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College of Engineering

Engineering in Photos: April 2025

Every month, our college photographer is out and about capturing the energy, creativity, and everyday moments across Notre Dame Engineering. This photo collection highlights just some of what they saw in April 2025—from classroom projects and research breakthroughs to awards, events, and campus life. It’s not everything that happened, but it’s a glimpse into a few of the things that made the month memorable.

2025 ASCE Indiana-Kentucky Student Symposium

A large group of students from Notre Dame’s ASCE chapter pose together on and around a staircase inside a conference center. They are dressed in business casual and professional attire, smiling toward the camera during the closing banquet of the 2025 ASCE Indiana-Kentucky Student Symposium.

Members of Notre Dame’s ASCE student chapter gather at the Century Center for the closing banquet of the 2025 ASCE Indiana-Kentucky Student Symposium. Hosted on Notre Dame’s campus, the event welcomed over 330 students from 12 universities. Notre Dame’s record 70 participants earned 11 podium finishes and secured second place overall. Catch the highlights from a weekend of competition, collaboration, and civil engineering excellence.

Mechatronic Football Tournament – Photos by Todd Taylor

Three robotic football players are lined up on an indoor court. The left robot is labeled “Navy” and features a pink bumper and a large black-and-white visual marker on the front. The middle robot has a neon green fabric cover with a football resting in a mesh basket. The right robot, labeled “Cataback #12,” has a green and black mechanical launcher with visible wiring and components.
A student kneels on the gym floor making adjustments to a robotic football player before a match, with a football placed in front of the robot.
A football is seen in motion above the gym floor, having just been launched by a robot equipped with green spinning rollers designed for propulsion. A separate robot with a pink fabric covering is partially visible.
The Notre Dame Robotic Football team poses for a group photo on the gym floor, smiling and holding an “IRISH” banner with several robots in front.
A team member leans over to make adjustments to a robot on the field, holding a controller in one hand.
A wide overhead view shows a full-length robotic football field inside a gym, with one game in progress. Multiple teams, robots, and equipment are visible along the sidelines and at each end of the marked court.

Notre Dame’s Robotic Football team hosted the 2025 Robotic Football Tournament at Saint Mary’s College, bringing together six collegiate teams to compete for the Brian Hederman Memorial Trophy. With robots designed for passing, running, and defense, the action-packed event showcased innovation and teamwork. Notre Dame took third place, with Ohio Northern University claiming the championship title.

NDRT Test Launch

A green rocket launches vertically from a field, leaving a trail of white smoke behind it. Trees line the background under a clear sky.
Students wearing winter clothing work together to prepare a green rocket for launch, gathered around a table filled with tools and supplies.
Four students carry a large green rocket horizontally across a harvested field, with one team member crouching to inspect it.
The Notre Dame Rocketry Team poses in a group photo in a field, holding their green rocket and smiling at the camera. Most are dressed in cold-weather gear.

The Notre Dame Rocketry Team (NDRT), part of NASA’s University Student Launch Initiative, conducts a test launch. Following last year’s overall win, the team prepares for this year’s final launch at the end of April in Huntsville, Alabama.

Domer Rover

Members of the Domer Rover team pose outdoors in front of Notre Dame’s Main Building with their custom-built Mars rover and a banner that reads “Domer Rover.”
A student works on the top panel of the blue Domer Rover in the lab, focusing on precision with tools and wiring.
Two students crouch beside the Domer Rover, working together on a mechanical component of the rover’s arm system.
Three students sit on the floor around the Domer Rover, making adjustments to the frame and sensors during lab testing.

Members of Notre Dame’s Domer Rover team pose with their custom-built Mars rover in front of the Main Building. The student-led team is designing and building a rover capable of navigating and performing tasks in simulated Martian terrain. Learn more about the team’s journey and technical achievements as they gear up for the University Rover Challenge (URC), an international robotics competition held annually by the Mars Society.

2025 AIMM ICC

Three students work together under a white canopy tent, assembling or inspecting a mechanical component using tools on a workbench.
Two students adjust wiring and rotor components on a large drone, while another team member stands behind them in a tented outdoor workspace.
Five students stand and smile behind a long table filled with drone components, tools, and equipment inside a white tent used as a temporary workstation.
A student stands on a dock holding a remote control while a drone flies over a lake near an autonomous vessel. Leafless trees line the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Members of Notre Dame’s AIMM team present their project to a seated panel of judges inside a wood-paneled room, with a large monitor displaying data and visuals related to their autonomous vessel and drone system.
Team members work on the autonomous vessel at the dock, adjusting wiring and preparing systems before testing on the water. They are also preparing to load weights onto the vessel for ballast.
The completed autonomous vessel floats on a calm lake, equipped with onboard electronics, a net basket, weighted black plates, and a mounted drone positioned in the middle.

