2 local students complete capstone projects at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Almost 1,200 undergraduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute completed a senior capstone thesis that is required of all graduating seniors as part of the university’s project-based educational experience.
These are professional-level research experiences in the students’ fields of study that challenge students to solve the kind of problem they would typically encounter in their professional discipline.
Two local students recently completed capstone projects:
• Elijah Rothschild, of Newhall, majoring in interactive media and game development technology, class of 2025, completed a project titled “AI-Driven Gameplay Footage Generation.”
• Nicholas Kirby, of Santa Clarita, majoring in mathematical sciences, class of 2025, completed a project titled “Scalable Solver for the Helmholtz Equation.”
“It’s inspiring to see the creativity and skills that our students bring to these hands-on projects, as well as the professionalism with which they present their research,” Arne Gericke, interim dean of undergraduate studies and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, said in a news release.
WPI is a STEM-focused research university founded in 1865. It offers more than 70 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences and the humanities and arts.
2 local students named to Samford University dean’s list
Samford University recognized 2,222 students named to the dean’s list for the spring 2025 semester, including two from the Santa Clarita Valley.
Local students named to the dean’s list were:
• Evan Leib, Christian/religious studies major, of Valencia.
• Carson Gardner, law, politics and society major, of Castaic.
To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have earned a minimum 3.5 grade point average out of a possible 4.0 while attempting at least 12 credit hours of coursework. The dean’s list is the highest academic recognition given by the school at the end of each semester.
Samford, in Birmingham, Alabama, is a Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools.
