This May, students, faculty members, industry professionals and community supporters gathered on Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus for Innovation Showcase, a signature student event highlighting engineering and technology projects designed to address real-world challenges.
Hosted by the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, the showcase featured projects from students in The Polytechnic School, the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks and the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence. Throughout the event, attendees moved between student presentations and interactive exhibits that reflected the Polytechnic campus’s emphasis on applied learning, industry collaboration and community engagement.
“The success of the Polytechnic campus requires the kind of innovative hands-on learning and broad partnerships that are on display at the Innovation Showcase,” says Vanessa Fonseca-Chavez, the assistant vice provost of the ASU Polytechnic campus. “The energy and enthusiasm of the day were evident as attendees walked through the different learning and demonstration spaces. And our Poly students rose to the challenge of designing and showcasing impactful team-based projects that highlight skills they’ll use well into the future.”
For the second year, Innovation Showcase welcomed 240 East Valley high school students to explore project demonstrations, attend student panels and participate in hands-on STEM activities alongside ASU students and faculty members. For many visiting high schoolers, the showcase offered a firsthand introduction to engineering and technology education at ASU and an opportunity to envision themselves pursuing similar work in the future.
“When students witness and engage with real-world research, design and problem-solving experiences, they begin to understand that engineering is a pathway to creating solutions that improve lives and shape the future,” says Ajay Bansal, a teaching professor of software engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence who led a demo at the event.
That sense of discovery extended throughout the event’s STEM activations, including an immersive virtual reality experience in Cooley Ballroom. There, high school students stepped into the role of a Los Alamos National Laboratory glovebox operator while exploring training simulations. Through this interactive experience, students learned how virtual reality tools can support workforce training and research operations while gaining exposure to applications they may not otherwise encounter in a classroom setting.
The activity reflected a broader goal of the Innovation Showcase: helping prospective students connect STEM learning with future academic and career opportunities.
“For many students, this may have been their first experience seeing how engineering and game-based immersive technologies come together in real industrial environments,” says Binil Starly, school director and professor in the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks. “Moments like these can spark curiosity and help students envision themselves pursuing future careers in STEM.”
Student innovation tackles real-world challenges
While visiting high school students explored potential engineering and technology pathways, ASU students demonstrated the technical and collaborative work that shaped their projects throughout the academic year. In the Sun Devil Fitness Complex, one student team earned both the People’s Choice Award, selected by high school students, and the Technical Excellence Award, selected by industry professionals.
Designed by undergraduate students Eli Greetis, Harrison LaBell, Arick Nitzsche, Zack Okun, Dominick Trusko and Kirk Volin, the team created an Internet of Things-enabled smart manufacturing workcell that automated product handling, sensing, sorting, packaging and transfer across eight integrated stations.
Developed with support from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Manufacturing Education Alliance, the system incorporated industrial robotics, programmable logic controllers and a candy-dispensing demonstration that helped attendees gain a better understanding of advanced manufacturing technologies and automation systems.
The project also highlighted the value of giving students industry-informed equipment and expectations.
“Hands-on experiences give students experience in real industrial settings while helping them build meaningful professional relationships with potential employers,” says Zack Okun, a recent graduate who studied manufacturing engineering in the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks. “These connections can lead to mentorships, internships, research opportunities and future careers.”
Other projects across the showcase demonstrated how students from multiple disciplines are applying engineering and technology skills to challenges in energy, automation and public safety.
One team from The Polytechnic School explored the development of a scaled robotic prototype designed to assist with solar panel installation on tracking systems. Created in collaboration with Array Technologies, the work examined how automation could improve efficiency and reduce physical strain on workers through a mobile robotic platform equipped with a panel-handling arm and scalable control system.
Another team representing the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence focused on Hazard-KG and Hazel AI, a knowledge graph and autonomous artificial intelligence, or AI, interface developed to improve natural hazard analysis. Led by software engineering graduate students, the initiative transformed more than 500,000 disaster data records into an interconnected system that helps researchers identify hazard impacts across Arizona.
Together, these teams and nearly 150 others showcased innovation and highlighted student expertise in areas such as aviation, software engineering, human systems engineering, manufacturing engineering, graphic information technology, and robotics and autonomous systems. Their projects reflected the Polytechnic campus’s emphasis on collaborative, hands-on learning.
Inspiring the next generation of engineers
“Innovation Showcase is a shining example of why an education on the Polytechnic campus is so powerful,” says Kurt Paterson, school director and professor in The Polytechnic School. “Inviting industry, alumni, community, families and friends underscores our belief that the best engineering education is worth celebrating together.”
In addition to viewing projects and participating in activities, visiting high school students also heard directly from ASU students during panel discussions focused on engineering and technology pathways, internships and student life. Conversations centered on experiential learning opportunities, industry-sponsored projects and the transition from classroom learning to professional experiences.
Bradley Pollock, an undergraduate student studying engineering in the robotics concentration in The Polytechnic School, says he enjoyed sharing his experiences with students considering ASU.
“People are designed to progress and grow,” Pollock says. “For these visiting high school students, their next step is tapping into ASU’s immense resources and starting their college journey.”
The event’s impact was also evident among the educators who accompanied the visiting high school students.
“I had a lot of students walk away feeling so inspired,” says a teacher chaperone from a visiting high school. “And a lot of them were not students who usually consider college!”
Strengthening industry connections
Industry engagement remained a central part of the showcase experience throughout the day. Representatives from partner companies interacted with their sponsored student teams, offering technical feedback and discussing workforce skills relevant to their industries. For many industry professionals, Innovation Showcase also serves as an opportunity to identify emerging talent and strengthen long-term relationships with ASU.
“We’ve actually hired three students from previous projects in the past year,” says Karl Schultz, vice president at Axon. “When a student calls, we look at what’s available, what skills they have, and we try to find the right match.”
Organizers say the continued growth of the Innovation Showcase reflects the university’s commitment to creating environments where education, industry and community engagement intersect in meaningful ways at the ASU Polytechnic campus.
“This showcase authentically demonstrates the experiential learning opportunities our Polytechnic students consistently receive,” says Renee Clancy, director of Polytechnic campus strategic enrollment initiatives. “It engages high school students in a hands-on, meaningful way, helping them better understand what college can be and the possibilities it can offer them.”
