Department of Mechanical Engineering

CU Boulder research leads to enhanced cancer gene therapy strategy
Gene therapy of cancer remains a tantalizing possibility that has not yet been realized. While many of the molecular mechanisms underlying malignant transformation and progression have been recently uncovered, the tools to reverse these events are frequently still lacking. The use of microbubbles with focused ultrasound may pave the way for cancer gene therapy, according to a new study by a group of researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University led by Mechanical Engineering faculty member Mark Borden.

The approach taken by Borden's group - recently featured as the cover story for the Journal of Controlled Release - is to coat a microbubble surface with nanoparticle assemblies of DNA and polymer. The microbubble is injected intravenously and travels with the bloodstream to the tumor, where ultrasound is applied to release the nanoparticles and help the DNA migrate into the tumor. The DNA-polymer assemblies then enter the tumor cells and release the DNA, where it can be transcribed to provide therapy. The platform technology may provide gene therapy for other disorders as well.Read the full cover story here: Journal of Controlled Release

Prof. John Daily elected Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Prof. John Daily has been elected to the grade of Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. AIAA Fellows are persons of distinction who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics. As part of this honor, he will receive a certificate and pin at the AIAA Fellows Dinner on 8 May 2021 at the Westin Alexandria, Alexandria, VA, and also be recognized at the black-tie Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala on 9 May 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington D.C. Professor Daily and his reserach group use a variety of experimental, analytical and computational tools to study problems mainly related to energy and propulsion. Professor Daily has over one-hundred and fifty publications and has given over two hundred conference presentations and technical seminars since receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1975.

CU Engineering team supporting green energy in Haiti
A team of University of Colorado Boulder engineers travel to Haiti this month to support the growth of green energy on the two-year anniversary of the country's devastating earthquake.

Engineering professors Alan Mickelson and Mike Hannigan and graduate student Matt Hulse will be in Haiti Jan. 8-16 to collaborate with the Neges Foundation school at Leogane to create a vocational training program on the installation, operation and maintenance of renewable energy systems.

“I'm eager to learn about the people of Haiti and the services that they would like energy systems to provide,” said Hannigan, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “Historically, the development of energy systems has shaped nations and economies, so the timing is right to pass along what we have learned about those energy systems that are sustainable.”

Read the full story: CU News

CU Boulder research leads to discovery of new graphene properties.
Graphene, considered the most exciting new material under study in the world of nanotechnology, just got even more interesting, according to a new study by a group of researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder lead by Mechanical Engineering faculty member Scott Bunch.

The new findings -- that graphene has surprisingly powerful adhesion qualities -- are expected to help guide the development of graphene manufacturing and of graphene-based mechanical devices such as resonators and gas separation membranes, according to the CU-Boulder team. The experiments showed that the extreme flexibility of graphene allows it to conform to the topography of even the smoothest substrates.
Read the full CU News press release here: CU News

ME Senior Design Shell Eco Marathon Team Goes over 1000 mpg!
The CU Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Eco team was one of only 7 teams to break the 1000 mile per gallon barrier this year with a run of 1008 miles per gallon. The team placed 7th out of 61 teams competing in this year's Shell Eco Marathon of the Americas held this last weekend in Houston TX. Team members included students: Chris Doudna, Travis Ochsner, Wayne Russell, Brittany Fedderson; graduate volunteer: Kane Chinnel; and two adivisors: Marcelo Bergquist, Greg Potts. Read more.

Professors Virginia Ferguson and Scott Bunch win NSF CAREER Awards
Professors Virginia Ferguson and Scott Bunch are both recipients of 2011 NSF CAREER Awards, a prestigious research grant for young faculty members. Prof. Fergusons project is entitled Reverse-Engineering the Bone-Cartilage Interface for Successful Joint Repair - Coupled with a New Program to Promote Diversity in Rehabilitative Bioengineering. This proposed research will enable advancements in engineering solutions for common, debilitating orthopedic problems, such as osteoarthritis and spinal disc degeneration, and an improved understanding of how nature anchors soft and hard materials to facilitate load transmission.

