Students build creative prototypes in magnetics engineering course

A magnetic levitation platform that floats lightweight objects like bottle caps. A ferrite circulator that channels microwave signals in a specific direction around its ports. A magnetic “train” that glides between stations using copper wire-based coils. These are just a few of the innovative prototypes students brought to life this semester in the Cornell Engineering course ECE 6320: Applied Magnetism.

Led by Amal El-Ghazaly, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, the course moves beyond textbooks and challenges students to design, build and troubleshoot devices based on magnetic principles. 

Prototyping magnetism

Among this semester’s projects, a 2.4 GHz ferrite circulator engineered by David Bertuch ’24 earned the Cheapest Prototype Award. The device, which directs microwave signals between its three ports while preventing backflow, demonstrated signal isolation – a critical feature for applications in telecommunications and radar systems. 

Using a carefully tuned control circuit, a magnetic levitation platform made by graduate student Qingmiao Xiao could suspend small objects in mid-air without dropping them. Her design won the People’s Choice Award, voted on by students at MacCormick Secure Center.

Graduate students Haosen Yin and Smaran Kulakarni developed a magnetic train powered by coils that activated and deactivated in sequence, guiding the train smoothly along its track.

Connecting engineering to the real world

As part of the course, students presented their projects at the MacCormick Secure Center, a juvenile detention facility near Ithaca. The presentations introduced the MacCormick youth to the possibilities of STEM while challenging Cornell students to explain challenging science concepts in simple terms.

“Presenting at the MacCormick Center taught me how to break down complex topics and present them in a clear and engaging way – skills that I’ll definitely use in future technical discussions and presentations,” said Bertuch, who credits the course with helping him secure a job in the engineering field. “This course has equipped me with both technical and communication skills that I’ll carry into the real world and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned professionally.”

Reflecting on the semester, El-Ghazaly praised her students’ creativity and dedication.

“The students spend so much time thinking about and engineering the projects that the underlying physics becomes so ingrained in them,” said El-Ghazaly. “That's what I love and that's what I live to see.”