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MechE News - January 2019

Alumni, Industry Partners & Friends:

Happy New Year and welcome to our Department of Mechanical Engineering newsletter! We are thrilled to be embarking on another exciting year full of high-impact research, department growth and new professional development opportunities for students. We look forward to connecting along the way. 

Sincerely,

Mike Hannigan
Department Chair

ME Alumni Connect Day 2018 panelists

Alumni bring ME Alumni Connect Day 2018 to life

Alumni are changing the way students connect with industry, demonstrated by the 500+ students and 45 alumni attending ME Alumni Connect Day 2018. The third annual ME Alumni Connect Day was a huge success!

Share Your Good News for a Feature in the ME Newsletter

Alumni Spotlight

Jared Leidich

Jared Leidich receives Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

Jared Leidich (MechEngr'09) brought a high-flying man safely down to Earth, but the trajectory of his career goes only upward. Leidich was awarded the Kalpana Chawla Recent Graduate Award for exceptional contributions to his field.
Alec Thomas headshot

CU Boulder alumni continues work in biomedical imaging at Oxford

Alec Thomas (MechEngr'18) aims to solve a big problem in targeted delivery of therapeutics at his new position with the University of Oxford in England following the research he conducted as a PhD student at CU Boulder.

Research Spotlight

drone humbert

CU researchers go deep, design drones for subterranean search and rescue

Researchers from CU Boulder, CU Denver and the SSCI have partnered to design drones that can explore underground environments such as subway tunnels, mines and caves after receiving $4.5M in funding from DARPA.
Carson Bruns Tattoos

'Chameleon' tattoos change color, may help diagnose illness

Materials
New tattoo inks are being designed to change color in response to signals that could alert people to changes in blood chemistry or help doctors diagnose illness. Carson Bruns spoke about his work at the TEDxMileHigh: Reset speaker series.
fire ant

Fire ant colonies could inspire molecular machines, swarming robots

Mechanics of Materials
Think of it as mathematics with a bite: Researchers led by Franck Vernerey have uncovered the statistical rules that govern how gigantic colonies of fire ants form bridges, ladders and floating rafts, one of the most ingenious networks in nature.
cooling material yin and yang

Low cost, low energy cooling system shows promise

Materials
Researchers have scaled up a new low-cost cooling system that can provide efficient cooling for homes and beyond using minimal electricity. The system is built from a highly reflective glass and polymer material slightly thicker than aluminum foil.
soft robotics

ME faculty part of $2M NSF grant for soft robotics work

Robotics and Systems Design
Soft robotics promises substantial advantages over traditional rigid robots. ME faculty are working toward widespread adoption and practical applications for soft robotic HASEL actuators through a new $2M award from the National Science Foundation.
greg rieker in lab

Greg Rieker selected for the Peter Werle Early Career Scientist Award

Thermo Fluid Sciences
Greg Rieker was selected for the Peter Werle Early Career Scientist Award, considered among the highest honors for young scientists in his field. He received the award while attending the sixth FLAIR international conference in September 2018.
respiratory system

Air pollution leads to millions of ER visits for asthma attacks worldwide

Air Quality
Nine to 33 million visits to the emergency room for asthma worldwide may be triggered by breathing in air polluted by ozone or fine particulate matter according to a study published by Associate Professor Daven Henze and collaborators.

Student Spotlight

ASME tabling

ASME gaining momentum at CU Boulder

CU Boulder's student-led chapter of ASME is reaching new heights. With eyes on the future, ME students are not only connecting with their peers but have also started a series of events to build connections between students, faculty, alumni and the mechanical engineering community.
Yao Zhai headshot in lab

Outstanding Dissertation Award: Yao Zhai

Postdoctoral Associate Yao Zhai’s love for science began when he was young. He remembers looking up to his grandfather, who went from having nothing to establishing a manufacturing company all by himself. Zhai received the Outstanding Dissertation Award.
levi pearson

Outstanding Graduate for Research: Levi Pearson

Levi Pearson, Outstanding Graduate for Research, said his research gave him a strong base in control theory, showed him how to uncover what he doesn’t know to find a solution and taught him how to have confidence in himself.

Education & Outreach Spotlight

Jeff Knutsen teaching his first class in 2009

Jeff Knutsen awarded the Charles A. Hutchinson Memorial Teaching Award

Mechanical engineering Senior Instructor Jeffrey Knutsen was awarded the 2018 Charles A. Hutchinson Memorial Teaching Award in honor of Applied Math Professor Charles A. Hutchinson, recognizing his outstanding contributions to teaching.
textbook

Sustainable energy systems textbook furthers a legacy of protecting the planet

PhD Alumnus Charles Kutscher and Professor Jana Milford continue to lead the charge in sustainable energy after Frank Kreith's passing in January 2018. They published the third edition Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems textbook in September.
careers in me symposium presenter

Alumni impart wisdom at Careers in ME Symposium

Over 260 sophomores learned from alumni and industry representatives at the third annual Careers in ME Symposium, sponsored by Phillips 66. Thirty-six volunteers shared career advice and inspired next generation mechanical engineers.

In the News

October

  • 3D bioprinting technique could create artificial blood vessels, organ tissue
  • Forget STEM—At CU Boulder, The NEST Program Bridges Painters And Petri Dishes
  • Textbook by John W. Daily hitting shelves in December

November

  • CU ME ranked in the top 5% nationally and as #1 in Colorado for veteran friendliness
  • Lab Venture Challenge awards $900,000 to promising ventures, including artificial muscle and dermal filler innovations

December

  • George Carter awarded the 2018 Outstanding Staff Award
  • Recruiting alumni for Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Board
  • Experience what's next with CU Boulder in Denver and San Francisco

View More News

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

  • CU Engineering Alumni Network Launch in Houston - Thur, 1/24, 6 pm
  • CU Boulder Next in Denver - Thur, 1/31, 5:30 pm
  • CU Boulder Next in San Francisco - Thur, 2/21, 5:30 pm
  • CU Engineering Alumni Ring & Pin Ceremony - Mon, 2/25, 5 pm
  • Explore ME Dinners - 2/5, 2/18, 2/19, 3/6 from 5:30 pm to 7 pm
  • CU New Venture Challenge - Wed, 4/3, 5:30 pm
  • ME Partners Annual Meeting - Fri, 4/26
  • Engineering Projects Expo - Fri, 4/26
  • Spring 2019 Commencement - Thur, 5/9

View More Upcoming Events

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Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering

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