News

Wed, 02/01/2017 | Seattle Business Magazine
Rock Stars: UW researchers take a whack at kidney stone diseaseME Associate Professor Michael Bailey’s research on kidney stone management was featured in the February issue of Seattle Business Magazine. Bailey’s research at the Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound investigates the use of ultrasonic sound waves to fragment and expel kidney stones safely and without anesthesia.

Mon, 01/30/2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Welcome Corie L. Cobb to ME facultyCorie L. Cobb joined the College of Engineering through a Washington Research Foundation Professorship in Clean Energy and a joint position in ME and the Clean Energy Institute. She came to the UW from Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Inc. where she led research projects on advanced manufacturing technologies for solar cells, batteries and high strength and toughness materials.

Tue, 01/24/2017 | The Daily
Pod People: UW Hyperloop revs engines for SpaceX
The Daily covered UW Hyperloop’s unveiling of the pod they will race on the SpaceX Hyperloop track. Hyperloop, a concept proposed by Elon Musk, uses a series of tubes to transport high-speed pods in an attempt to revolutionize transportation.

Tue, 01/17/2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dayong Gao honored with Origincell Endowed Professorship, elected as President of the Society for CryobiologyProfessor Dayong Gao has been honored with an endowed professorship by Origincell, a Chinese company based in Shanghai that offers human cell collecting and storage services. Gao was also elected as President of the Society for Cryobiology, which aims to bring together researchers who share the goal of applying scientific research of low temperature biology and medicine for the benefit of mankind.

Tue, 01/10/2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Passion never rests: Fethya Ibrahim’s journey through mechanical engineeringFirst in her family to attend college, senior Fethya Ibrahim is making the most of her time at the UW. Learn about why — thanks to her experiences in ME’s Cell Biomechanics Lab and in the Machine Shop — she decided to pursue a degree in ME.

Wed, 01/04/2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Honoring Frank Alberti, ’44, for supporting ME’s advancements in engineering and health
Three students traveled to Lacey, WA, to present their Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) projects to Frank Alberti, ’44. A longtime friend of the department, Alberti had recently made a major commitment to support ME’s advancements in engineering and health.

Tue, 01/03/2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Paying it forward: David Coven on generosity in engineeringME senior David Coven shared why he chose to study engineering and how he finds opportunities to practice compassion and generosity — two of his guiding values — everyday on campus.

Thu, 12/29/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Cookstove update: ME/BURN Manufacturing cookstoves rolling off production line in KenyaDesigned by UW mechanical engineers and Vashon Island’s BURN Design Lab, the Kuniokoa cookstove is now in production in BURN’s Kenyan factory.

Sun, 12/25/2016 | The Seattle Times
Seattle to Portland in 15 minutes? UW students competing to build 700 mph hyperloop
The Seattle Times explains how UW engineering students are finalizing their pod for the Space X sponsored Hyperloop competition. UW Hyperloop is one of thirty finalist teams, selected from 1,200 initial entries. They will send their prototype pod down the mile-long Hyperloop test track in January

Fri, 12/16/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering students and volunteers hack toys for kids with disabilities
The 2016 Holiday Toy Hack brought together UW students, faculty and community members to adapt toys for children with disabilities. The event was led by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Bioengineering Outreach, Mechanical Engineering’s Ability & Innovation Lab, and AccessEngineering.

Tue, 12/13/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Student research spotlight: Bradley WachterME senior Bradley Wachter has been working in the ME Ability & Innovation Lab to design body-powered orthoses to enrich the lives of those who depend on them. He was featured in “Helping the body heal, feel and move again,” a multimedia story about 10-year-old Jayna Doll. Here, Bradley speaks about his UW experiences and why he’s studying ME.

Tue, 12/06/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Empowering possibility through innovationFor over 15 years, ME has partnered with the Seattle VA’s Center for Limb Loss Prevention & Prosthetic Engineering. This collaboration has resulted in hands-on research opportunities for more than 50 ME students and has helped propel UW biomechanics research in new directions.

Mon, 11/28/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sparking innovation through JikoPowerME students have developed a generator that converts heat energy from fires into electricity to charge phones. The team won the Environmental Innovation Challenge in 2015, the Business Plan Competition in 2016, and now they aim to take their product, the JikoPower Spark, to market.

