Soft robots

Next-gen flexible robots move and heal like us

Jan. 4, 2018

The Keplinger Research Group in the College of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a new class of soft, electrically activated devices capable of mimicking the expansion and contraction of natural muscles.

A group shot of the Keplinger Research Group members in their lab.

CU Engineering Researchers Create Soft Robotic Muscles

Jan. 4, 2018

Current robotic materials and prosthetic limbs, while quickly gaining precision and application, are typically made of rigid materials and aren’t the most graceful machines – think C-3PO from "Star Wars." Researchers in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder are working to soften these limbs, and eventually...

Ronggui Yang and Xiaobo Yin hold a roll of their cooling material.

CU Boulder metamaterial selected as a top 10 physics breakthrough for 2017

Dec. 12, 2017

Physics World recognizes work by Ronggui Yang and Xiaobo Yin from mechanical engineering.

Elijah Gonzales, a sophomore studying civil engineering, discusses his tactile diagram of an eye with Shalini Menon at a design workshop offered through the Build a Better Book project.

Blind researcher brings magic touch to book project

Dec. 6, 2017

As a research assistant with the Build a Better Book Project, run by computer science Assistant Professor Tom Yeh, Shalini Menon is drawing on her personal experience to teach others how to make books and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning materials more accessible to children who are visually impaired.

Mechanical engineering Associate Professor Mark Rentschler (far right) with graduate students (left to right) Levi Pearson, Greg Formosa and Micah Prendergast with an oversized version of a synthetic colon created as a senior design project.

A robotic small intestine? Researchers are making one

Dec. 4, 2017

Mechanical engineering Associate Professor Mark Rentschler is leading the effort to develop an artificial, robotic small intestine for use in medical laboratories. The research is supported by a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Christoph Keplinger

Keplinger's soft robotics research earns Packard Fellowship

Oct. 16, 2017

Pushing the boundaries of science requires flexibility. Allowing scientists to follow where their research takes them, even if that is into areas that may seem illogical to some, often is what leads to the most remarkable breakthroughs. For some researchers, this is never an option, as the funding they receive...

Chris Bowman in lab

Professor Chris Bowman Elected to National Academy of Medicine

Oct. 16, 2017

The National Academy of Medicine has elected Professor Christopher Bowman of the University of Colorado Boulder to its ranks. Bowman, a faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering since 1992, is a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor and holds the James and Catherine Patten Endowed Chair. He...

A detail view of part of the microscope

CU researchers win BRAIN Initiative grant for miniature microscope

Oct. 3, 2017

From left: Diego Restrepo, Emily Gibson, Juliet Gopinath and Victor Bright. Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the University of Colorado Boulder have won a $2 million grant allowing them to refine a unique microscope they have developed while expanding its use to other scientists across...

Al Weimer

Professor Alan Weimer Earns AIChE Lifetime Achievement Award

Sept. 18, 2017

The award recognizes Weimer’s lifetime of scientific achievement, including fundamental understanding, discovery, engineering scale-up and commercialization of processes to synthesize ultrafine ceramic powders and to apply nanoscale films to ultrafine particle surfaces.

Ronggui Yang in a lab with two students.

Yang studies thermal problems of futuristic electronics

Aug. 25, 2017

(From left) PhD student Xin Qian, post doctoral researcher Puqing Jiang, and mechanical engineering professor Ronggui Yang in Yang's laboratory at CU Boulder. Ronggui Yang knows people want faster, more powerful electronic devices. Whether it is a new laptop, cell phone, smart TV, or technology for electric vehicles and the...

Pages