MechE Student News - July 2019
Judges and public voted on Expo 2019 engineering projects they found to be most impressive. Six mechanical engineering teams received awards. Learn more about this year's Senior Design and Graduate Design projects and view our album of photos from the event.
Student Spotlight
Small but creative RoboBoat Club improvises during world competition
A team of ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ engineering and computer science students designed and built a fully autonomous robotic boat and took it on the road to an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) competition June 17–23 in Florida.
Engineering grads’ high-tech walker could keep seniors from falling
Four ME undergraduates worked with senior residents to test an invention for walkers that could help prevent debilitating falls. The team, known as Stride Tech, received the first-place prize of $100,000 at the New Venture Challenge.
Alumni Spotlight
Micah Prendergast, in vivo navigation and localization expert
Meet Micah Prendergast (PhDMechEngr'19), expert in navigation and localization for the Endoculus, a robotic capsule endoscope developed in Mark Rentschler’s lab. For a robot making its way through the colon, navigation is no easy task.
Molon Labe Seating could improve desirability of the middle seat on airplanes
Alumnus Kevin VanLiere (MechEngr‘95) is working with aerospace engineering Lecturer Hank Scott to improve the design of "the middle seat" on airplanes. VanLiere is President and Scott is CEO and founder of Molon Labe Seating.
Research Spotlight
Toolkit allows broad audience to make artificial muscles
Researchers in Christoph Keplinger’s lab released a toolkit to show a broad audience how to create their own artificial muscles. They hope this will expedite the development of wearable, surgical and collaborative robots that safely and effectively help humans.
A robot may one day perform your colonoscopy
Researchers in Mark Rentschler's lab designed a robot to navigate the unpredictable terrain of the intestine. The group hopes the robot will change how people across the United States get colonoscopies, making these common procedures easier for patients and more efficient for doctors.
Researchers win grant to commercialize miniature microscope
Victor Bright and a team of ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ and CU Anschutz researchers have received a grant to commercialize a miniature microscope that fits on the head of a mouse and can peer deeply inside the living brain.
ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ and University of Maryland create cooling wood, an eco-friendly building material
What if the wood used to build your house could decrease your electricity bill? In the race to save energy, Xiaobo Yin at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ and researchers at the University of Maryland have uncovered a way for buildings to dump heat.
Self-healing, fully-recyclable electronic skin has new applications
ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ researchers Jianliang Xiao and Wei Zhang have developed self-healing, fully-recyclable electronic skin that is completely recyclable. They are now investigating applications surrounding the material's ability to shapeshift.
Innovative mechanobiology research expands subcellular understanding
Professor Corey Neu collaborated with researchers at CSU to develop a technology called Deformation Microscopy, capable of non-invasively probing the mechanics of biological systems in high resolution and imaging cells.
Colorado nail salon workers face chronic air pollution, elevated cancer risk
PhD candidate Aaron Lamplugh is working with Lupita Montoya on ways to reduce VOC concentrations in nail salons using low-cost, absorbent materials like heat-treated coal or wood.
Education & Outreach Spotlight
12 new mechanical engineering faculty join the ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ team
The 2019-20 academic year brings 12 new faculty members to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ.
Six teams kick off Catalyze CU startup accelerator
Six student teams are participating in ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ’s Catalyze CU startup accelerator. They have access to skill-building workshops and mentoring with local business leaders and can earn up to $5,000 in equity-free funding.
New biomedical engineering degrees to launch at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ
The CU Board of Regents approved new degrees in biomedical engineering. Through these degrees, students will have the chance to pursue classes across the university in engineering, biology and mathematics.