With summer and graduation season in the rearview, a new class of seniors is thinking ahead to life after Syracuse.

To help, Syracuse University Today asked , executive director of career services and employer relations in the , for some straight talk on how to approach a job search today.

Primrose, who has shaped career development efforts for Whitman students since 2008, offered advice on how to build a resume and how to approach networking. Whether you’re a senior gearing up to apply or a recent graduate still in the search, she says the attitude you bring to the search, and a willingness to keep showing up, can make all the difference.

Find that advice and more from Primrose below:

Amelia Rudolph came to the with questions about how people make decisions and that reached a national audience.

When she graduated in May, Rudolph wrapped up a senior year that included a study with faculty on trust in maps. After helping to design the survey, creating maps and analyzing the data, she traveled to San Francisco in March to present the findings at the American Association of Geographers annual meeting—the largest gathering of geographers in North America. She was one of just a few undergraduates there.

“I think a lot of people assumed I was a master’s student,” Rudolph says. “Which felt cool, that I was doing work that was at that level.”

The trip was made possible by the , also known as SOURCE, which covered her travel, lodging and meals.

“A major benefit of research is being able to apply the theory you learn in a classroom to more deeply explore,” says Rudolph, who majored in geography as well as citizenship and civic engagement.

Rudolph’s research examined how much people trust what they see on a map and what design choices shape that trust. The project grew out of a broader conversation in the field about how people consume and evaluate information and whether maps carry the same credibility concerns as other media.

Rudolph and her collaborators designed a survey to test which map elements—such as titles, legends, data sourcing and satellite imagery—affect how trustworthy viewers find a map to be. She pointed to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps as an example of the high stakes, as they shape insurance rates, inform where people choose to live and guide how cities invest in infrastructure.

The research results were mixed. The team found that specific design elements didn’t significantly affect trustworthiness scores, and participants frequently pointed to satellite imagery and thematic maps as relatively trustworthy.

“My biggest takeaway from our research is that the way you ask a question is just as important as what question you’re asking,” Rudolph says. “Considering multiple perspectives and collecting feedback in more than one way strengthens your findings, and eventually your solutions.”

Rudolph’s collaborators included a Maxwell mentor, , assistant professor of geography and the environment, as well as Carolyn Fish, a professor at the University of Oregon. Kelly delivered the AAG Cartography and Mapping Specialty Group’s Early Career Scholar Keynote at the March conference.

“If I didn’t have a mentor like Dr. Kelly, who pushed me to take on a project like this, I wouldn’t have applied to a highly regarded master’s program,” says Rudolph, who will soon begin studies at Penn State. “Research provided me with evidence that I was capable of graduate-level work, and that really strengthened my application.”

The work continues. Kelly said the team plans to submit a journal article to an invited special issue of Digital Geography and Society, and Rudolph plans to present the project at the North American Cartographic Information Society annual meeting this fall.

Rudolph’s additional Syracuse experiences included an internship at Syracuse’s Neighborhood and Business Development Office, working with newly resettled immigrants and refugees, and work with Syracuse Community Geography, which partners with organizations in need of maps and data. She also worked in the department’s Cartography Studio, producing maps for faculty publications.

Rudolph says her biggest lesson as an undergraduate was to take advantage of every opportunity to work with faculty and conduct research.

“If I had let self-doubt prevent me from doing an internship with Syracuse Community Geography, conducting research or working as a cartographer with the Cartography Studio, I would not be where I am today,” she says. “My portfolio has grown so much, I was able to travel and present my research, and I have the most supportive network of people both at Syracuse and in the larger geographic and cartographic world.”

—Story by Jacob Spudich

Syracuse University has launched a search for its next chief people officer and senior vice president for human resources. The role will report directly to Chancellor and President J. Michael Haynie as a member of the senior leadership team.

Before interviews begin, the search committee is inviting the campus community to provide input on what might be needed in this leadership role. Two virtual listening sessions, open to anyone on campus, will be held on Zoom:

• Friday, Sept. 11, from 10 to 11 a.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 3 to 4 p.m.

, and those who cannot attend may submit input through .

Each session will be led by a committee co-chair along with Korn Ferry, the executive search firm supporting the search. Korn Ferry will facilitate the discussions and record feedback for use in the candidate profile and interview process.

The committee, co-chaired by Terence Lau, dean of the College of Law, and Mary Opperman, senior vice president and University secretary, will present Chancellor Haynie with up to four finalists. The goal is to have the new chief people officer in place by Jan. 1, 2027.