Wed, 11/23/2016 | Cambridge University Press
ME professor publishes new book on bioinspired actuators and sensorsCongrats to ME professor Minoru Taya on the publication of his latest book, Bionspired Actuators and Sensors, out this fall from Cambridge University Press! Co-written with researchers in the biological sciences, including UW Biology professor Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, this is the first book to integrate sensor and actuator technology with bioinspired design. It explores how researchers apply principles of natural actuation and sensing mechanisms to the synthetic design of smart materials and devices.

Fri, 11/04/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Research team receives $1.5 Million NSF NRI Grant to explore nanorobotics design for cancer diagnosis and treatmentNabtesco Endowed Professor Minoru Taya's team will explore nanorobotics design based on magnetically-active helices for cancer diagnosis and treatment through a new $1.5 million Nano Robotics Initiative grant from the National Science Foundation.

Wed, 11/02/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Undersea, undaunted: A naval engineer’s journey begins with mechanical engineeringAn alumnus who aligned his passions for diving and oceanography with mechanical engineering, Glenn Piper, '80, spoke with ME about the value of hands-on learning.

Fri, 10/28/2016 | The Daily
UW Formula: Driven by passionThe Daily profiled ME’s Formula Motorsports team, describing the passion that motivates these students to create race cars from scratch every year. This year, Formula will be crafting both an electric and a combustion race car to bring to the US and international competitions in summer.

Tue, 10/25/2016 | GeekWire
Seattle startup JikoPower hopes Kickstarter lights a funding fire under its heat-powered generatorJikoPower, a UW startup that includes current and former ME students, developed the Spark to provide a reliable source of power to areas that lack electricity. The Spark is a thermoelectric generator that captures and converts excess heat from campfires or stoves into electricity, which can then be used to charge mobile phones or power lights. After received the $25,000 grand prize at the Buerk Business Plan Competition, JikoPower is now on its way to raising another $50,000 via Kickstarter to mass produce the Spark.

Fri, 10/21/2016 | Clean Energy Institute
Two ME projects awarded Clean Energy Institute Student Training & Exploration Grants
Two ME projects were among the six projects to receive grants from the Clean Energy Institute as part of the Student Training & Exploration Grant Program. This program was developed to encourage high-risk/high-reward research by Ph.D students and postdoctoral researchers. The awardees are Professor Jiangyu Li’s project, “Correlating microstructural evolution with device performance of perovskite solar cells via in-operando scanning probing microscopy” and Associate Professor Devin MacKenzie’s project, “Scalable tandem photovoltaics enabled by a novel top-contactless hybrid perovskite cell architecture achievable with self-aligned lithography-free processing.”

Sun, 10/16/2016
Helping the body heal, feel and move again
From the Ability & Innovation Lab to the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, the College of Engineering is innovating novel devices to help people of all abilities live out their dreams.

Thu, 10/13/2016 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Hoping to walk this wayAssistant Professor Kat Steele’s work on the Walk-DMC motor assessment tool was featured by ASME. This tool helps determine whether children with cerebral palsy are more or less likely to benefit from surgery.

Thu, 10/06/2016 | UW Medicine
ME professors receive UW Medicine’s 2016 Inventor of the Year AwardJonathan Posner, Per Reinhall and Sam Bowd have been honored with UW Medicine’s 2016 Inventor of the Year Award for their collaborative work developing a football helmet designed to mitigate the forces thought to contribute to concussions. They will be recognized in a ceremony on Nov. 15, which also features a panel discussion with Fred Silverstein, Tom Clement and Nate Sniadecki. This event is open to all; register here.

Thu, 10/06/2016 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Professor Steve Shen to receive Myklestad AwardCongrats to ME professor Steve Shen for receiving the 2017 N. O. Myklestad Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for his contributions to vibration engineering. The award will be presented to him at the 2017 International Design Engineering Technical Conference next summer, at which he will also deliver the 2017 Myklestad Award Keynote Lecture.

Mon, 09/26/2016 | Materials Research Society Bulletin
Professor Jiangyu Li uses thermo-ionic imaging to trace ion movementProfessor Jiangyu Li’s research on nanoscale particles has been highlighted in the Materials Research Society Bulletin. Li and his team investigated how thermo-ionic imaging can be used to trace the movement of ions. The method used, scanning thermo-ionic microscopy or STIM, could lead to better understanding of the electrochemical materials used in batteries and fuel cells.

Mon, 09/19/2016 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Student team wins 2016 Target Challenge grant to develop and advance pediatric exoskeletonCongrats to PlayGait, a team of students, engineers and clinicians that has been awarded a grant to continue development of a pediatric exoskeleton for children with cerebral palsy.