Prof. Bunchs award is entitled Atomic Scale Defect Engineering in Graphene Membranes. The objective of this award is to understand a variety of fundamental defect engineering issues from an experimental and collaborative modeling perspective, including the measurement of gas transport across single atomic vacancies in suspended graphene membranes and the demonstration of gas separation based on size exclusion by atomically engineered vacancies in graphene membranes. To realize the extraordinary potential of graphene as a material for membrane separations, a number of previously unexplored scientific issues need to be addressed, the most important being a means to introduce atomic scale pores in graphene which can separate gases based on size exclusion. The knowledge gained from a fundamental understanding of defect engineering in graphene membranes will open up new avenues to explore the energy efficient separation capabilities of atomically thin membranes.

April 22, 2011: Spring IAC Meeting and Senior Design Expo
The Spring 2011 Senior Design Expo will present 25 undergraduate senior design projects and 4 graduate senior design projects. Design project topics will include bio-medical, energy, manufacturing, research, and product development. The annual Project Expo is held in conjunction with the Spring ME Industrial Advisory Council Meeting. Members of the IAC judge the project displays and interact with the team members. The top teams chosen by the IAC judges will also receive special awards. This event is open to the general public with free admission.

This event is organized by the Industry/University Cooperative Project Center -- a new concept in engineering education, fostering innovative, technical collaborations with business, industry, and government agencies. The I/UCPC brings real industry projects to the senior design course sequence in mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where integrated teams of 4 to 6 students, a professor, and an industry mentor develop workable solutions. Student teams, which also may include a graduate student or a student from another engineering discipline, work on assigned projects for two consecutive semesters and deliver tested, functional hardware and documentation to the industry sponsor at the completion of the project. More than 125 engineering projects have been completed in the I/UCPC since 1999.

Prof. Stoldt and co-workers published in Nano Letters
Prof. Stoldt, with co-workers from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), have published a paper in Nano Letters entitled "Galvanic Porous Silicon Composites for High-Velocity Nanoenergetics". The research work utilizes an electrochemical nanostructuring process developed at the University of Colorado to fabricate highly reactive porous silicon composites that exhibit the fastest combustion propagation velocity of any nanoenergetic material system measured to date. On-chip measurements at ARL were obtained using microfabricated diagnostic devices in conjunction with high-speed optical imaging up to 930,000 frames per second. Combustion velocities averaging 3050 m/s were observed for porous silicon films with porosities of 65-67%. (Published online on December 23, 2010)

Sara Campbell receives a NIST NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship
Sara Campbell (formerly Sara Olesiak) has been selected to receive a NIST National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associateship. This competitive award provides advanced training to a highly select group of scientists and engineers who give special promise of becoming creative leaders in research. Her proposal, titled "Nanoscale Mapping of Viscoelastic Properties across the Biomaterials Interface", will enable her to work with Donna Hurley, Ph.D. at NIST in Boulder to utilize atomic force acoustic microscopy and related techniques for studying the interface between stiff and compliant materials that possess viscoelastic behavior.

Our PhD program ranked 6th out of 127 (5th percentile) of ME programs in the nation
Our PhD program was very highly rated in a report released September 28th, 2010, by the National Research Council, or NRC. Our best overall ranking was 6th out of 127 programs reviewed in the nation. This places our department in the top 5th percentile.

These long-awaited findings from the NRCs national study of doctoral programs are based on a more comprehensive assessment of doctoral programs than popular ranking systems currently available can offer and are widely viewed as useful indicators of excellence. The NRC functions under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, and carries out most of the studies done in their names. The last NRC assessment of doctoral programs was released in September 1995, at which time our departments ranking was > 50th, hence the department has seen tremendous growth and improvement in the last decade.

Additional information about this report, as well as rankings for other CU departments, are provided here: CU News