Based on user feedback, Syracuse University Libraries has expanded the “things” available for borrowing in its community items that are loaned for free to any users with an SU or SUNY ESF ID, and extended in Bird Library.

New items available for borrowing from the “Library of Things” include a ladder ball lawn game, pickleball set, level/stud finder, Onondaga County Parks pass (good for admission to Beaver Lake, Jamesville Beach, Oneida Shores, Pratt’s Falls or the Rosamond Gifford Zoo) and an Empire Park Pass for New York State Parks.

Like all its loanable items, items from the Library of Things can be borrowed by students, faculty and staff. They are available for pickup at the Bird Library Check Out Desk. Loan periods vary depending on the item.

In addition to technology items, such as laptops and computer accessories, cables and plugs, chargers, adaptors, calculators, cameras and audio and visual devices, the following are also available at the Check Out Desk in Bird Library:

• Career and presentation items like an easel, green screen, necktie or portfolio.
• Home goods such as a toolbox, sewing machine or kit, clothes steamer, garment bag, air compressor or utility cart.
• Board games such as cards, education, family, party, strategy, thematic or war games.
• Recreation items such as knitting and crocheting materials, glue gun, button maker, lawn games, ghost hunting kit, karaoke machine, virtual reality headset and adventure kit.
• Wellness items like weighted blankets, light therapy lamps, coloring book kits, massage pillows, meditation kits and noise cancelling earmuffs.
• Academic support items like desktop fans, whiteboard markers, phone lockers and graphing kits.

Some individual study rooms in Bird are also now available for SU and SUNY-ESF students to reserve for up to. Most individual  by SU and SUNY ESF students.

In addition to individual reservable study rooms, there are also:

• individual student study rooms for up to three hours per day.
•  for up to three hours per day.
• .
•  for up to three students for three hours per day.
• for up to five students for three hours per day.
• for up to three hours per day.

For more information on resources available through SU Libraries, visit .

always knew she wanted to be an educator. That passion carried her from India to a postdoctoral position at the University of Michigan, where she conducted research related to deployment-associated respiratory diseases among war veterans, to joining the faculty of the School of Information Studies.

Her research background shapes how she teaches, pushing students beyond theory toward real-world problem-solving. Those efforts recently earned her recognition beyond the classroom: 2026 Exceptional Woman of Central New York (Educator) after one of her own students nominated her for the honor.

An assistant teaching professor, Jagadev teaches natural language processing and introduction to applied data science to graduate students, statistics to doctoral students and Python to undergraduates. This fall she’ll add a new course to her rotation on responsible artificial intelligence.

“I believe teaching is a continuous exchange of ideas, feedback and growth,” Jagadev told Syracuse University Today. “It is not simply about delivering knowledge to students; it is about listening, adapting and creating an environment where students feel empowered to learn. Every time I read course evaluations, I reflect on what is working well, what could be improved and how I can incorporate that feedback into my courses.”

Below, Jagadev reflects on how her research experience and commitment to meaningful engagement with students shape her approach to teaching and mentorship.

While many college students spent their summer at home or in a classroom, Andrew Uryniak ’28 spent his summer helping engineer the next mission to Mars.

The aerospace engineering major in the completed a 10-week internship at NASA’s (JPL), managed by the California Institute of Technology, where he worked in the System Safety Office supporting NASA’s contribution to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission. NASA is providing the ESA with Mars lander engines, a mass spectrometer for the mission’s MOMA instrument and a launch vehicle, along with potential use of lightweight heater units, for the joint mission to search for signs of past life on Mars.

Uryniak’s project focused on assessing the risk of inadvertent mechanism deployment, a scenario NASA evaluates for its launches. To do that work, he used Siemens NX, a CAD and finite element analysis program widely used in the aerospace industry, to build 3D models of spacecraft components and run structural simulations.

“The work I did during my internship gave me a great look into one of the most widely-used CAD and FEA software programs in the industry, and it really elevated my appreciation for the structural work that aerospace engineers do,” says Uryniak.

At JPL, Uryniak also had an orange connection. Aerospace engineering alumnus Shaun Ryan ’16 served as his mentor and provided guidance as he learned his way around the legendary NASA facility.

