NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

05/29/2026

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Kyu Taek Cho from our mechanical engineering department and Dr. Shun Takai from our engineering technology department on their promotions to Full Professor! 🎉

This distinction reflects years of excellence in teaching, research and service — and the tremendous impact both faculty members continue to make within CEET and beyond.

We’re grateful for their leadership, dedication and commitment to student success. Congratulations, gentlemen, on this outstanding achievement!

05/27/2026

Five years after graduating, biomedical engineering alumna Natalia Knutsen is finding new ways to give back to the next generation of Huskies. 🐾

Whether she’s mentoring students, serving on the Engineering and Technology Alumni Society board, helping with Senior Design Showcase or returning to campus events, Knutsen continues to stay deeply connected to the college that helped shape her journey.

Read more at the CEET news blog:

NIU biomedical engineering graduate Natalia Knutsen, a Medline associate quality manager, is on a mission to serve as a strong role model.

05/25/2026

Grateful on this Memorial Day for all of those who've made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

NIU is closed Mon., May 25 in observance of Memorial Day. Today, and every day, we honor and remember those who have served and sacrificed for our country.

05/21/2026

We're all about bringing real-world insight from the frontlines into the classroom.

From last month alone, one example was Dave West, examinations director for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, speaking to students in our Engineering Hazard Controls for Industrial Operations course.

West explored the growing importance of systems thinking in Environmental Health & Safety, with engaging case studies that sparked strong discussion and student participation throughout the session. 🦺⚙️🐾

05/19/2026

A remarkable moment for NIU research — and a great example of CEET’s impact on world-class scientific collaboration.

Congratulations to mechanical engineering Professor Nicholas Pohlman and the other NIU faculty and alumni who shared in the prestigious 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work on the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

The story spotlights how hands-on engineering experience connects directly to groundbreaking scientific discovery. Under Pohlman’s leadership, then-CEET mechanical engineering students — now alumni — Greg Luo and Andrew Behnke played important roles in the collaboration while gaining real-world research experience as students.

Plus, each gets a $7,500 share of the $3 million prize!

Read more from the NIU Newsroom:

NIU professors, alumni from physics and engineering share in $3 million Breakthrough Prize

05/15/2026

What does it take to compete at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas?

This CEET News feature goes beyond the final results to tell the full story of NIU Supermileage’s journey — through the voices of a cross-section of students and faculty advisor Eric M. Lee who lived it.

From design challenges and technical inspections to teamwork, leadership and lessons learned, the story captures the persistence and collaboration that power one of CEET’s signature student experiences.

This is one truly super group of Huskie engineers!

NIU's Supermileage Team turned ambitious plans into reality with dedication and skill last month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

05/12/2026

From engineering classrooms and hands-on projects to long hours with the NIU Supermileage Team, electrical engineering graduate Aditi Venkatesh made the most of her Huskie experience.

Aditi was featured during Saturday’s undergraduate commencement ceremony in a video spotlighting graduating students and the journeys that shaped them along the way.

Take a look at how research, teamwork and real-world problem-solving helped prepare her for what’s next.

Learn how Aditi Venkatesh’s experiences in the classroom as an Electrical Engineering Major and outside the classroom with NIU’s Super Mileage Team shaped he...

05/09/2026

From Friday’s graduate commencement to today’s undergraduate ceremony at the Convocation Center, it’s been an unforgettable weekend celebrating our newest Huskie engineering alumni. 🎓🐾

After crossing the stage, more than 100 grads gathered at the Engineering Building for our Challenge Coin ceremony — a special CEET tradition welcoming them into the next chapter of the Huskie engineering family.

Big thanks to the Engineering and Technology Alumni Society (ETAS) for helping make the celebration so memorable! ❤️🖤

Once a Huskie, always a Huskie.

05/08/2026

Congratulations to our award-winning student teams who took home the honors in their respective categories at last week's Senior Design Project Showcase!

On our news blog, each is noted in a story summarizing the showcase (see link below)--but each deserves a shout-out here too:

Problem Solving: Biocomposite Degradation Testing Apparatus, with team members Nicholas Kocher, Victor Lopez and Christopher Alesi.

Client: the NIU Bioplastics Lab and the Illinois Soybean Association.

Faculty advisors: Engineering Technology Assistant Professor Mahdia Vaezi and graduate advisors Ian Janusz and Ryan Mueller.

Application of Engineering Concepts: Formula SAE Team Brake Rotor Design and Flywheel-Based Test Stand Development, with team members Alexander Boyden, Austin Coyne and Cody Marko

Client and faculty advisor: Bobby Sinko

​Innovation: Campus Security Patrol Robot, with team members Kyla Davis, Huy Vo, Saood Alazemi, Jack Wojcik and Arash Jizan.

Client and faculty advisors: Peter Lin and Mansour Tahernezhadi.

Commercial Viability: Guide Rail Deburring 6 Axis Robot Arm, with team members Mauro Smith, Michael Duraski and Kate Jassman.

Client: Hiwin

Faculty advisors: Y.J. Lin and Mansour Tahernezhadi.

https://ceet.news.niu.edu/2026/05/08/senior-design-showcase-launches-huskies-beyond-classroom-into-industry/

05/07/2026

Photos from last Friday’s Senior Design Showcase capture a lot—talented students and some seriously impressive projects.

But they also show something just as meaningful: CEET alumni showing up in a big way.

Members of the Engineering and Technology Alumni Society spent the day connecting with students, digging into their capstone work and sharing real-world insight that truly elevates the experience. (They also provided the evaluations that resulted in the four award-winning teams for innovation, problem solving, commercial viability and application of engineering concepts.)

For our soon-to-be graduates, it’s a powerful reminder that they're about to join a community that shows up for each other. And with the Challenge Coin Ceremony coming up Saturday at 2:30 p.m., that next step is right around the corner.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our ETAS members who continue to give their time and expertise so generously!

05/05/2026

Our Senior Design Showcase was featured on local TV Friday night—across three segments.

After sharing the main segment on Sunday and the Weldcoa spotlight yesterday, here's another piece from the 6 p.m. broadcast featuring one of our Fermi-sponsored teams—Mark Salazar, Angel Reyes and Francis Oribello (one of six Fermi teams represented at this year’s Showcase).

With 60 teams taking part, there were so many projects that could have been featured. This is just a glimpse of the innovation, collaboration and real-world problem solving happening every day at CEET.

Take a look 👇