Impacting the Lives of Others

Skylynn Kilfoil Greaves has always been fascinated with how simple, everyday items are created. But, more than that, her greatest desire is to help others. Now, she seeks to meld her passions for mechanics and helping others into impactful, real-world solutions.

On the Long Island campus, Kilfoil Greaves is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with an aerospace concentration, reflecting her desire to increase female representation in STEM majors.

In September 2024, the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences student was motivated to work in the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC), where she completed a 25-hour program—aprerequisite to work in the ETIC—and began working in the space as an intern. In March, she was promoted to engineer.

The lab has given her plenty of opportunity to refine the career skills she will need. Among her recent projects are a re-created Gamified Silk Screen Cleaner and the Blendbot. In partnership with Spectrum Designs, the latter project was presented at this year’s New York State Industries for the Disabled’s Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive Technology Symposium. The BlendBot enables users to mix paint in a safer, cleaner, and more efficient manner with its self-contained mixing blade.

“The most enjoyable part of being a mechanical engineer is seeing the impact our work has on others,” Kilfoil Greaves says. “The first time I saw the Spectrum Designs workers testing our BlendBot Ink Mixer prototype, I was in awe. I was amazed at how my work as a student is genuinely impacting the lives of others.”

This summer, she and fellow ETIC student workers are completing a variety of NASA prototypes. In June, she worked with ETIC Project Manager Russell Wetzler on the Passive Porous Tube Delivery Nutrient System. The unit allows fresh produce to grow in microgravity environments with minimal human intervention. She also assisted in creating the Digital to Analog Transformation and Reconstruction of ECG Data, a device designed to convert digital readings of electrocardiogram data into analog information.

Kilfoil Greaves is currently working on a Foot Pedals Controller prototype. It is meant to allow users to control an aircraft’s direction and rotations by using their feet as controllers, leaving their hands free for other tasks.

The young engineer keeps busy outside of the ETIC, too. Once secretary and then vice president of New York Tech’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Kilfoil-Greaves is now the club’s advisor, offering help and guidance as needed.

Thinking ahead, Kilfoil Greave’s plans include working her way up to employment at NASA, where she dreams of contributing to new and upcoming telescope projects. She also intends to further her education with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

“It is important to know that the reward is worth the effort,” she says, reflecting on her penchant to push past roadblocks to achieve meaningful change. “You will succeed if you have enough passion and motivation.”