“I’m extremely grateful for Shaun and his support as a mentor during my time as a JPL intern. He was there to help me when challenges arose, but he also gave me opportunities to learn and make progress independently, and I’m very thankful for that,” says Uryniak. “My success as an intern would not have been possible without his guidance and feedback. I also really appreciate each chance I was given to explore the laboratory with him and learn about his role at JPL. Because of Shaun, I was able to develop skills and an engineering mindset that I know will take me far in life.”

Uryniak’s work at JPL included learning to mesh components for analysis; running hand calculations rooted in dynamics, kinematics and structural engineering principles; and conducting impact tests on composite material samples to study how they respond to varying levels of impact energy.

Beyond his primary project, Uryniak supported cleanroom operations and spacecraft hardware testing and watched a Mars rover test bed make the trip from a cleanroom to JPL’s Mars Yard, where engineers test vehicles built for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.

“Being able to support cleanroom operations was one of my favorite parts of the internship,” Uryniak says. “It was so surreal getting to stand near hardware that would eventually be leaving Earth. I hope to pursue work that gives me that kind of opportunity again in the future.”

The internship also gave Uryniak access to speakers and facilities not typically open to the public.

“JPL did an amazing job of ensuring interns made the most of their experience by arranging events with guest speakers like Reid Wiseman, the commander of the Artemis II mission,” Uryniak says. “I was also fortunate enough to hear the current NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, speak about the next few years of NASA during his visit to JPL.”

Uryniak also toured JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility, the mission control center that has directed NASA’s interplanetary and deep space missions since 1964 and manages the Deep Space Network, along with several other facilities across the lab.

“Working for NASA has been a dream of mine for years, so being able to spend my summer in Southern California at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was an absolute dream come true,” Uryniak says. “I am so grateful for everything I was able to learn and do in just 10 weeks.”

At Syracuse University, some of the most valuable classroom instruction is based not on a textbook but on decades spent solving real problems in the field. Professors of practice bring that kind of expertise directly to students, translating professional experience into lessons that go beyond theory. Nearly 100 professors of practice across the University represent one of the most direct ways Syracuse connects academic learning to the industry.

That connection is central to , one of the areas of distinctive excellence outlined in the academic strategic plan, “.” Where traditional coursework builds foundational knowledge, professors of practice show students how that knowledge is applied in real settings. Their presence ensures Syracuse’s academic programs stay current with an evolving professional landscape, giving students a clearer view of the careers they’re preparing to enter.

We sat down with three professors of practice to hear more about their approach: , professor of practice in forensic science in the College of Arts and Sciences;  , Cramer Family Professor of Practice in Community Impact in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and , professor of practice in the School of Information Studies.

This summer, 162 researchers from Yale, Oxford, the London School of Economics, Princeton, Columbia and dozens of other leading institutions from every continent except Antarctica traveled to the for the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research.

The institute, referred to as IQMR by attendees and alumni, wrapped its 24th year and its 16th at Maxwell in late June.

“The institute’s annual presence at Maxwell shows the school’s stature as a leading place for social science research and training,” says event organizer , a research associate professor of political science at Maxwell. “And the fact that this year saw one of the highest attendance signals how much social scientists around the globe value the training and opportunities provided by the institute.”

Karcher says that qualitative and multi-method research is vital to understanding critical dynamics in the U.S. and around the world. Qualitative data can be almost anything that isn’t a number—interview transcripts, historical documents, photographs and even a researcher’s own field notes from watching an event unfold. The real skill, taught at IQMR, lies in checking that material against itself, comparing sources and revisiting them over time so the conclusions hold up. Researchers learn to leverage and triangulate different forms of qualitative data to build findings that have validity and reliability.

The annual institute meets a need: While most researchers and Ph.D. students have ample access to training in quantitative methods, which includes statistical analysis and correlation research of large data sets, exposure to qualitative research methods, techniques and expertise is scarcer.

“From political parties to populism and policymaking and protest, qualitative methods help people understand not only the why but also the how of foundational social, economic and political processes,” Karcher says. “IQMR trains researchers to investigate those mechanisms rigorously.”

The institute is hosted at Maxwell by the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry (CQMI), which Karcher directs along with the related Qualitative Data Repository—a first-of-its-kind archive that stores and shares the data underlying qualitative and multi-method research worldwide.

Since its founding in 2002, IQMR has trained more than 3,500 researchers. Karcher estimates that almost 3,000 of them have attended the institute at Maxwell.

Attendees chose from more than a dozen module sequences led by leading scholars in the social sciences. This year’s topics ranged from ethnographic methods and comparative historical analysis to geographic information systems, research ethics and approaches that blend qualitative insight with machine learning. Additionally, the institute offered sessions where participants put their own research designs on the table and heard frank feedback from peers and faculty.

