MechE News - February 2022
Video: College of Engineering and Applied Science Fall 2021 Graduation
In case you missed it, watch the Dec. 16 ceremony from inside Macky Auditorium and view photos of the in-person event. Congratulations to all of the fall 2021 University of Colorado Boulder Engineering graduates!
Sean Humbert to serve on the DARPA Microsystems Exploratory Council
Professor Sean Humbert, an expert in micro robotics and systems design, will help the Microsystems Exploratory Council identify new research avenues as it relates to Department of Defense and national security issues.
Long and Lynch named 2022 Research & Innovation Office Faculty Fellows
The Research & Innovation Office has announced the 2022 RIO Faculty Fellows cohort, comprised of 17 of the most promising faculty from across CU Boulder. The group reflects the diversity of expertise, research and scholarship taking place across campus.
Research News
How does Marshall Fire smoke affect indoor, outdoor air quality?
Professors Michael Hannigan and Marina Vance join scientists from CIRES and NOAA to install instruments in surviving houses to understand the smoke impacts on indoor air quality.
As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights
A team of scientists led by the Department of Mechanical Engineering are using the once-in-a-lifetime event to answer an unusual question: How much do vehicles in a city like Los Angeles add to the ammonia emissions that can hang in the air and sicken residents?
Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life
Professor Greg Rieker and Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr’21) have developed an experiment that recreates the climates of planets beyond our solar system right in the lab. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map their atmospheres, which could help humanity detect life outside our solar system.
Nuclear deformation research could advance artificial tissue engineering
Professor Corey Neu and Benjamin Seelbinder's (PhDMech’19) work, now published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, looks at how cells adapt to their environment and how a mechanical environment influences a cell. Their research has the potential to tackle major health obstacles.
Student Features
Completing a co-op at Tesla
Ahmed Ashmaig is an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering co-president of the National Society of Black Engineers Boulder Chapter. He participated in a co-op at Tesla during fall 2021.
PhD student Mitchell Fulton won international medical imaging challenge
Mechanical engineering student Mitchell Fulton won 'Best Performing Method' for a paper detailing his novel approach to autonomously identify regions of the heart using MRI scan images at the M&Ms-2 Challenge.
MechE Education & Outreach
ME Course Column: Design for Inclusion
The racial reckoning in summer 2020 led to an awakening in our consciousness – a need for everyone to look inward and tackle our own unconscious biases. Professor Janet Tsai is asking students to question these preconceived notions when it comes to mechanical engineering as well.
In 2022, consider these 5 climate resolutions
When possible, choose electricity over gas at home. Using natural gas makes your home a hidden source of air pollution, according to research from mechanical engineering faculty.