Mechanical Engineering

Vanderbilt University and the School of Engineering offer undergraduates numerous summer research opportunities to expand their classroom knowledge and gain valuable practical experience. The Institute for Software Integrated Systems is hosting a virtual open house for interested students on Feb. 22 from 3 to 6 p.m. The registration deadline is Feb. 21. The School of... Read More

A company co-founded by Vanderbilt mechanical engineering professor Robert J. Webster III has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy. Read More

A company co-founded by Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy. The designation given... Read More

A company co-founded by Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy. The designation given... Read More

Vanderbilt researcher Nilanjan Sarkar is partnering with Lorraine Mion of the Ohio State University and two Middle Tennessee long-term care facilities to investigate how augmented reality technologies can ease loneliness among residents. Read More

As the population of older adults continues to boom across the U.S., Vanderbilt researcher Nilanjan Sarkar is partnering with Lorraine Mion of the Ohio State University and two Middle Tennessee long-term care (LTC) facilities to investigate how augmented reality technologies can ease loneliness among residents. Sarkar, the David K. Wilson Professor of Engineering and a... Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers demonstrates the ability to initiate chemical reactions by cooling materials instead of heating them. Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers demonstrates the ability to initiate chemical reactions by cooling materials instead of heating them— a counterintuitive process that could open new vistas for applications ranging from monitoring shipping conditions to developing smart clothing that guards against dangerously low temperatures. The paper, published in August by the journal RSC Advances,... Read More

Robert Webster, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, is part of a collaborative team that has received a more than $2.3 million grant to further develop technology that seeks to prevent patients from having invasive colectomies by using steerable robot-like instruments. Under his second startup... Read More

A team of Vanderbilt engineers have completed a collaborative project with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell to design and test a first-of-its-kind exoskeleton that supports U.S. Army soldiers participating in sustainment and logistics operations. Read More

Three engineering faculty members have received grants to support the early stages of pioneering research projects identified as likely candidates for further funding from federal, foundation and industry sponsors. Spring 2022 Seeding Success Grants were awarded to 14 faculty and are the second cycle of the internal early investment funding initiative. The grants, awarded to faculty spanning the... Read More

The Vanderbilt rocket team won the coveted NASA Student Launch Project Review Award for the best documentation of the project progress through 2021-2022. The national Student Launch rocketry competition was held in April and results were announced June 3. This is Vanderbilt’s 15th year to participate in the annual NASA event and teams have won the... Read More

by Jenna Somers  Two Vanderbilt professors were awarded Pathfinder seed funding for a project that could benefit soldiers by optimizing their neurological performance through suggested behavior protocol and by improving aircraft design and equipment to reduce the effects of in-flight vibration and percussion.  The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory and the Civil-Military Innovation Institute... Read More

Sixteen engineering graduate students have been awarded the highly competitive government-funded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Three engineering undergraduate students also received NSF fellowships. Read More

Biomedical engineering nets more than any BME department in the country with 10 Sixteen engineering graduate students have been awarded a highly competitive government-funded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Three engineering undergraduate students also received NSF fellowships. NSF Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees... Read More

Quentin Millora-Brown, a senior forward on the men’s basketball team, had his best individual season this year. A starter in 30 games, he led Vanderbilt in blocked shots and was second in rebounding. Perhaps even more importantly, he helped create the culture of succes. Off the court, Millora-Brown knows that camaraderie alone won’t solve society’s most pressing issues, such as the climate crisis—a problem he is passionate about. But he believes the same team approach in pursuit of a larger goal will make a difference. Read More

David Braun, Justus Ndukaife and Ahmad Taha are recipients of the National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Read More

Vanderbilt Climbing Club teammates Michael Finn-Henry and Olivia Busk are taking collaboration and innovation to new heights with a breakthrough medical device—and a possible trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Read More

David Braun, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award for foundational research in mechanically adaptive robotics. His CAREER project, “Mechanically Adaptive, Energetically Passive Robotics,” will enable the creation of new-generation industrial robots, transportation systems, and devices that can assist and augment humans. The five-year, $600,000 grant will support work on robot... Read More

Karl Zelik, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is one of three inaugural awardees for the February 2022 cycle of the Scaling Success Grant, which is the first cycle of this internal funding opportunity. Yuankai Huo, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering, is co-PI on a SSG grant. Read More