“IQMR alumni form a global community,” says fellow organizer Christiane Pagé, associate director of CQMI. “They maintain friendships and collaborations decades after the institute and are represented on the faculty of many of the leading political science departments in the world. And whenever they return to Maxwell, be it for an invited talk, as IQMR instructor or as Maxwell faculty member, it’s a little bit like a homecoming.”

Eleven current Maxwell faculty members are institute alumni, including , chair of the Political Science Department. He says IQMR was a pivotal experience during his graduate studies. “I met amazing instructors from all over, whose work I had read in classes,” he says. “The peer networking was just as important. Intellectually, it was transformative for my dissertation project and my future research and, socially, it expanded my peer network immensely.”

For many, the institute has shaped how they think about research—not just the methods they use, but the questions they ask.

The institute’s influence extends well beyond the two weeks on campus. Doctoral students who met at IQMR have gone on to become long-term research collaborators, most recently contributing to Doing Research as a Native: A Guide for Fieldwork in Illiberal and Repressive States (Oxford University Press), a volume addressing one of the most urgent challenges in contemporary field research, edited by Kira Jumet of Hamilton College and Merouan Mekouar of Canada’s York University; they met at IQMR in 2011.

“Sixteen straight years of researchers from major institutions choosing to come train at Maxwell says something about where this school stands,” says , associate dean for research and professor of political science. “IQMR gives them the training to do rigorous work on pressing questions about political institutions, democracy and public policy.”

Gadarian and Maxwell faculty colleague Brian Taylor gave remarks at this year’s institute.

One of the highlights of this year’s lineup was an evening event that had participants gather with faculty over mocktails for informal, one-on-one conversations about their thorniest methodological questions. These informal exchanges between faculty and participants leave some of the most lasting memories.

“I came in hoping to learn more about qualitative methods, but I left with much more than that: many wonderful friends, meaningful feedback on my research, and so much inspiration to do better research,” says Kaniz Fatema, graduate student in sociology at the University of Kansas.

Index cards get passed around a circle of strangers. On one side: someone’s hope for the year ahead. On the other: a looming fear. Students take turns reading a stranger’s words aloud and realize everyone in the room is experiencing the same feelings.

It’s one moment in Syracuse University’s  sessions, which launched in the summer of 2024 with smaller groups, more personal conversations and programming built around what incoming students and their families most want to know.

As a result, everyone involved—from new students to their family members—leaves orientation with a stronger sense of community, says orientation leader Johanna Schober, a rising sophomore studying international relations and law, society and policy in the .

“These new students get to see the beauty that Syracuse offers, not only by getting to know the students who make up the incoming class, but through all of the incredible resources and engaging opportunities available to them,” Schober says. “These sessions help us guide students, so they feel prepared to start their Orange journeys.”

Starting Small to Build Community

At the heart of the New Student Orientations are small groups: intimate settings led by orientation leaders that turn strangers into a connected group. Sessions open with friendly icebreakers before building to the index card exercise, which Schober says is the moment new students realize “everyone is in the same boat.”

“Everyone has the same feelings of excitement, but also nervousness,” she says. “It just really helps make the orientation experience a little more personal.”

When Wes Sullivan, an incoming accounting major in the , arrived on campus after traveling four hours from his home in Yardley, Pennsylvania, he knew only one person there. By the end of his first orientation day, he went from feeling like a stranger to feeling like he belonged.

“I was a little nervous at first but being in these smaller groups and having that smaller bond is really impactful,” Sullivan says. “Now I know 10 or 20 people, and it feels much more welcoming. We all are starting to find a community on campus.”

The same was true for Samantha DiCrisi, a musical theater student in the from Costa Mesa, California. DiCrisi is the first member of her family to leave home to attend college, and orientation created an unexpected sense of belonging.

“I walked in for breakfast and just sat at a table of people I hadn’t met before,” DiCrisi says. “By the end of it, I felt really connected to them. That’s the spirit of what they were talking about. Being Orange is being welcoming and leading with an open mind.”

The two-day programs are led by the , featuring small group meetings during the day and social activities in the evening. Students attended open houses and participated in activities in , the , , the and . They also sat in on sessions hosted by the and , as well as the Barnes Center at The Arch, where staff discussed navigating the first year and the transition to Syracuse University, among others.

