From the moment a collegiate swimmer dives into the pool until their hand touches the wall, their race is purely a solo act, a series of individual strokes and moments toward a personal best. Though they may be the only person in their lane, they are never truly alone, for from the sides of the pool their teammates whoop — teammates who have been beside them for every workout, every challenge, and every celebration.

Tommaso and Matteo Calviello know the sensation well. The twin brothers from Milan, Italy, have turned the individual pursuit of a college degree into a team sport, relying on each other.

“We’ve always pushed each other to do better, whether in the pool or in the classroom” said Matteo, a senior majoring in computer science. Tommaso is majoring in biomedical engineering, and both brothers are pursuing a second major in data science as well.

"I got into computer science and data science because of him," said Tommaso. "It's especially fun now that we're in these higher-level classes together because almost all of these classes have projects, and we get to work together with our friends on every single project."

This mutual inspiration is interwoven throughout their collegiate journeys. After spending their senior year of high school studying together in Iowa, the brothers began to make their college plans. They each determined — independently — that Rose-Hulman was the only clear choice.

"We really liked the idea of a campus where you can hang out with your friends between classes because in Italy, all of the universities are just academic buildings," Matteo explained. "The vibe of college campuses in America was a lot more attracting."

Tommaso added, "From the moment we came to Rose, we were all in. We might as well try and explore and do as much as possible. The worst case is failure and a new lesson learned, so there's really no negative consequence."

As it turned out, their brotherhood was an integral part of that campus life as they opted to live together, and to join the swim team and several intramural teams together. Matteo and Tommaso have now experienced nearly every aspect of campus life— including serving as teaching assistants for classes that the other brother was actively taking.

Though they each initially joked about teasing their brother about his grades, the position turned out to be a natural extension of their instincts: leaning on their brotherhood as a pillar and a resource.

"Whether or not we are TAs, we always help each other out," said Tommaso. "Whenever I have a question about something, I always ask him first."

They surprised themselves when they transitioned from literal brothers to fraternity brothers after both rushing Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Neither intended to join the same chapter as their brother, but both fell in love with the way it expanded their social circles.

"Both being in ATO has helped us explore all the opportunities possible, and the other people there have really helped us make the most out of 'the American dream' — the four years of college,” said Tommaso.

As juniors, the twin brothers were recruited by one of their fraternity brothers to participate in the NASA Lunar Autonomy Challenge. The national competition tasked teams with creating a rover that could explore and photograph a surface, mount obstacles, and return to its starting position before its battery died. With no prior experience in robotics, the Calviellos dove into the challenge.

The Rose-Hulman team placed eighth of 36 teams, qualifying for the finals and earning a top finish amid teams of graduate students and professionals. The challenge ignited a passion for design competitions in the twins.

At the recommendation of Rose-Hulman faculty, Tommaso decided to submit a project to the 2025 Medtronic/BMES Student Design Competition, and, of course, turned to his built-in project partner. Over the summer, he worked remotely for Thalasso Therapeutics, and Matteo worked for ComEd in Chicago, and, in the evenings, they devoted their time to developing their project, Neuroscan.AI.

A perfect blend of their passions and skillsets, Neuroscan.AI is a model designed to alleviate pressure on medical professionals. The AI-powered tool analyzes MRI scans and provides a summary of likely diagnoses, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, dementia, or common brain tumors. The model was built using public access databases of MRI scans, and, if implemented, would give health care professionals a starting foundation for a diagnosis, helping specialists provide proper care more quickly and efficiently.

"After doing a bit of research, we found out that basically there's a big discrepancy between the growing rate of medical imaging being used and the specialists that can actually analyze it, so there's often a lot of backlog," Tommaso explained.

Their expertise for the project was largely developed at Rose-Hulman, both inside and outside the classroom.

"The most impactful learning we gained from Rose-Hulman, beyond the technical knowledge from classes, was the constant emphasis on project-based learning and interdisciplinary work," Matteo said. "We knew how to break down tasks, document our progress, hold one another accountable, and communicate effectively as a team."

Shortly after the academic year began, Tommaso and Matteo were named as finalists in the competition and earned a trip to San Diego to present at the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. They again found themselves competing against teams with much more experience — doctoral students who counted their projects in years of development rather than months. In a testament to their partnership and work ethic, the brothers placed third in the competition.

"Hearing our name called for third place among such high-caliber finalists was a proud moment for both our team and Rose-Hulman," Matteo said.

As they approach another milestone together — their May 2026 commencement — the Calviello twins continue to swim in synchronized strokes. A little over halfway through their senior year, they have both already accepted full-time positions and are both returning to the companies where they completed their 2025 internships, enabling them to reprise their role as roommates once more. When Matteo and Tommaso soon step out of Rose-Hulman's pool of influence and into their futures, their first and forever teammate will beside them every step of the way.