Mechanical Engineering

In his effort to develop better prosthetic limbs, Karl Zelik had to start with deciphering more clearly how muscles function in walking. His path not only led to a better way of quantifying human locomotion, but also to the discovery that muscles around the hip and in the foot are more important to walking than previously thought. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt engineers is using magnetic force to design new and improved instruments for minimally invasive surgery. Read More

Mechanical stress appears to be a critical factor in activating normal tissue-associated fibroblasts to generate cancer-associated fibroblasts. Read More

Pietro Valdastri, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, and postdoctoral scholar Ekawahyu Susilo will begin Valdastri’s second run as principal investigator in the NSF I-Corps program as they explore the commercial potential of modular open-source architecture for building capsule robots. Read More

The most detailed aerodynamic simulation of hummingbird flight conducted to date demonstrates that it achieves its aerobatic abilities through a unique set of aerodynamic forces. Read More

Vanderbilt computer scientists have been awarded the Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems' Test of Time Award, given to papers making long-lasting academic and practical impacts that were published at least 10 years ago. Read More

A multidisciplinary Vanderbilt team with deep experience in improving patient safety and technology usability has received a three-year, $800,000 Department of Energy grant to help nuclear power plant operators better perform their jobs. Read More

Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull. Read More

Private Property and Government Inaction | Probiotic Could Prevent Obesity | Freedom from Power Cords | Pickiness Doesn’t Always Pay Read More

Two Vanderbilt engineers participated in the SmartAmerica Challenge EXPO in Washington D.C. Read More

A new type of supercapacitor brings us a step closer to a day when everything from cell phones to electric vehicles will no longer need separate batteries. Read More

The prosthetics research of Michael Goldfarb is featured in "The NBIB Bionic Man," an interactive web tool that helps students and the public learn about innovative federally-funded biomedical research. Read More

Joe Clement, BE’97, a senior engineer with Kansas City-based MRIGlobal, is helping develop a human-like robot designed to provide data on the effectiveness of protective military gear against exposure to dangerous chemicals. Read More

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jason Valentine has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development grant. Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More