Students Aren’t the Only Ones Adjusting

Heading off to Syracuse University isn’t just an adjustment for new students. It’s also a time of change for the students’ support system at home.

As part of New Student Orientation, planned and implemented a Family and Supporter Orientation for family members and supporters of incoming students. The sessions offered expert resources, guidance on critical conversations families may want to have with their student and insight into the student perspective from Family Support Navigators, a group of trained student leaders.

Eric Nestor, director of apartment and off-campus living in , led presentations about living on campus. Drawing on his own experience as a parent sending his oldest daughter to college for the first time, Nestor helped reshape the sessions around practical concerns: safety, mental health, roommate conflicts and the logistics of .

“This is an adjustment for the whole family,” Nestor says. “You’re giving up some sense of control, and your student is gaining independence. We’re here to help your student grow through this journey.”

The feedback has been rewarding.

“We’re receiving a lot of positive feedback and thank-yous from families now,” Nestor says. “We’re giving them exactly what they’re looking for.”

For these new students, the payoff is a renewed sense of confidence heading into the fall.

“The idea of starting college is so thrilling, and I feel ready to throw myself into this experience,” DiCrisi says.

“Once you take that first leap, everything else in college comes so much more naturally,” Schober says. “You’re one step closer to being incredibly independent.”

In “Second First Date,” the first full-length movie script from Matt Sacca ’19, protagonist Nora falls for the man of her dreams at a house party, only for her love interest, Charlie, to suffer a concussion and forget her entirely.

For the rest of the movie, Nora schemes to recreate each magical moment of their chance encounter to win back Charlie’s affection. Nora and Sacca, the brainchild behind the project, share the same personality trait to never give up on a dream.

That mentality helps explain how Sacca is now on the verge of having his script picked up by movie production company American High. It comes nine years after “Second First Date” was submitted as a project in a “Script-to-Screen” course offered through a partnership between the and .

“Who would have ever thought my thesis project would turn into my first feature film? I’m excited thinking about where this can go,” says Sacca, who wrote the original “Second First Date” script as part of a Newhouse senior thesis with Fallon Siegler ’19 and Daniel Walters ’19.

Finding a Hollywood Ending

The “Script-to-Screen” class was designed for students to develop feature-length films in collaboration with writer-director-producer Jeremy Garelick and his independent movie production company, American High, through its first-look deal with Hulu.

Garelick, along with , an assistant professor of television, radio and film in the Newhouse School, taught the course. Sacca credits that connection with turning his idea into reality.

“This has been an incredible journey,” says Sacca, who has expanded American High’s reach on college campuses across the country and mentored hundreds of emerging writers. “I wouldn’t be equipped to take this on without the experience of taking notes, getting actionable feedback and learning how to produce scripts that get made.”

‘The Idea Just Lingered’

Sacca is currently “head down” in revisions, transforming the story’s bones into something more relatable.

Sacca wants to include as many jokes as possible using “plant and payoff,” a screenwriting technique that adds depth and meaning to a few moments in a story, rewarding the audience for paying attention to a particular bit or detail later on.

Into the fall, American High and Sacca will focus on securing financing to accelerate the movie’s development and turn their attention to production.

Sacca is no stranger to the industry’s ups and downs. He was American High’s first intern. After graduating, he worked as Garelick’s executive assistant, sifting through and giving feedback on hundreds of scripts from aspiring filmmakers before being promoted to head of development in summer of 2021.

When Sacca was working as Garelick’s assistant, the project started to gain momentum when the original draft received positive coverage from American High’s script readers.

“The idea for ‘Second First Date’ just lingered. It was sticky,” Sacca says. “It didn’t just fade as soon as we graduated. I thought about this film often.”

Creating Industry-Connected Opportunities for Students

Frahm knew Garelick from their time together in a Los Angeles screenwriter’s group, reviewing and giving feedback on each other’s projects.

When Frahm learned Garelick and American High were setting up shop in Syracuse, he saw a chance to collaborate on how to “create wonderful opportunities for our students.”

“This partnership is unique to any other film program perhaps in the nation,” says Frahm, who meets weekly with Sacca and remains an integral part of Sacca’s film project. “We’re building industry-connected opportunities at Newhouse, creating classes and pipelines that connect students directly with professional filmmakers and tangible career outcomes.”

Never Gave Up on a Dream

From the fall of 2021 through December 2022, Sacca was constantly tweaking the script during consultations with Frahm, Garelick and actress Peyton Elizabeth Lee, a former Disney Channel star who was attached to play Nora and serve as a producer.

