Ontario Tech engineering students present 86 capstone projects in Oshawa; awards given in three departments
Ontario Tech University engineering students presented 86 capstone design projects on May 5, 2026, at the university’s Oshawa campus during the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science’s annual Engineering Capstone Systems Design Exhibition and Competition. The exhibition involved 362 fourth-year engineering students. Awards and cash prizes went to the top three teams in each of three department groupings.
For local residents, the event offers a snapshot of what Ontario Tech students are working on as they finish their degrees, and it highlights the types of applied projects being developed at the Oshawa university.
Students worked in teams over two semesters to develop their projects before presenting them at the exhibition. Projects were judged by a 16-member panel of industry professionals, including eight Ontario Tech engineering alumni. Judges used criteria that included innovation, feasibility, impact and professionalism.
Project topics covered a range of applications, including space stations, railway tracks, vehicle tires and social media algorithms.
Awards were presented for three groups: a combined category for the Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering and the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; the Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering; and the Department of Energy and Nuclear Engineering.
In the combined Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering and Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering category, first place went to “Design and Evaluation of a Robotic System for Maintenance of Exterior Sensors on Space Stations.” Second place went to “Design and Development of a 4-Axis Filament Winding Machine.” Third place went to “Design and Evaluation of a Robotic System for Assisting People with Upper Limb Paralysis with Everyday Tasks.”
In Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering, first place went to “Design and Development of Wireless Charging System for Fully Electric Wheelchairs.” Second place went to “Design and Development of an LLM-Based IoT Application for Reducing Carbon Footprint.” Third place went to “Design and Development of a Novel Multi-Source Inverter (MSI) Topology.”
In Energy and Nuclear Engineering, first place went to “Removing Radioactive Material from an Electrostatic Precipitation Device.” Second place went to “Automated Inspection System for Fresh Aluminum-Clad Nuclear Fuel.” Third place went to “Design and Implementation of an Automated Vacuum Control System for Tritium Removal.”
Ontario Tech said the Society of United Professionals supported this year’s competition. The university listed judges from organizations including Ontario Power Generation, General Motors of Canada and BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc., along with other industry and university representatives.