Mechanical Engineering

News and Events

Quick Links
Announcements
Newsletters
Graduates
News Archives

The Spring 2008 MEssenger is available online

Contents: Energy in Washington State and the Pacific Northwest; ME in the News; Experience is Key Product in Instructional Shops; Environmentally Sensitive Energy Conversion; Alumni Corner: Henry Schatz Urges Alumni to End Campaign UW with a Bang; Transitions: Alberto Aliseda Wins NSF CAREER Award, ME Welcomes Two New Research Faculty, Colin Sandwith Retires; Honors & Awards; Chair’s Corner.

Download the Spring 2008 MEssenger HERE.

ME professors featured in airline magazine

Professors. Minoru Taya and Wei-Chih Wang are quoted extensively in an article entitled "Smart Materials", which appears in the May issue of Horizon Air, the complimentary magazine available to all Horizon Air passengers. Their research programs are highlighted in this article that includes advances in smart materials from around the country.

Jiangyu Li's research makes news

Assistant Jiangyu Li's recent work on multiferroic composite nanofibers has been featured in the Institute of Physics (IOP) Nanotechweb.org on April 28, 2008.

Led by Vipin Kumar, Washington State ferries to deploy UWME-designed waste and recycle containers

In early March 2006, Washington State Ferries (WSF) Port Captain Capt. Kelly Mitchell contacted Associate Professor Vipin Kumar with a proposal for a project for the ME Capstone design class. The WSF system was in need of a new design for waste collection on the ferries. The current containers were causing worker injuries due to the requirement to lift the bags, which could weigh up to 50 pounds straight up, thus putting heavy stress on the shoulders. In addition, to improve safety on the ferries, WSF wanted a waste container that one could not easily deposit a large object (e.g., the size of a back-pack), which could be done in the current design.

In the spring 2006 ME 495 class, Prof. Kumar assigned Dawn Tara Parks, Jeremy Chio, and Hokuto Ueda to take on the challenge. Washington State Correctional Industries would be fabricating the design, so it had to be compatible with their capabilities.

The students were well up to the task. They took several trips on the ferries to gather field data, interviewed Capt. Mitchell and his staff to define the design problem, and met with Correctional Industries personnel to get a feel for the existing manufacturing capabilities. They successfully convinced WSF staff not to put a lock on the containers for security, as it would significantly increase the operational complexity.

A project report including manufacturing drawings was submitted in the first week of June 2006. A unique feature in the design was a hidden hinge for security, so that the top of the container could not be opened simply to deposit a large object. A front opening door eliminated the need to lift the bag, thus eliminating the cause of shoulder injuries.

Two years later, Prof. Kumar got an e-mail from Capt. Mitchell that the students’ WSF waste/recycle design had been manufactured, and was ready for deployment on the Washington State Ferries and at other Washington agencies.

Congratulations to Dawn Tara Parks, Jeremy Chio, and Hokuto Ueda for an excellent job!

Joyce Cooper shares her expertise on NBC Nightly News

Associate Professor Joyce Cooper was featured on NBC Nightly News in a story about bamboo flooring that aired on January 30, 2008. See the video here.

Eric Seibel's scanning fiber endoscope research recognized

Research Associate Professor Eric Seibel's breakthrough research on flexible capsule endoscopes has been received much publicity in a variety of sources, both locally and nationally.

Seibel gave an invited talk at the Optical Society of America’s September 2007 “Frontiers in Optics” annual meeting in San Jose, CA. His scanning fiber endoscope and Cell-CT images were featured in the January 2008 Optics & Photonics News Magazine review of the conference. View the report online at http://www.osa-opn.org/Content/Features/Feature4.aspx.

Several press articles and/or news stories can be found at the links below:

Jiangyu Li honored with 1st Young Investigator Award in Theory

Assistant Professor Jiangyu Li has been named the first recipient of the "Young Investigator Award in Theory" by the International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Science (ICCES). The award will be presented during the ICCES Conference in March 2008.

ME student receives Boeing award

ME student Sooyeun Kim was recognized in November 2007 as one of Boeing's Flight 2007 "Engineering Student of the Year" for her research on the Boeing Smart Window Project. Ms. Kim has been working with ME Research Assistant Professor Chunye Xu.

Chunye Xu featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine's 'How Seattle is Inventing the Future Technology'

Research Assistant Professor Chunye Xu was featured in the October 2007 issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, themed “50 Ways Seattle Will Change the World.” The article, "The Smartest City in the World, How Seattle is Inventing the Future Technology,” showcased her work on “smart” sunglasses, which use layered electroactive polymers to create sunglasses that change color at the touch of a switch, using very little power.