Hulu passed on the script initially in January 2023, but that initial rejection further motivated Sacca. In 2025, when American High released “Pizza Movie,” which starred Lee and held the top spot for a week on both Hulu and Disney+, Sacca, Garelick and Frahm revived the project, which was optioned in March. The film project and Lee’s involvement were announced .

“After the initial Hulu pass, I started to accept that maybe the script wouldn’t be brought to life, but this story truly never left my mind,” Sacca says.

“Matt was able to deal with the frustrations and the rejections. He kept working hard and that’s a big reason why this project is being made,” adds Frahm.

Bleron Balidemaj ’27, Jack Barna ’27, Heidi Ly ’28 and Josh Malvino ’28 were walking across campus when they saw flaggers at a campus construction project guiding traffic through a construction zone.

Watching the flaggers inspired AutoStrada, an autonomous traffic control system for one-lane construction zones that won the $1,500 first prize at , a program challenging students to solve real-world problems.

During the six-week program, 31 undergraduate ECS students and one undergraduate from the refined their prototypes with feedback from guest evaluators before pitching to a panel of entrepreneurs.

A Focus on Safety in Construction Zones

For the inventors of AutoStrada, they say the system will improve safety and traffic flow by using vehicle detection and synchronized STOP/SLOW signs while also reducing the need for human flaggers.

“This technology improves safety, improves infrastructure and reduces costs associated with construction projects,” says Balidemaj, a computer science major.

The AutoStrada team spoke with American Flagging, a traffic control company, and the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board to gauge how viable their idea would be.

“We received positive feedback. The Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board is looking to utilize devices like this, and when we learned how big of a problem this issue was in the flagging industry, we knew we were onto something,” says Barna, a mechanical engineering major.

The group tested prototypes on campus roads, and the prototypes can now distinguish an approaching car from a pedestrian or cyclist.

The system works like this: two eight-foot, two-sided signs are set up on either end of a construction zone, each with a computer vision model that detects approaching traffic. As a driver enters the zone, they’re greeted with a SLOW sign. At the other end, a STOP sign holds oncoming cars until traffic has cleared.

“There is a real need for our product. With further development, this has the potential to cover large construction areas,” says Malvino, a computer engineering major.

Personal Frustrations Inspire Blood-Drawing Innovation

Another Invent@SU team found their inspiration from an experience that affected one of their team members, Manueska Fortunato ’28, and 32 million Americans: difficulty with invisible veins while having blood drawn.

Fortunato, Reid Hanson ’29 and Marissa Valencia ’29 devised VeinWarm, a medical warming device that improves vein visibility before blood draws and IV placements. Utilizing a hands-free heating patch, VeinWarm helps reduce needle insertion attempts, making the process faster and less painful for patients.

After speaking with nurses, the group learned that 13% of people with visible veins require multiple attempts before blood can be drawn, while 44% of people with invisible veins need multiple attempts.

“We knew from day one that we wanted to create something that benefitted society,” says Fortunato, a chemical engineering major. “Our idea correlated with our interests and focused on something that most of the population can relate to. Nobody wants to be pricked multiple times while having blood drawn.”

The students designed a medical-grade silicone patch with a heat source that increases the blood flow, improving vein visibility, and a center window for drawing blood after the veins appear.

The heating technology is inspired by disposable hand and foot warmers, activated by snapping a metallic disc. But instead of tossing VeinWarm after one use like traditional handwarmers, this invention is reusable, which Valencia says separates it from its primary competition in the marketplace.

“Every second counts for nurses who are trying to get blood drawn as quickly and efficiently as possible and often have a lot of patients they need to see,” says Valencia, a biomedical engineering major.

Hanson says that unlike existing vein-warming patches, which don’t have a buffer layer between the patch and the patient’s skin, VeinWarm heats up faster (an average of 15 to 30 seconds), stays warm longer and makes the veins more visible, giving nurses a better alternative.

“We ended up creating a product that makes this blood-drawing process easier on nurses while making patients feel more comfortable, which was our ultimate goal,” says Hanson, a mechanical engineering major.

“Being able to develop that first prototype and getting it to work was really rewarding, and it’s surreal to know we can make a difference,” adds Ly, an electrical engineering major.

With Onondaga County officials already expressing interest in AutoStrada, and VeinWarm offering an edge over existing products, both teams plan to keep developing their inventions toward eventually bringing them to market.

Invent@SU returns next summer.