Bonding & Tower Building: GE Next Engineers Begins at UAlbany
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 7, 2026) — The first class of high school sophomores to enter the Next Engineers program for the New York Capital Region at the University at Albany came from schools as far as Saratoga Springs and as near as a few blocks up the street.
In groups of three and four, the nearly 30 students tackled their first engineering challenge: create a freestanding tower about 6 ½ feet high out of just seven pieces of 8 ½-by-11-inch paper and masking tape. Oh, and design, sketch and erect it in just 45 minutes.
Most towers stood tall, if not entirely straight, with some strong enough to support a chocolate egg in a taped cone at the top. It was both an engineering feat and a chance for the students to get to know each other — all on the Downtown Campus of the UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE).
Welcome to day one of the program’s Engineering Academy. Over the next two years, the students will gather each month to learn principles of engineering as they tackle hands-on projects of increasing complexity and develop an engineering mindset. Upon completion in their senior year, they’ll be eligible to earn scholarships to pursue engineering careers.
Inspire students
Next Engineers is a global initiative of the GE Aerospace Foundation that seeks to expand the pool of people who work in engineering. It features an Engineering Discovery unit for middle schoolers and the Engineering Academy for high schoolers. The New York Capital Region offering — with the Museum of Innovation and Science in Schenectady instructing middle-schoolers and NY Creates providing tours of its Albany NanoTech Complex — is the third in the U.S. and seventh worldwide.
“Next Engineers aims to inspire 4,000 students in the New York Capital Region over the next four years to pursue careers in engineering,” said Emmanuel Maillet, a technology operations leader at GE Aerospace in Niskayuna, N.Y., who spoke at a welcoming for students and their families before the first session began.
“I really applaud you for investing in your own engineering journey by joining this program. I hope it will lead you to a very fulfilling career in engineering. And I’m really looking forward to seeing your progress over the next two years.”
Another speaker, Bradley Thiel, associate dean for academic affairs at CNSE and principal investigator for the N.Y. Capital Region Next Engineers, described engineers as people who solve problems through a particular way of thinking and a rigorous step-by-step process.
“It’s about understanding what the customer needs and coming up with the right solution to meet that,” Thiel added.
After greetings from region Director Capri O’Hara, the students smiled for a few group photos before getting to work inside a classroom at CNSE.
Timed tasks
Through informational sheets, short videos and presentation slides, instructor George Reluzco shared the seven steps of the engineering design process and real-world examples of how engineers like Alexander Graham Bell, Gustave Eiffel and Alfred Nobel solved big problems. But rather than just disseminate facts, Reluzco also engaged students with short, timed tasks, each one carried out in smaller groups.
In one exercise, they identified personal goals, thought about how they should behave while working together and how to respond when they don’t. In another, they compared common interests. As they chatted, took notes and, at times, laughed, they bonded a bit, as most came from different high schools and had just met.
When the timer expired, Reluzco, a retired high school teacher with a calm, supportive mien, called on students to share their group’s ideas, repeating what they said so everyone could hear and acknowledging their thoughts with a “Yes” or a smile.
Path ahead
The classmates said they were drawn by the chance to learn how to think like engineers as they pondered their path from high school to higher education to work.
“I’m interested in architecture,” said Jayden, of Albany High School, who heard about the program from a teacher. “I just want to figure out my career.”
Michael, of Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, found Next Engineers while searching online for summer engineering programs. He’s interested in aerospace engineering. “I want to get hands-on experience and meet new people,” he added.
Kathryn hopes the experience will fuel her interest in biotechnology. A guidance counselor at Saratoga Central Catholic School told her about program.
As the first session wound down, Reluzco asked his young engineers to gather their papers in their three-ring binders and place them in cardboard boxes on the way out. His last message was simple and heartfelt.
“This was a good session, you guys,” he said. “I’m happy that you are all here and look forward to seeing you next month.”
