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A collage of four VR images

Mon, 04/26/2021

Four virtual worlds signal the future of VR for health

Four virtual worlds developed by ME’s Hunter Hoffman signal the future of VR for health.

Image of rainbow reporter cardiomyocytes six weeks after engraftment - colored speckles on a black and white tissue image

Wed, 04/21/2021 | Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

ISCRM researchers use rainbow reporters to examine proliferation of engrafted heart cells

A study co-led by ME professor Nate Sniadecki used rainbow cell technology to demonstrate that injected heart cells proliferate, a finding that could help researchers enhance the efficacy of cell therapy for heart disease and other conditions.

Headshot of Elizabeth Rasmussen

Fri, 04/09/2021

Elizabeth Rasmussen awarded NIST-NRC postdoctoral fellowship

Doctoral student Elizabeth Rasmussen has been chosen as a research fellow in the highly-selective National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Program overseen by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM).

Headshot of Anders Brown, man in glasses with suit coat over button-up shirt

Thu, 04/08/2021

Alumni on board

A Q&A with Anders Brown, outgoing chair of ME’s External Advisory Board.

Trevor Harrison looking through the glass pane of a big water tank with a diver and a µFloat inside

Tue, 04/06/2021 | UW Mechanical Engineering

Lessons in the deep

An underwater robotic device called the µFloat, invented by mechanical engineering student Trevor Harrison, offers a new way to map underwater environments.

A robot arm is positioned over a case full of a set of identical metal parts arranged in a 7x5 array.

Tue, 03/30/2021 | Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute

Robotic Inspection of Complex Metallic Parts

With detection rates above 95%, a project led by Xu Chen demonstrates the reliability of using robotics for identifying defects in metallic parts.

Two headshot photos side by side - on the left is Trent Dillon a young man with a big smile and shorter curly hair, on the right Katherine Van Ness, a young woman with short hair and earrings

Thu, 03/25/2021 | U.S. Department of Energy

Trent Dillon and Katherine Van Ness win marine energy fellowships

ME graduate students Trent Dillon and Katherine Van Ness have been named as 2021 Marine and Hydrokinetic Graduate Student Research Program Fellows by the U.S. Department of Energy. Their research fellowships will be hosted by the Makah Tribal Council and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, respectively.

Closeup of carbon fiber

Mon, 03/22/2021

How Washington became a global epicenter for advanced carbon fiber

Stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum, carbon fiber composite materials are one of the key enabling technologies of the 21st century and play a particularly important role in Washington.

A banner that says "health innovation challenge" and a lot of screenshots from video chats

Fri, 03/05/2021 | UW Foster School Blog

ME teams take prizes at 2021 Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge

ME health innovation was on display at the 2021 Hollomon Challenge. Five teams with ME members - Under Pressure, OsmoProcessor, Direct Dose, EVBreathe and Mask Seal Testing - won prizes for their innovative ideas. Eight of the 21 finalist teams included members from ME and the five new prizes brings the department's total to eleven prizes in the competition since 2016.

A plastic water bottle sits in the ocean surf

Thu, 03/04/2021 | The Conversation

Where does plastic pollution go when it enters the ocean?

ME's Michelle DiBenedetto and colleagues describe their research studying ocean microplastic pollution.

Concept drawing where origami-like structure expands from inside the top of a rocket out to a dumbell-shaped space station

Thu, 02/25/2021 | NASA

NASA selects futuristic space concept co-led by Lipton for further study

The study will examine whether a structure small enough to fit inside a rocket fairing could expand large enough to create artificial gravity.

Collage of the 7 UW scientists included in Cell Mentor's list of 1000 inspiring Black scientists

Wed, 02/10/2021 | UW News

List of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists includes ME's Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Seven University of Washington scientists, including ME Acting Assistant Professor Ayokunle Olanrewaju, are included in Cell Mentor’s list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists, published in December 2020.

a still photo of a beating heart tissue against a red background with illustrated hearts

Mon, 02/08/2021

Engineering that tugs at the heartstrings

UW researchers engineer miniature beating heart tissues that allow them to study a range of topics in human health.

ME junior Lily Vu holding her 2020 Outstanding Engineering Peer Educator Award certificate

Tue, 01/12/2021

How 2020 Outstanding Engineering Peer Educator Lily Vu supported students during an unprecedented year

Lily Vu, winner of the 2020 Outstanding Engineering Peer Educator Award, describes her experience mentoring this year’s incoming engineers remotely.

Aidan Hunt at the Tyler Flume

Mon, 01/04/2021

UW's marine renewable energy research gets a boost

Two recent funding announcements from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are good news for UW’s marine renewable energy research.

Pills with the word PrEP spill from an open container

Thu, 12/17/2020

NIH backs UW effort to RESTRICT the spread of HIV

With new support from NIH, researchers are continuing development on a test designed to combat HIV.

A moth sitting in front of a drone

Mon, 12/07/2020 | UW News

The Smellicopter is an obstacle-avoiding drone that uses a live moth antenna to seek out smells

A new bio-hybrid drone uses a moth antenna to autonomously sniff out odors.

Per Reinhall

Tue, 12/01/2020

Lessons from a decade as ME chair

At the end of this year Per Reinhall will conclude his second term as “Chair Per” and return to research and teaching.

Image of a pressure guage and the title text "water warriors"

Mon, 11/16/2020 | edg3 FUND

Video features ME 'Water Warriors'

A new video from Kitsap Bank's edg3 FUND highlights ME students in the startup Aquagga. Aquagga is a finalist in the 2020 edg3 FUND competition. 

Jae-Hyun Chung

Fri, 11/13/2020 | WE-REACH

Chung wins WE-REACH funding for COVID-19 rapid diagnostics

Jae-Hyun Chung is developing a portable COVID-19 test using an innovative nanotube sensor-based technology.

Steve Shen at podium on left, cover of the Journal of Vibration and Acoustics on right

Thu, 11/05/2020

Steve Shen: Journal Editor Extraordinaire

Through a concerted effort over six years, making sometimes difficult decisions, Steve Shen doubled the impact factor of the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics.

Professor Steve Brunton writing math equations on a lightboard with a marker

Tue, 10/27/2020

‘Eigensteve’ Brunton: YouTubing math for engineers

With over four million views and 90,000 subscribers, Professor Steve Brunton’s YouTube channel simplifies the mathematical fundamentals behind data-driven engineering concepts.

Aniruddh Vashisth, Michelle DiBenedetto, Krithika Manohar

Thu, 09/24/2020

Welcome new faculty

Join us in welcoming new faculty to the ME department this school year.

15 N95 masks inside a glowing green chamber

Wed, 09/02/2020

UW teams up with regional first responders on mask decontamination

Thanks to a unique and innovative Washington partnership, first responders have a new tool for the pandemic. Stations across the region have begun receiving University of Washington-designed, locally manufactured systems to decontaminate the high-demand face masks needed to protect them from COVID-19 while carrying out their essential duties.

A researcher pressing buttons on an electronic device in a lab

Tue, 09/01/2020 | UW Mechanical Engineering

Life suspended: The past and future of cryopreservation

The idea of freezing and later thawing out the human body has been a favorite of storytellers for decades, but the science of cryopreservation may be even more interesting.