MechE News - April 2019
Roughly 145 engineering capstone design teams will be presenting at the 2019 Engineering Projects Expo on April 26. Check out a few of our featured mechanical engineering design projects.
Alumni Spotlight
Seven life lessons from alumnus Mike Maloney, founder of KOTA Longboards
CU Boulder mechanical engineering alumnus Mike Maloney chooses to take risks, try new things, serve others and get things done all while having fun! He began his career as a pilot in the United States Navy and has since founded KOTA Longboards.
ME alumna inspires the next generation of NREL researchers
Alicen Kandt is reaching back, volunteering to do her part to influence NREL's next generation of experts who one day may even become her colleagues. In October, she was invited present at the Careers in Mechanical Engineering Symposium.
Research Spotlight
Your home is a hidden source of air pollution
Assistant Professor Nina Vance and her collaborators have found cooking, cleaning and other routine household activities to generate significant levels of volatile and particulate chemicals inside the average home, leading to indoor air quality levels on par with a polluted major city.
Biodegradable sensors aim to make farming more efficient
By developing sensors to optimize inputs for greater crop yields, Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Gregory Whiting aims to mitigate environmental losses, decrease energy use and improve farm profitability for food, feed and fuel crops, a project funded by ARPA-E.
CU researchers working to reduce cost of studying magnetic field
ME Associate Research Professor Svenja Knappe collaborates with Bob Marshall to bring down the cost of small satellites called CubeSats and tiny sensors previously used to collect measurements of the brain.
Functional imaging technique could diagnose early osteoarthritis, NIH awards $2.7M
Associate Professor Corey Neu of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder is working with colleagues at CU Anschutz to detect early osteoarthritis, allowing younger patients to seek treatment earlier and possibly ward off the most severe measures including joint replacement.
$1 million imaging system opens world of research at college, across campus
A new high-resolution X-ray microtomography imaging system designed by Wil Srubar, Virginia Ferguson, Mija Hubler, Robert McLeod and Stephanie Bryant will enhance research, not only in engineering, but in the fields of archaeology, geology and medicine across campus and the Rocky Mountain region.
Study reveals health risks in low-income homes
A team of investigators from the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and University of Colorado Boulder has identified that people living in homes with high ventilation are more likely to suffer from respiratory health issues such as asthma.
CU Boulder mechanical engineers ‘on fire’ at the 11th U.S. National Combustion Meeting
Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty and students had great showing at the 11th U.S. National Combustion Meeting. Faculty members were honored with awards, gave two of the three flagship plenary lectures, took on new board memberships and led three critical combustion events.
Peter Hamlington receives prestigious NSF CAREER award
Assistant Professor Peter Hamlington received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation this month for his work exploring the characteristics and behavior of highly turbulent premixed flames in engines using advanced computational simulations. He will receive $500K over five years.
Student Spotlight
Mechanical engineering teams win first, second and third place at the 2019 New Venture Challenge
The top three New Venture Challenge champions, Stride Tech, Button Huggie and Tissue Form originated in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Teams started as ‘Entrepreneurship for Social Innovation’ senior design projects, graduate design projects and as research in mechanical engineering labs.
CU students place 4th in Lockheed Martin ethics competition
Engineering students Kelly Winn (MechEngr) and Caleb Inglis (AeroEngr) represented CU Boulder earlier this month at the Lockheed Martin Ethics in Engineering Case Competition. They secured 4th place in a competition drawing 14 teams from top universities.
Student entrepreneur Kevin Emory founds Respect Your Mother Recycling
Mechanical engineering student entrepreneur Kevin Emory shares his story founding Respect Your Mother Recycling. His company strives for zero waste through a university-based recycling model. Emory shares his experience launching his idea.
Education & Outreach Spotlight
Air Quality Inquiry teaches K-12 students to ask and answer their own questions with science and engineering
When high school students from rural Colorado research air quality as it relates to the things that interest them most, the result is enthusiastic students and one-of-a-kind projects. CU Boulder’s Air Quality Inquiry project, supported by a CU Boulder Outreach Award, pairs students with undergraduate mentors.
TEDxMileHigh talk by Christoph Keplinger receives feature on TED.com
Assistant Professor Christoph Keplinger’s TEDxMileHigh talk was selected for international coverage on TED.com. He is designing a new generation of soft, agile robots inspired by a masterpiece of evolution: biological muscle.
The engineering class teaching students to make art
For Assistant Professor Jean Hertzberg, flickering campfire flames, milk swirling in coffee and shape-shifting clouds are stunning visual manifestations of the physical forces governing our world. Since 2003, she has been teaching students to make art of mingling gases and liquids.