Mechanical Engineering
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Student’s innovative video postcard project wins top prize
Vanderbilt mechanical engineering senior Khairul Kamarulzaman has won InternationalStudent.com’s grand prize and a viewer’s choice award in the website’s 2013 Travel Video Contest for his video postcard project. Read MoreJan 9, 2014
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Making waves: In the hunt for invisibility, other benefits seen
A new way of assembling things, called metamaterials, may in the not too distant future help to protect a building from earthquakes by bending seismic waves around it, the way invisibility cloaks bend light. Jason Valentine, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is quoted. Read MoreDec 26, 2013
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Top 10 research stories of 2013
This year’s most popular research stories plumbed mysteries of the brain, examined complex social phenomena, shed light on dark matter, uncovered a surprising link between our three greatest health threats and more. Read MoreDec 23, 2013
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Vanderbilt Aerospace Club members fan Clay County students’ interest in engineering
Brandon Dimmig, a senior mechanical engineering student and president of the Vanderbilt Aerospace Club, and seven other club members spent a Friday in late October at the Celina K-8 School in Clay County, Tenn., about 100 miles northeast of Nashville. They split teaching duties between fifth, seventh and eighth… Read MoreDec 5, 2013
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Robotic advances promise artificial legs that emulate healthy limbs
Recent advances in robotics technology make it possible to create prosthetics that can duplicate the natural movement of human legs which promises to dramatically improve the mobility of lower-limb amputees. Read MoreNov 7, 2013
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National Robotics Initiative grant will provide surgical robots with a new level of machine intelligence
Providing surgical robots with a new kind of machine intelligence that significantly extends their capabilities and makes them much easier and more intuitive for surgeons to operate is the goal of a major new grant announced as part of the National Robotics Initiative. Read MoreOct 25, 2013
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New device stores electricity on silicon chips
Solar cells that produce electricity 24/7. Cell phones with built-in power cells that recharge in seconds and work for weeks between charges: These are just two of the possibilities raised by a novel supercapacitor design invented by material scientists at Vanderbilt University. Read MoreOct 22, 2013
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Goldfarb named to ‘Popular Mechanics’ top 10 innovators list
"Popular Mechanics" named Vanderbilt mechanical engineer Michael Goldfarb one of this year's “Ten Innovators Who Changed The World” for an exoskeleton he developed that helps people with paralysis to stand. Read MoreOct 21, 2013
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Restoring surgeons’ sense of touch during minimally invasive surgeries
A team of engineers and doctors have developed a new wireless capsule that can give surgeons back their sense of touch when performing minimally invasive surgery. Read MoreOct 15, 2013
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Colonoscopy improvement leads to venture with NSF support
Byron Smith was eager to increase the number of people who get screened for colorectal cancer each year. His dedication has led to a new venture – EndoInSight – and a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program grant to commercialize a tool for an almost painless colonoscopy. Read MoreOct 9, 2013
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Vanderbilt Medicine: Robotics revolution
In the foreseeable future, robots will be sticking steerable needles in your brain to remove blood clots; capsule robots will be crawling up your colon as a painless replacement for the colonoscopy; and ultra-miniaturized snake robots will remove tumors from your bladder and other body cavities. Read MoreSep 11, 2013
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Eight engineering students receive NSF graduate fellowships
Meghan Bowler, Erica Curtis, Melanie Gault, Samantha Saratt and Chelsea Stowell, biomedical engineering; Kirsten Heikkinen and Richard Hendrick, mechanical engineering; and Thushara Gunda, civil and environmental engineering, have received graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Read MoreSep 4, 2013
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Sutherland Prize, Chancellor’s Research Award go to engineers
The Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research was presented to John Gore by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos during the Fall Faculty Assembly Sept. 22. Deyu Li, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was one of five faculty members receiving a Chancellor’s Award for Research, which also recognizes excellence in research, scholarship, or creative expression. Read MoreSep 4, 2013
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Seven engineering students receive NSF graduate fellowships
Seven current engineering graduate students have received graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Read MoreAug 27, 2013
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Nashville Scene Innovations 2013: How soon is NAO
Vanderbilt researchers reprogrammed a humanoid robot and an XBox Kinect to help autistic children improve their abilities to engage in social interactions. Nilanjan Sarkar, professor of mechanical and computer engineering, is quoted. Read MoreAug 9, 2013
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Size matters in nanocrystals’ ability to release gases
More efficient catalytic converters on autos, improved batteries and more sensitive gas sensors are some of the potential benefits of a new system that can directly measure the manner in which nanocrystals adsorb and release hydrogen and other gases. Read MoreAug 6, 2013
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Newsmakers: Vanderbilt’s teaching, research and patient care efforts are making an impact
These stories from the past year show how Vanderbilt is making an impact, on campus and in the world. Read MoreMay 6, 2013
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Aerospace club wins payload design category of annual NASA rocket contest
For the fourth year in a row, the Best Payload Design award went to the Vanderbilt Aerospace Club in the 12th annual NASA University Student Launch Initiative Sunday, April 21, in a field at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala. This is the sixth year the club has entered the national rocketry competition. Read MoreApr 22, 2013
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Prosthetic limb advances could help victims of the Boston Marathon bombings
Within the next one to three years, "bionic" prosthetic devices will become available for the people whose limbs were amputated in the Boston Marathon bombing that are substantially smarter, more capable, more active and more interactive than those currently on the market. Read MoreApr 19, 2013
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Seniors earn Aeronautics Institute win before Design Day debut
A novel redesign of industrial exhaust stacks that could result in 12% energy savings has earned a Vanderbilt student design team a second-place win in the team division at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Region II conference last week. Read MoreApr 17, 2013