Maxwell D’Amore
Engineering portfolio / Villanova University

Maxwell D’Amore

Electrical engineering student at Villanova University

I’m interested in electrical and systems engineering, especially the testing that helps explain why something behaves differently from what we expected. I’m exploring that through autonomous vehicle research, robotics, and fieldwork.

B.S. Electrical Engineering · Engineering Entrepreneurship minor · Expected May 2029

Portrait of Maxwell D’Amore
01 / Engineering

Engineering projects

I like getting close enough to a problem to see what the drawing leaves out. These projects have taken me from a research vehicle in the lab to a school site in Kenya and a robot built with my team.

01 / Undergraduate research / 2026–27

F1/10 Autonomous Vehicle Research

I was selected for a 10-hour-a-week research project at Villanova. Our goal is to make a 1/10-scale F1/10 car fully autonomous. I’ll also study how people and AI make decisions in short driving scenarios. I’m planning to build Python tools to test the car and evaluate vision-language models, looking at response times, eye-tracking data, decision traces, and what changes when we adjust a scene cue or prompt. I’m especially curious about which details actually change a decision.

Side view of the F1/10 research vehicle on a lab bench
F1/10 research platform
Top view showing the F1/10 research vehicle's electronics and wiring
Vehicle hardware
Work in progressAutonomous systemsHuman and AI decisionsPlanned Python testing
02 / Field engineering / Kenya 2026

Kenya Engineering Trip

In Kenya, a change in elevation mattered for getting water to the right places. With Villanova’s team, I surveyed the site with an Abney level, mapped four latrine plots in ArcGIS, and drew site schematics in Civil 3D. We also looked at the school’s borehole, pump, and tower to compare ways to move water across the site. I liked seeing how the measurements fed into choices for an actual school.

Maxwell and teammates taking measurements outdoors in Kenya
Field measurements
Engineering team reviewing measurements at the school site
Site survey
Team meeting with local partners in Kenya
Partner meeting
ArcGISCivil 3DSite surveyingWater systems
03

SumoBot design and integration

On our SumoBot team, I worked on the pieces I could design and wire myself: wheels and an outer shell in SOLIDWORKS, sensor placement, wiring between the battery and motor driver, and soldering the motor leads. It was a chance to see how the parts fit together in a small working robot.

Villanova / Robotics / 2026
CAD
Wiring
Soldering
System integration
04

NovaRacing steering wheel design

I’m working through a 3D-printable steering wheel concept for a NovaRacing recruitment project. It needs to fit the supplied quick disconnect, use the required three-hole mount, feel right in someone’s hands, and give the wires a sensible path.

CAD / Recruitment project in progress / 2026
SOLIDWORKS
Mechanical packaging
SUMMER 2027 INTERNSHIPS

I’m looking for electrical or systems engineering roles in autonomous systems, aerospace, defense, and big tech.

I’m drawn to hands-on testing. When a system does something unexpected, I want to get close to it, work backward, and figure out why.

02 / Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship projects

I like making things, but I also like finding out whether they solve the problem people actually have. That’s the part my Engineering Entrepreneurship minor and startup work keep teaching me.

01 / Co-founder / TestFlight beta

STARTR

STARTR is a personal CRM app I’m building with another sophomore at Villanova and a Villanova graduate. The idea is to help people keep track of the people they meet and the details they want to remember. We’re testing it through TestFlight; it hasn’t launched publicly yet.

I talk with potential users, try the beta flows, write down bugs, and bring what I learn back to the team. It’s been interesting to see where real use differs from the version we imagined.

Visit STARTR website ↗
STARTR beta home screen
STARTR beta contacts screen with example cards
02

Exploring students’ career paths

For a class project in my minor, our team has been asking students what they’re interested in and how they decide which internships or careers to pursue. We’re exploring whether a tool could help connect those interests with possible paths, alumni, and employers. Right now we’re still interviewing people and testing the problem, not claiming we’ve solved it.

About / Maxwell D’Amore

I want to know why things work.

I study electrical engineering at Villanova University and minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. I like working close to a real system, getting my hands on the details, and talking with the people who will actually use what we make.

Why I build

Engineering gives me the tools to understand how something works. Entrepreneurship pushes me to ask who needs it and what problem it should solve. I like getting both questions into the same conversation.

Villanova / September 2026–present

Engineering Student Council · Director of Publicity

I handle council emails, social posts, and event flyers. It’s a different way to contribute to the engineering community I’m part of.

Contact

Let’s talk.

mdamor02@villanova.edu ↗LinkedIn ↗Resume PDF ↗