Notre Dame Engineering students make final adjustments to their autonomous low-profile vessel and drone system during the 2025 AIMM ICC at Pokagon State Park, where they were named Overall Grand Champion for the second year in a row. Among teams using similar vessels, Notre Dame stood out as the only one to complete the course fully autonomously. Learn more about their winning performance at this year’s competition.

ME Senior Design

Student soldering a circuit board at a lab bench, wearing a mask and safety glasses.
Student adjusting a robotic vehicle frame in a workshop, wearing safety goggles.
Student on the floor guiding a wheeled robot toward a small stack of wooden blocks, with classmates working in the background.
Students using remote controls to operate robots in a classroom.
Two students crouching by a robot, adjusting components on the floor.
Students observing a robot in a taped-off area during a demonstration.

The students in the Spring 2025 section of ME Senior Design were tasked with designing and prototyping a Construction Assistant. This mechatronic system needed to transport a set amount of construction material and a randomized amount of payload while navigating the construction site around and over obstacles. Once at the build site, the system had to construct a simple structure and then autonomously deposit exactly half of the payload before returning to the starting point.

Aero Senior Design Flight Tests

Large group of students, instructors, and volunteers posing outdoors in front of student-built RC planes on a grassy airfield, with silos and buildings in the background.
Radio-controlled plane flying in the sky above a rural landscape with trees and a red brick house in the distance.
Student crouched on a tarmac working on a large green and yellow RC plane, adjusting components near the fuselage.

Seniors in Aerospace Design designed and built radio-controlled (RC) planes in preparation for spring flight tests. Before takeoff, the students faced multiple engineering challenges, including correctly placing their plane’s center of gravity to ensure steady flight.

Intro to Hydrology

An instructor gestures inside a clear tank while explaining water flow concepts to a group of students during a hydrology class.
A student measures the water level in a clear tank using a ruler, concentrating on the reading during a lab exercise.
Two students crouch beside a clear tank, closely observing the flow of water inside the channel during a hands-on hydrology lab.

Civil and environmental engineering students get hands-on experience in fluid mechanics in the Hydraulics Lab. Here, students study a hydraulic jump, which appears as a turbulent standing wave that rapidly dissipates energy. Students take measurements and, with the aid of some theoretical estimates, learn about the energy dissipation rate across the jump.

2025 College of Engineering Outstanding Mentor Award

Ramzi Bualuan sits at his desk while talking with a female student

“His advice and guidance were key in helping me figure out which positions best fit my skills and interests.” Students say Professor Ramzi Bualuan’s mentorship helped shape their futures—personally and professionally. Ramzi Bualuan was chosen as this year’s College of Engineering Outstanding Mentor.

Undergraduate Research

Two students, one female and one male, work on a large machine with an artificial bone inside. The background walls are bright yellow.

As part of an undergraduate research project, two Notre Dame students—one in the College of Engineering and the other in the College of Science—work on an innovative device, designed by an orthopedic surgeon and Notre Dame alum. The device will help repair fractures in hip replacement patients while minimizing damage to tendons and muscles.

CoE Plant Exchange

College of Engineering staff gather in a conference room for a plant exchange event. The table is filled with green plants, glass vases, a LEGO flower bouquet set, and other giveaway items. Some attendees are seated, while others chat and smile in the background.

College of Engineering staff connect over greenery and giveaways at the CoE Plant Exchange, an event hosted by the Staff Engagement and Culture Committee to promote wellness, community, and shared interests across departments.

2025 College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award – Merlin Breuning

Merlin Bruening teaches at a blackboard with equations written on it

Congratulations to Professor Merlin Bruening, named the 2025 College of Engineering Outstanding Teacher! Undergraduates praise his clarity, commitment, and contagious enthusiasm in the classroom.

Undergraduate Research Information Session

Students seated around tables in a classroom listen during an undergraduate research information session. Four student panelists are seated at the front of the room facing the group, while two large presentation screens behind the audience display the text “College of Engineering” and “Questions?”

