Carnegie Mellon University
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IDeATe  ›  IDeATe News  ›  2026  ›  May 2026  ›  Spring 2026 Final Project Roundup

8 people look at student projects in a dark studio theater, shot from below through an inflatable tentacle

May 04, 2026

Spring 2026 Final Project Roundup

By Sarah Elizabeth Bender

As the Spring 2026 semester comes to a close, students in IDeATe classes across all 10 of the program’s undergraduate minors have concluded their coursework with a wide array of unique, interactive, interdisciplinary projects.

Below are highlights from some of our classes. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @cmuideate to see more of our students’ fabulous work!
CMU staff from IDeATe and FMS gather around a table with three student, who are presenting their rectangular game board
College of Fine Arts senior Sophie Heap, Information Systems program junior Rion Kurihara, and Dietrich College sophomore Andy Mann present the game board they made for a mason from Facilities Management Services (FMS) in their Intro to Physical Computing class.
three students pose with a man with silver hair and a beard from FMS. They are holding white and black squares with speakers.
College of Engineering sophomore Jessica Bae, Tepper School of Business junior Tiffany Zheng, and College of Fine Arts sophomore Timothy Yang pose with their client, who works with HVAC systems for FMS on campus.
a student with short hair and a dark blue sweatshirt talks with a man in a red plaid shirt. Other students and CMU staff gather in the background.
Assistant Teaching Professor Robert Zacharias offers feedback to College of Fine Arts juniors Viviana Staicu and Coda Camaya and Dietrich College sophomore Indie Lee, who built a wearable flashlight for one of FMS’s electricians.
A student holds a black 3-D printed cylinder structure, while three teammates and a reviewer look on.
College of Engineering senior Leighton Tarke, College of Fine Arts sophomore May Zhang, and Tepper School of Business first-year Genie Tang walk reviewers through their project, designed to signal if a bathroom is out of order.
A student in a black t-shirt has her back to the camera. 5 people gather in chairs around her offering feedback.
In the final critique for IDeATe Associate Dean Rich Nisa’s Spatial Storytelling class, Nisa and Assistant Dean for Curriculum Marti Louw offer feedback to College of Fine Arts fifth-year senior Shreeja Harisrikanth, whose project is titled “How Do We Grow? A Game on Pittsburgh Gardening.”
A student in a light teal shirt with headphones around his neck sits at a computer and presents. Six listeners sit at desks around him and observe the presentation.
College of Engineering junior Nathan Zhang discusses his interactive project “MADD: Mapmakers Against Democratic Decision-making” with Design Ph.D. student William Martin and the class. The project takes an in-depth look at civic engagement and gerrymandering.
A student with long dark hair and a blue shirt and a student with dark hair in a ponytail and a black shirt stand on either side of their project, a box with fabric pieces billowing upward and decorated with flowers.
Tepper School of Business junior Ein Jeong and College of Engineering junior Barbara Zhuo pose with their Kinetic Fabrics project titled “Pandora’s Box,” which, through airflow and material interaction, encouraged viewers to reflect on the tension between uncertainty and hope.
Two students stand around a tree with ropes and a white fabric circle.
College of Fine Arts first-year Gemma Lee and sophomore Nyx Polak finish setting up their Kinetic Fabrics project titled “Cascade of Thought,” designed to highlight the play between fabric and water.
Six toddlers stand below an incandescent pink structure, reaching for the fabric sculpture
Young students from the Children’s School stopped by to view “Ludic Kaleidoscope,” by College of Fine Arts masters students Charles Drew and Mia Jeong.
A student in a leather jacket holds pieces of fabric together, while her teammate leans over a laptop. They are surrounded by pieces of their giant inflatable whale.
College of Fine Arts seniors Isabel Fleck and Silvia Shin fit together the pieces of their inflatable whale in the last work session of Teaching Professor Olivia Robinson’s Inflatables class.
A student in a white and gray sweater sits on the floor, cutting a large piece of white fabric with scissors.
College of Engineering junior Maya Beach cuts pieces of fabric to add to her group’s giant inflatable shell.
A woman with short hair and a brown jacket addresses a crowd in a dark studio theater space lined with curtains
Louw welcomes colleagues from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, who came to campus to review final projects for her Learning in Museums class.
Two students with dark hair and light shirts stand behind their project, a laser-cut 3D box containing a maze.
Dietrich College senior Shinjini Chakrabarti and BCSA senior Monica Wan pose with their interactive project “Peter Rabbit’s Garden Maze,” which they built from laser-cut wood.
onlookers watch as a student with dark hair and a maroon "Carnegie Mellon" sweatshirt shows off her large maze standing upright on a table
Junior Cassie May and sophomore Rita Xiao present their project “Meet Me at My POV,” a two-sided interactive maze designed to inspire communication and collaboration.