From Engineering Student to Clinic Instructor

As a mechanical engineering major, Kyle Naddeo worked on clinic projects that aligned with his major, like trying to perfect the tilt mechanism on a hoverbike. But it wasn’t the mechanics that caught Naddeo’s attention—it was machine learning. By his senior year, Naddeo dove head-first into machine learning. “I was a mechanical engineer, and while we did code, it wasn’t our main focus,” Naddeo said. “The clinics opened that door to dive deeper. It was something I really liked doing.”

"The clinics really let you explore things that you’re interested in … It makes you think about what do I actually want to do once I graduate?" — Kyle Naddeo, Ph.D. candidate in ECE

Now, Naddeo is pursuing a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering while also leading and advising clinic projects where undergraduates are working on his innovation. In collaboration with his Ph.D. advisor, Nidhal C. Bouaynaya, Ph.D., he learned principles of artificial intelligence and how to make data-driven predictions. At the core of all of Rowan’s engineering clinics is a real-world problem and students are tasked with solving it. For Naddeo’s clinic project, the central question is: ‘Can I automate the act of tossing a wok without human intervention?’

Naddeo’s mechanical arm system continuously tosses a wok, freeing chefs to prepare other items or interact with customers.

Using measurements from wok burners used in restaurants today, Naddeo created a 3D simulation of the mechanical arm device that would pair with all wok sizes. Undergraduate students across disciplines worked on the innovation: mechanical engineers to build the structure, electrical and computer engineers to build the circuitry and artificial intelligence engineers to build the algorithmic code. This multidisciplinary team allowed students to learn from one another and effectively collaborate.

Each week, students recounted what they were able to accomplish last week, what they were struggling with and what they hoped to accomplish in the future. They also learned soft skills, like cloud-based organization in a team Google Drive.

Clinic projects, Naddeo said, help students envision their careers post-graduation. “It really lets you explore things that you’re interested in,” he said. “It makes you think about what do I actually want to do once I graduate?”