Students gather for the second Undergraduate Research Information Session hosted by the College of Engineering, where four undergraduate researchers shared their experiences and insights. The session offered peers a chance to learn what to expect from participating in research as an undergrad.

Group Photo Time – TIME Lab

A group of students and researchers from the Tumor Immune Microenvironment & Mechanics Laboratory (TIME Lab) pose together on a stairwell inside McCourtney Hall East. Some stand on the steps while others are grouped below, all smiling at the camera.

The Tumor Immune Microenvironment & Mechanics Laboratory (TIME Lab), led by Professor Meenal Datta and now based in McCourtney Hall East, brings together engineers and scientists to confront the toughest challenges in cancer research. By investigating how biological, chemical, electrical, and mechanical factors drive tumor progression and treatment resistance, the lab develops innovative, translatable solutions—on Earth and beyond. Learn more at timelab.nd.edu.

Fox Hunt

Six participants in the Notre Dame Radio Society and Amateur Radio Club's annual Fox Hunt stand on a campus sidewalk holding directional antennas and handheld radios used to search for a hidden transmitter.
Wes Evard, our College photographer, stands in the middle of a three-person selfie with his son in the foreground. Wes and his son were the first team to find the hidden transmitter, or "fox," during the Notre Dame Radio Society's annual Fox Hunt. Clint Manning stands in the background.

Members of the Notre Dame Radio Society (NDRS) and the Notre Dame Amateur Radio Club participated in their annual Fox Hunt. Participants used directional antennas and handheld radios to locate a small radio transmitter—known as “the fox”—that was hidden somewhere on campus. Our own College photographer, Wes Evard and his son were the first to find the “fox” in just under 30 minutes. If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Notre Dame Radio Society (NDRS) or the Notre Dame Amateur Radio Club, contact Clint Manning for more information.

Inside the Lab: Engineering for Earthquake Resilience

Two researchers in hard hats closely inspect a concrete beam inside a structural testing lab.
Four researchers in hard hats and safety gear monitor data on screens during a structural test inside a high-bay lab with industrial equipment.
Two researchers in hard hats sit at a workstation, analyzing real-time structural test data on multiple computer monitors.
One researcher points at a computer setup while another operates testing equipment; a third person monitors data on a screen during the structural brace experiment.

Researchers at Notre Dame’s Structural Systems Laboratory recently tested a new type of innovative precast concrete buckling-restrained diagonal brace for earthquake resisting buildings. This collaborative ongoing project between Notre Dame, University of California San Diego, and Clemson University is funded by the National Science Foundation, Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and structural engineering industry partners. The recent test demonstrated the improvements that are needed to reach the potential high seismic performance that is targeted for the novel brace.

First-Year Engineering Robot Maze Demo

Three students observe a small robot navigating a cardboard maze on the floor in the atrium of Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering; one student kneels with a controller, while Prof. Joseph Lyon watches from a chair.
Several students gather around a large cardboard maze in a two-story lobby space, watching a robot make its way through the course.
A group of four students beside a cardboard maze; one student seated in a chair holds a notebook while the robot navigates a turn in the maze.
Close-up of a small wheeled robot with green lights following a black-taped path inside a cardboard maze; a green cylindrical object lies nearby as a “hazard” marker.

First-year engineering students tackled a simulated disaster relief scenario by programming autonomous robots using Python. Their robots had to follow a line, navigate a maze, detect a “hazard,” and successfully exit the maze. To complete the challenge, the students integrated a variety of sensors, including line-following sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and magnetometers. Once the robot completed the course, it transmitted navigation directions to another computer via Bluetooth.

First-Year Engineering Introduction to Embedded Systems Demo

A student holds a custom-built Arduino project with a breadboard, wires, sensors, and a small screen displaying the message: “Press button to start Bop It!”
Two students seated at a classroom desk discuss their Arduino project with an instructor who is standing nearby, observing and engaging in the conversation.
Two students collaborate on an Arduino project, adjusting wires and components while seated at a table with laptops and tools.
A student explains his project to a professor and a classmate, holding the wired circuit board at a classroom desk.
A student presents her Arduino project while explaining it with another student and an instructor, using a laptop for demonstration.

First-year engineering students in EE 10200 Introduction to Embedded Systems demonstrate their final projects that they designed and implemented using an Arduino microcontroller. 

This photo collection was produced by the Notre Dame Engineering Communications and Marketing team. Photos by Wes Evard, Notre Dame Engineering