Articles

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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.

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STORY: Abe Murray P’29: Activation Energy at Work

Abe Murray P’29 first encountered Olin College alumni and faculty years before he became the parent of an Olin student. During his 15-year career at Google, Murray noticed that some of the most impressive engineers he worked with were from Olin.

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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.

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John Chandler and Esther Aduamah at the 2026 NSBE Inspire STEM Gala in Boston.

NEWS: Esther Aduamah ’27 and John Chandler ’28 Receive 2026 Inspire STEM Scholarships

Two Olin College of Engineering students were honored at the 8th Inspire STEM Gala in Boston, hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Boston Professionals in early March. Esther Aduamah ’27 and John Chandler ’28 were two of 30 award recipients selected from 130 applications.

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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.

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Reshma Saujani, a TIME Woman of the Year, will deliver Olin’s 2026 Commencement Address

Reshma Saujani, a leading activist, the founder of Girls Who Code, the founder and CEO of Moms First, and the host of My So-Called Midlife with Lemonada Media, will be the featured speaker at Olin College’s 2026 Commencement.

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Olin President R. May Lee standing in front of a white background with arms crossed

NEWS: President Lee Shares Her Career Journey During GIRL Congress Panel

Olin College of Engineering President R. May Lee spoke on a morning panel at GIRL Congress, an all-day leadership conference for high school girls held at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus on March 14, 2026.

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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.

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A graphic with circles featuring Olin's project teams. The text reads: Happy Engineers Week! Transform Your Future; #EWEEK; Olin.edu

STORY: From Ideas to Impact: How Oliners Transform Their Futures with Project Teams

Project-based learning is a core component of an Olin education. In addition to hands-on classroom assignments, Oliners have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers further by joining project teams. Here is a glimpse into how Oliners on project teams are transforming their futures.

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Gillian Epstein and Jon Adler speak at Olin Story Slam.

STORY: Transformative Storytelling: The Story Lab at OIin Partners with LearningWell Coalition

For over a decade, Olin College’s Jonathan Adler, professor of psychology, and Gillian Epstein, associate professor of English, have run the Story Slam series, combining their passions for storytelling and performance.

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An Olin student sits at a table with laptop open during a recent QEA class.

Olin College Applicant Pool Continues Upward Trend for Class of 2030

Olin’s Office of Admission and Financial Aid (OAFA) has reported a significant increase in domestic applications for admittance to the Class of 2030. Applications for admission to Olin have grown by 33% over the last four years.

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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.

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High school students from Colégio Santa Cruz in São Paulo, Brazil, are shown working in an Olin classroom as part of the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN) School Program.

Brazilian High Schoolers Learn Design Thinking at Olin/MIT

This October, 26 students from Colégio Santa Cruz in São Paulo, Brazil, completed a weeklong community-engaged design immersion program on both Olin’s and MIT’s campuses as part of the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN) School Program.

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NEWS: Donis-Keller Appointed Co-Leader of Biology Section and Member-at-Large for American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Helen Donis-Keller, professor of biology and art and Michael E. Moody Professor, has been appointed to a two-year term as one of two leaders of the Biology Section and a Member-at-Large of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its Science family of journals.

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Students in Coby Unger's How-It’s-Made IRL Co-Curricular at the MBTA.

Leading transformation

STORY: Students Experience "How It's Made IRL" in Coby Unger's Co-Curricular

At Olin, Co-curriculars are scheduled activities hosted by a faculty or staff member in a subject they are passionate about themselves. Coby Unger, Senior Shop Manager and Instructor of Fabrication, started "How-It’s-Made IRL," a Co-Curricular where students visit a factory every Thursday morning to learn how things get made in manufacturing settings.

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Jeanne Haley, the Senior Director of Counseling, stands in front of a tan wall with artwork in the background.

STORY: Q&A with Jeanne Haley

Jeanne Haley joins the Olin community as the Senior Director of Counseling. Learn more about Jeanne and her experience in this Q&A.