MechE Student News - February 2022 | Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering

MechE Student News - February 2022

MechE students,

I am thrilled to announce that the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering has elected a new chair. Professor Peter Hamlington will step into his new role this July. He and I are working closely this semester for a smooth transition. The department is also gearing up for a new entryway in the Engineering Center, which includes a community center and dedicated career space. Construction on the entryway remodel began on Monday, Feb. 14 and is anticipated to be completed in June.听

Despite these announcements, I do not want us to forget how difficult this semester has been for so many. The new year began with the Marshall Fire destroying many of our friends and families鈥� homes. Then the omicron variant forced us to start the semester remotely for safety. Those who are suffering from the fire and pandemic are in my thoughts. While we are still feeling this grief and frustration, we as a department are moving forward together. This semester is further proof of how resilient our community is, and I am humbled to be a part of it.

Sincerely,

Mike Hannigan
Department Chair

News and Announcements

Mechanical Engineering Entryway Remodel

The department is remodeling its entryway in the Engineering Center - adding a new front desk, community center and dedicated career space. The renovations will give mechanical engineering community members another place to gather and provide students improved access to resources to achieve their academic and career goals.

2022 Summer Internship-for-Credit Program

We are excited to announce the return of the Summer Internship-for-Credit Program 鈥� an opportunity for mechanical engineering听students to work with听start-ups, small businesses and non-profits in summer 2022.听We will have updates in March about the student application process. For now, learn more about the program through this link听and听read about the experiences of the summer 2021 interns here.

Spend Maymester in the nation鈥檚 capital

Looking for a way to expand your global horizons this summer without needing a passport? 蜜糖直播 in D.C. is now accepting applications for two new programs in May. Apply by March 1.

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Upcoming Events

Tuesday, March 1 | 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Rec Center

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Curiosity Lab
March 8 and April 5

Rocky Mountain Mechanics Seminar Series
Fridays | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. | In-person at the Discovery Learning Center

Seminar: Can biological materials inspire better engineering materials?
Wednesday, Mar. 16 | 12 p.m. | Virtual event

More News and Events

Student Features

Completing a co-op at Tesla

Professional Development Undergraduate Students Education

Ahmed Ashmaig is an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering co-president of the National Society of Black Engineers Boulder Chapter. He participated in a co-op at Tesla during fall 2021.

PhD student Mitchell Fulton won international medical imaging challenge

Graduate Students Graduate Student Research Honors & Awards Education

Mechanical engineering student Mitchell Fulton won 'Best Performing Method' for a paper detailing his novel approach to autonomously identify regions of the heart using MRI scan images at the M&Ms-2 Challenge.

Learn 蜜糖直播 ME Courses

ME Course Column: Design of Coffee

Education Undergraduate Students Graduate Students

Those with a love for coffee can find their place in MCEN 4228/5228: Design of Coffee. The course shows junior, senior and graduate-level students how to use their training to solve problems outside the traditional engineering field by roasting and brewing coffee.

ME Course Column: Component Design

Education Undergraduate Students

From bicycles and scooters to mock race cars and firetrucks, drill-powered vehicles built by Component Design students zoomed around Kittredge Pond in fall 2021 for the first time since the pandemic began.

ME Course Column: Design for Inclusion

Education Undergraduate Students Graduate Students

The racial reckoning in summer 2020 led to an awakening in our consciousness 鈥� a need for everyone to look inward and tackle our own unconscious biases. Professor Janet Tsai is asking students to question these preconceived notions when it comes to mechanical engineering as well.

Alumni Stories

Alumni Spotlight: Elle Sandifer - Working with Sanergy to address international sanitation challenges

Outreach

Elle Sandifer is a 2020 graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, she worked as a process engineer with Sanergy to address urban sanitation challenges in Nairobi, Kenya.

Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Martin - unspun named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2021

Entrepreneurship

Kevin Martin's (MechEngr'16) startup earned the accolade for its 3D-weaving machine used to produce a seamless pair of jeans. The technology was first prototyped in the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Senior Design course.

Alumni Spotlight: Michael Lewis - From mechanical engineer to heart surgeon

Biomedical

Alumnus Michael Lewis (MechEngr鈥�00) took an interdisciplinary education to the next level. After graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering and working at Boeing for a year, he discovered another way to help people 鈥� through medicine.

Alumni Spotlight: Jeanne Barthold - TissueForm

Entrepreneurship

Jeanne Barthold is a 蜜糖直播 Boulder alumna and founder of TissueForm - a company that has developed a platform technology for the biomimicry of body tissues to repair areas of significant tissue loss or injury.

Want to connect with ME alumni? Email Senior Professional Development Advisor Katherine McConnell.

Research News

How does Marshall Fire smoke affect indoor, outdoor air quality?

Air Quality

Professors Michael Hannigan and Marina Vance join scientists from 蜜糖直播 and NOAA to install instruments in surviving houses to understand the smoke impacts on indoor air quality.

As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights

Air Quality

A team of scientists led by the Department of Mechanical Engineering are using the once-in-a-lifetime event to answer an unusual question: How much do vehicles in a city like Los Angeles add to the ammonia emissions that can hang in the air and sicken residents?

Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life

Thermo Fluid Sciences

Professor Greg Rieker and Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr鈥�21) have developed an experiment that recreates the climates of planets beyond our solar system right in the lab. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map their atmospheres, which could help humanity detect life outside our solar system.

Nuclear deformation research could advance artificial tissue engineering

Graduate Student Research Biomedical Graduate Students Education

Professor Corey Neu and Benjamin Seelbinder's (PhDMech鈥�19) work, now published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, looks at how cells adapt to their environment and how a mechanical environment influences a cell. Their research has the potential to tackle major health obstacles.

More Research News

This newsletter is produced by the Mechanical Engineering听communications team for all ME students. Submit news and events for this newsletter. Have feedback? Email听mecheng@colorado.edu.