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In 2017, a former team of mechanical engineering alums developed an adjustable, heated bench system for their senior capstone project that helps NBA players stay warm and ready for action when their number is called during games. Today, the project has turned into a commercially-licensed technology that has achieved over $1 million in sales, been installed by four total teams across the world’s top basketball league and been nominated for the Sports Business Journal’s 2026 Best Technology Collaboration award.
As wildfires burn through trees, grasses and other vegetation, heat from the flames set off thousands of chemical reactions at once. But while scientists can see the products of these reactions, what happens in between is much harder to understand. Sixth-year PhD student Jas Shahanand is finding ways to study these chemical reactions, giving researchers a closer look at the hidden chemistry of combustion. He believes the work could be the foundation for more accurate wildfire emissions models, improved climate prediction and even cleaner fuel sources in the future.
The Office of Outreach and Community Engagement (OCE) at CU Boulder has awarded five Public and Community-Engaged Scholarships (PACES) to faculty and students from the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. These awards connect research, creative work, and teaching and learning activities for faculty, staff members and students across campus with partners from Colorado communities and beyond.
Chunmei Ban has received a Fulbright Global Scholar award to explore the future of energy storage through next-generation battery technologies. The award will support collaborations with researchers in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Germany, where Ban will study safer battery materials, investigate emerging non-lithium battery alternatives and strengthen global partnerships in battery research and education.
Blood clotting is one of the body’s oldest survival mechanisms, protecting humans from dangerous bleeding for millions of years. But when severe injuries strike, nature’s solution can sometimes fall short. Now, Associate Professor Rong Long and his team are helping test a new type of engineered blood clot that forms faster and is more durable than the ones found in nature. The new technique could one day transform how doctors treat traumatic injuries and manage life-threatening blood loss.
Two groups of CU Boulder mechanical engineering seniors at Western Colorado University (WCU) designed equipment for Mountain Rescue volunteers who navigate Colorado’s rugged backcountry. The projects, sponsored by the Western Mountain Rescue Team, were developed by students in the WCU-CU Boulder Engineering Partnership Program. As part of their senior design course, they aimed to solve real challenges faced during wilderness rescues.
Three engineering students at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), including students earning their bachelor’s degrees through the CMU-CU Boulder Engineering Partnership Program, designed and tested a custom ankle foot orthotic (AFO)—a wearable brace intended to better serve drop foot patients by improving stability, comfort and mobility.
Asaiah Gifford, a mechanical engineering student graduating this spring, has been selected by the Colorado Engineering Council to receive this year’s Silver Medal Award. One of the state’s top honors for undergraduate engineers, the Silver Medal recognizes students who embody the values of academic excellence, personal integrity, professionalism and community service.
Nine students from the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering have earned graduating student awards from the College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2026. These awards honor seniors who are nominated by faculty, staff or fellow students for their outstanding contributions to the college and campus community.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recognized Blake Maly, a graduate student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, with a Graduate Research Fellowship Program award. These major awards honor and support outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.