Living the experiment

Olin’s campus is a dynamic hub for discovery, exploration, and learning in every dimension—and at every opportunity. We transcend disciplines, break down silos, blend art and science, and push the boundaries of research toward real discovery.

Article

Olin’s Best-Kept Secret: The Design Challenge

This fun, chaotic part of Candidates’ Weekend is a beloved tradition and an important part of the admissions process. Each year, hundreds of prospective students visit campus as part of Candidates’ Weekend, the required second phase of the Olin admissions process. One of its most exciting and anticipated events is the Design Challenge, in which potential future Oliners collaborate in teams on a fun, creative, uniquely chaotic building challenge, the annual theme of which is held as one of the community’s best-kept secrets.

Article

A group of six student teams stand on each side of a big colorful cylinder.

STORY: Ideate, Model, Test: Olin’s MechProto Students Complete the College’s First Build Challenge

Last Friday, students in Georgia Van de Zande’s Mechanical Prototyping (MechProto) course experienced Olin College’s first Build Challenge. Within one week of receiving the design brief, students ideated, modeled and tested their designs, all while exemplifying Olin’s core values of hands-on learning, collaboration and community.

Article

A group of students and staff stand in the Barilla office wearing personal protective gear.

STORY: "How It's Made IRL" Co-Curricular Spring Break ’26 Tours

Over spring break 2026, Coby Unger, Senior Shop Manager and Instructor of Fabrication, Jordan Spring ’20, Fabrication Specialist and Instructor, and the "How It's Made IRL" co-curricular students teamed up with Lauren Palmer ’09, Associate Director of Partnership Development, and SCOPE to offer a more immersive experience over spring break.

Article

Team Triad at the MakeMIT Harvard Hackathon

NEWS: From Healthcare to AI: Four Olin Teams Win Prizes at MakeMIT x Harvard Hackathon

Four teams featuring Olin College of Engineering students won prizes for their hardware projects - spanning topics from healthcare to AI - at February’s MakeMIT x Harvard Hackathon.

Article

The Automated Fruit Sorting System sits on a brown table with green bushes in a field behind it.

STORY: Students Develop Automated Fruit Sorting System for Local Berry Farm

Last year, students in Olin’s “Robotics Systems Integration” course gained real-world experience developing an efficient, low-cost solution to help a local blueberry farm better sort their harvest.

Article

Kevin Tostado ’06 poses beside Milas Hall.

No Limits: Kevin Tostado ’06 Demonstrates Versatility of Olin Degree

From computer engineer to filmmaker to holistic wealth management adviser, Kevin Tostado ’06, WMCP®, FSCP®, is proof that an Olin education can take you anywhere you want to go in life.

Article

STORY: Chris Wallace ’17: “Olin showed me what was possible”

Chris Wallace ’17 grew up in a small town in Central Massachusetts and was the first in his family to go to college, thanks in part to Olin’s generous financial aid. The powerful connections he made as a student have carried over to life beyond the Oval and have inspired him to give back.

Article

Installation image of Design and Disability at V&A South Kensington

Olin Accessible Design Project Artifacts Acquired by London Museum

A visionary, low-tech design research project called Engineering at Home begun in 2016 by Caitrin Lynch, professor of anthropology at Olin, has sparked new interest as objects from the projects as well as the entire website have been acquired by London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum.

Article

Camille Girard '21 holds their new game, Shroomscape: The Mycelium Mindset Board Game

STORY: From Prototype to Play: Olin Alum Blends Art, Science, and Fungi in Shroomscape

Inspired by her Olin experience, namely Olin's academic approach of combining the technical with the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Camille Girard '21, has just launched the tabletop game, Shroomscape: The Mycelium Mindset Board Game, on Kickstarter.

Article

A group of students stand with the owners of Wavelength, a local coffee roaster in Shirley, MA.

STORY: ACRONYM Engineers the Perfect Roast with Wavelength Coffee Roasters

Olin College’s ACRONYM is brewing a collaboration with a new business: Wavelength Coffee Roasters. The ACRONYM leadership team spent an afternoon learning about the company’s innovative coffee roasting process, followed by a tasting where they created their own coffee blend to commemorate the Class of 2006 called “Olin Original ’06.”

Article

Three Olin engineering students pose with their small-scale autonomous surface vessel, made at Olin College as part of the CREST Lab.

STORY: Students in CREST Lab Develop Autonomous Vessel to Study Local Water Bodies

This summer, five Oliners working with Victoria Preston '16, assistant professor of engineering, designed, fabricated, assembled, and tested a small-scale autonomous surface vessel to enable more robust and efficient coastal research.

Article

Students speak with SCOPE Liaisons at the Sponsor Showcase.

STORY: 2025–26 SCOPE Program Kicks Off with Boston Scientific, New Balance, and More

As the fall semester gets underway at Olin, so does the College’s largest culminating experience for graduating students—SCOPE, or Senior Capstone Program in Engineering.

Article

Victoria Preston ’16 stands in front of the Marcus G. Langseth ship.

STORY: Olin’s Victoria Preston ’16 Takes to the Open Ocean to Study Underwater Volcano

Over the summer, Victoria Preston ’16, assistant professor of engineering, hopped aboard a research vessel headed to the Galapagos Islands to gather data from an actively erupting submarine volcanic ridge in the Pacific Ocean.

Article

Oliners gather around the robot at the RAI Institute.

STORY: Oliners Help Host Free, Interactive Robot Lab in Cambridge

This summer, the RAI Institute Robot Lab at the CambridgeSide mall offered the public the chance to drive a robot.

Article

Olin students are holding up a large, white, high-altitude weather balloon as another team member lays flat on the ground inflating it.

STORY: Measuring Cosmic Rays with High-Altitude Balloons

High-altitude weather balloons are taking Olin students to the edge of space - scientifically, at least. This summer, four students, one alum, and faculty member Christopher Lee are measuring cosmic rays thousands of feet above Earth as part of a NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program project.

Article

The Olin College of Engineering student project team Olin Electric Motorsports (OEM) pose for a group photo on the race track at a competition this summer.

STORY: OEM Project Team Designs, Builds, and Races Electric Car in Just One School Year

During the 2024-25 season, OEM project team members set a bold goal: to design and build a fully functional electric car within one academic year, racing it at the annual SAE Student competition in June - a task that hasn't been done in 8 years.