The Latest From Mechanical Engineering

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The Department of Mechanical Engineering is an active research hub at the forefront of developments in human health, the environment, robotics, manufacturing, energy, and more. Our faculty, researchers, and students work on everything from designing clean engines to curing cancer. Read about what ME is doing to change the world right here in Minnesota.

 

Award winning graduate students

2024 Heberlein Travel Award Winners

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Congratulations to Kimberly Gustafson and Jeremy Simmons, the 2024 Joachim and Yuko Heberlein Travel Grant Award winners! The awards support ME PhD students by providing funding to attend an international conference in their field.

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2023 Pui Best Dissertation Award Winner: Tianyi Li

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UMN ME PhD Tianyi Li ('21) is the winner of the 2023 Pui Best Dissertation Award, created by Professor David Pui to recognize the time and effort required to pursue a doctorate of the highest caliber.

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Tianhong Cui Elected to European Academy of Sciences and Arts

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ME Professor Tianhong Cui has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, a non-governmental, European association committed to promoting scientific and societal progress.

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ME Ambassadors Win Outstanding Unit Award

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The ME Ambassadors Program received the 2023 Outstanding Unit Award for Equity and Diversity, an award given by the Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) recognizing outstanding leadership in diversity and equity work. The award highlights units working to bring transformational and sustainable change to the University of Minnesota.

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Innovative “OpenSky” Midterm Takes Flight: UMN ME Students Pave the Way for Sustainable Aviation

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Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is soaring into the future of aviation, and at UMN ME, students are at the forefront of this exciting transition. In a groundbreaking hands-on midterm experience, seniors in the ME4431w Energy Conversion Systems lab course, led by Assistant Professor Sayan Biswas, took to the skies to test SAF blends in a gas turbine-powered RC airplane. This is no traditional "open book" test — it's an open sky test!

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Inaugural University of Michigan Prize Goes to Peter Bruggeman

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ME Professor Peter Bruggeman won the first University of Michigan Prize for Excellence in Plasma Science and Engineering "for contributions to the understanding of non-thermal plasma interactions with solids, liquids, and living matter, scientific leadership, and advancement of plasma-based technologies enabling applications in plasma-biology, chemical conversion, and water treatment.”

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Sayan Biswas Receives NASA Early Career Faculty Award

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ME Assistant Professor Sayan Biswas recently received the NASA Early Career Faculty Award for his research developing a novel and versatile spacecraft coolant capable of efficient operation in various temperature extremes — a game-changer for future space missions to challenging conditions such as frigid lunar nights, low-power intervals, extended interplanetary journeys, or high-temperature conditions near the sun.

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Student Spotlight: Sophia Clark, ME Undergraduate and Chief Engineer of Gopher Motorsports

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Gopher Motorsports, our Formula SAE student group, had an excellent summer. This group provides a hands-on experience designing and building experience and is sponsored by countless industry partners, offering excellent opportunities for students. Sophia Clark answered a few questions about the group.

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Four ME Students Win DEI Awards

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The 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Showcase awards recognize outstanding DEI-focused initiatives at the University — and four of this year's winners are mechanical engineering students!

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Congratulations to the 2023 ME3MT Winners!

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Congratulations to Carolyn Bernemann and Hyewon Lee on winning this year's ME3MT competition! Bernemann won both First Place and People's Choice, and Lee won Second Place. They will both advance to the CSE level competition on October 23.