Undergraduate Level

Palmer Dick-Montez at the Grand Canyon

Triple honors for mechanical engineering graduate

Palmer Dick-Montez is receiving major kudos as he graduates with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a 2023 recipient of three separate College of...

Koehler working in a clean room.

CU Boulder mechanical engineering undergrad honored for research

Sydney Koehler is a 2023 Outstanding Graduate for Research Award winner. The honor, given by the College of Engineering and Applied Science to graduating seniors, recognizes Koehler's impressive work on the...

Riley McGill

An inside look: Undergraduate research with the Animal Inspired Motion and Robotics Lab

Riley McGill is a sophomore in the Department of Mechanical Engineering who has been helping build a small, six-legged robot in Professor Kaushik Jayaram’s Animal Inspired Motion and Robotics Lab (AIMRL).

CU Hyperloop

Students break new ground in Hyperloop challenge

Mechanical engineering students are among the CU Hyperloop members designing the proposed mode of underground transportation.

miniature_tank_tread_robot_ascending_an_incline

Undergraduate researchers learn valuable lessons from remote research

Undergraduate researchers share their experiences as participants in the ME SPUR Program. ME SPUR, modeled after CU Summer Program for Undergraduate Research, enabled undergraduate students to work with mechanical engineering faculty on research that could be conducted remotely.

Hodgkins, Perez, Kirk

The ME SPUR Experience: Hodgkins, Kirk and Pérez research air quality impacts of Stay-at-Home and Safer-at-Home orders

As ME SPUR participants, Kirsty Hodgkins, Evan Kirk and Paula Pérez worked with Professor Jana Milford to understand how reduced traffic, telecommuting and reduced industrial activity during Colorado's Stay-at-Home and Safer-at-Home orders have affected air quality with goals that the project would inform future strategies for improving air quality.

Ryan Smith

The ME SPUR Experience: Smith models the human abdomen for ultrasound simulation

As an ME SPUR participant, Ryan Smith worked with Assistant Professor Nick Bottenus to use medical image data to develop 3D finite element models of the abdominal wall and perform various compressions to mimic clinical practice.

Paul Ditomas

The ME SPUR Experience: DiTomas explores minimum energy requirements for robotic missions

As an ME SPUR participant, Paul DiTomas worked with Research Professor John Pellegrino to perform analysis for scenarios of the minimum energy requirement for robotic missions that will be used in a review article about portable power devices for next-gen robots.

Sydney Evans

The ME SPUR Experience: Evans tests a miniature tank-tread robot

As an ME SPUR participant, Sydney Evans worked with Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram to develop a novel robot capable of sticking to and navigating virtually any surface, leveraging electrostatic attraction.

Jonathon Gruener

The ME SPUR Experience: Gruener researches magnetic field design

As an ME SPUR participant, Jonathon Gruener worked with Associate Professor Svenja Knappe to create a testing environment for highly-sensitive miniature magnetic field sensors with non-invasive brain imaging, space and industrial applications.

Pages

Graduate Level

Biopolyester

Grad student helps design ‘artificial muscles’ you can toss in the compost bin

Say “hello” to the robots of the future: They’re soft and flexible enough to bounce off walls or squeeze into tight spaces. And when you’re done with them, you can toss these machines into a compost bin to decompose.

Photoelasticity

Student wins national competition with photoelasticity research

Ben McMillan, a PhD student advised by Associate Professor Nathalie Vriend in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently took first place in the Gallery of Soft Matter Physics video competition for his research on the internal dynamics of granular flow and its effects on clogging.

Hannah

PhD student advancing human tendon research

Hannah Larson, a PhD student, is a 2023 recipient of the National Institutes of Health T32 for Interdisciplinary Training in Musculoskeletal Research. The program provides research and training opportunities for the next generation of musculoskeletal investigators.

Brandon Hayes

Student wins national competition with micro-bubble research

Brandon Hayes, a PhD student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently took first place in a national competition for data analysis and presentation.

Eyes

Not-so-private eyes: Eye movements hold clues to how we make decisions

New research suggests that eyes may really be the window to the soul—or, at least, how humans dart their eyes may reveal valuable information about how they make decisions.

Neuromechanics Cover Image

Q&A: Inspiring the Next Generation of Researchers in Neuromechanics

Ryan Schmad (BSME '23) is the recipient of the 2022 Best Undergradute Podium Award from the Rocky Mountain American Society of Biomechanics. His research mentor is Rachel Marbaker, a current PhD student in Alaa Ahmed's Neuromechanics Laboratory.

pesticide study

CU Boulder Engineering study finds at least nine pesticide chemicals near Boulder County homes

The air quality study, led by mechanical engineering PhD candidate Aniya Khalili, aims to inspire the community to lead cleaner lifestyles and promote further research on pesticide exposure.

NSF logo

NSF honors mechanical engineering students with Graduate Research Fellowships

The National Science Foundation has awarded two Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering students with Graduate Research Fellowships and two students with honorable mentions.

Jaylene Martinez

PhD student Jaylene Martinez wins Best Poster Award at American Chemical Society Meeting

The Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering recognized Martinez's research on membrane technologies that can ensure more scientifically reliable water treatment filtration systems.

fire ants

Video: Emergent behavior in fire ants

Studying emergent behavior has long fascinated engineers, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder just uncovered a distinct behavior in colonies of fire ants cooperating in flood situations.