Spring Highlights from the School of Engineering

Spring Highlights from the School of Engineering

ECE seniors presented their final design projects at the Electrical Engineering Design Symposium through demonstrations and presentations to faculty and guests.

During Academic Excellence Day, Cadets Gregory Hart, James Rousche, Tristan Bisbano and Victoria Snook won first place in the Provost’s Awards for engineering.

Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering earned multiple podium finishes at the Carolinas Conference, where 45 students and four faculty competed in 12 of 15 events.

The School of Engineering had an exciting spring semester filled with achievements, honors, and innovation. From student research and design competitions to faculty awards and national leadership appointments, cadets and faculty continue to demonstrate excellence in action.

Academy of Engineers Inducts Four New Members: on April 3, the School of Engineering inducted four distinguished professionals into The Citadel Academy of Engineers: Carlos J. Coe, ’80; James R. Martin II, ’85; Steven W. Roll, ’80; William States Lee, Class of 1894, who was posthumously inducted. His great-grandson, William States Lee IV, accepted the award on behalf of the family.

The event was co-sponsored by Duke Energy and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In addition, the Young Alumnus of the Year Award was presented to Lt. Matthew Fann, USCG, ’12. The school also recognized the retirement of longtime faculty members Robert Barsanti, Ph.D., and David Greenburg, Ph.D.

Faculty Promotions and Awards: congratulations to the following Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering faculty:

Mechanical Engineering Teams Win Baker Business Bowl: two mechanical engineering teams tied for first place at the 2025 Baker Business Bowl on April 9, each receiving a $7,500 prize:

  • Team En Garde (Sophia Woody and Daniel Melnikov) created innovative fencing protection for women.
  • ZenArc Technologies (Matthew Kinsman) presented diesel-electric retrofit kits to convert decommissioned military vehicles into fuel-efficient mobile power units.

Academic Excellence Day Honors Student Innovation: engineering students were well represented among winners of the 2025 Provost’s Awards for Academic Excellence Day:

  • Victoria Snook, Tristan Bisbano, Gregory Hart, and James Roushe – 1st place, Engineering. Project: Ungrounded Power Model for the U.S. Coast Guard.
  • Senior Design Fishing Rod Team – 2nd place, Engineering. Project: Electronic Fishing Reel to improve accessibility.
  • Self-Scoring Shuffleboard Table Team – 3rd place, Engineering. Project: Real-time scoring system for shuffleboard gameplay.

Mechanical Engineering Achievement Awards: on April 22, the Department of Mechanical Engineering presented its top student awards:

  • Sutthikiat Sungkeetanon – Mechanical Engineering Highest Achievement Award (Day Student)
  • Chance Weise – ASME Highest Achievement Award (Evening Student)

Electrical and Computer Engineering Highlights: on April 11, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering welcomed advisory board members to campus for its spring meeting, with a focus on student support services. Guest speakers included representatives from the Student Success Center and Career Center.

ECE seniors were honored at the department’s annual banquet on April 14. Student award winners included:

  • Sam Iverson – Charles Thurston Razor Award
  • Aaron Houston – Peter Gaillard Award
  • Sylmarie Dávila-Montero, Ph.D. – Lawton Ellis Teaching Award

National Recognition and Competition Success

  • Mark McKinney, Ph.D., head of the ECE department, was recently named president of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association—a national leadership role.
  • A Citadel student team earned second place in the Software Competition at IEEE SoutheastCon 2025, where they were challenged to design a video game from a one-word theme announced at the start of the event.