Energy Technologies, PTC, Rivian, Southern California Edison, Terumo Neuro, the city of San Clemente and Yazaki.

- Natalie Tso