Mechanical Engineering

“If you really understand the phenomena, you can reduce it to a few nondimensional parameters,” MIT mechanical engineer Kripa Varanasi says. That collapses the complexity into manageable formulas and phase diagrams, “and then we can design new processes, new products, and zero-tradeoff solutions.” That approach, he says, has been “at the heart of the companies we’ve started.”

Kripa Varanasi: Innovating at interfaces

MIT engineer’s research on surfaces is improving everything from power plants to ketchup bottles.

January 19, 2017

“The whole goal of my life is to fix all the people problems. I sincerely think that the biggest problems we have are how we deal with each other, and how we treat each other. [We need to be] promoting empathy and understanding, and technology is an enormous power to influence that in a good way,” senior Garrett Parrish says.

Creating “big, beautiful things”

Senior Garrett Parrish combines art and technology, with dramatic effects.

January 13, 2017

Taking a break and making connections

MIT Senior Jahnavi Kalpathy shares her story of taking a leave of absence.

January 11, 2017

Kevin Patrick Simon (left) sets solar panels in place with villagers at a pilot site in Jharkhand, India. Simon, an MIT PhD candidate in mechanical engineering, is studying solar irrigation.

How engineering students are seeking to solve major food and water security problems

Students with a common passion for food and water security share their research at the MIT Water and Food Security Symposium.

January 9, 2017

New research shows that when metal oxide (flat array of atoms at bottom) is used as a catalyst for splitting water molecules, some of the oxygen produced comes out of the metal oxide itself, not just from the surrounding water. This was proved by first using water with a heavier isotope of oxygen (oxygen 18, shown in white), and later switching to ordinary water (made with oxygen 16, shown in red)...

Study: Some catalysts contribute their own oxygen for reactions

Finding may help researchers fine-tune metal-oxide catalysts to enhance energy storage technology.

January 9, 2017

MIT affiliates were well represented in the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30, honoring young leaders.

At least 30 from MIT named to 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni honored in "the most definitive gathering of today’s leading young change-makers and innovators."

January 5, 2017

Keynote speaker George Hawkins, CEO and general manager of DC Water, presents at the fifth annual MIT Water Summit, hosted by the MIT Water Club.

Students, academics, and entrepreneurs join forces to tackle the future of water utilities

Fifth annual MIT Water Summit brings together interdisciplinary panelists to give multiple perspectives on major issues surrounding the water sector.

December 21, 2016

“Say there are toxic gases leaking in a building, and you need to close a valve inside, but it’s dangerous to send people in,” says Sangbae Kim, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “Now, there is no single robot that can do this kind of job. I want to create a robotic first responder that can potentially do more than a human and help in our lives.”

Taking a leap in bioinspired robotics

Mechanical engineer Sangbae Kim builds animal-like machines for use in disaster response.

December 16, 2016

New MIT research could offer a way of making tiny movable parts with no solid connections between the pieces, potentially eliminating a major source of wear and failure in microelectromechanical machines. The new system uses a layer of liquid droplets to support a tiny, movable platform.

Movable microplatform floats on a sea of droplets

New technique offers precise, durable control over tiny mirrors or stages.

December 16, 2016

Now in its 21st year, the “product engineering processes” class led by David Wallace is designed to give its students a strong sense of what’s involved in taking a product all the way from brainstorming ideas, through preliminary design and testing, to a final, fully functional product design and a basic business plan.

Student product ideas range from lifesaving to just plain fun

Finale of mechanical engineering class unveils wide variety of ingenious new product concepts.

December 13, 2016

Ahmed Ghoniem and graduate students (left); Katherine Kellogg and graduate students

Professors Ghoniem and Kellogg honored as Committed to Caring

These generous professors put students first, support in both large and small ways.

December 12, 2016

MIT researchers have fabricated a stamp made from forests of carbon nanotubes that is able to print electronic inks onto rigid and flexible surfaces.

Printable electronics

New stamping technique creates functional features at nanoscale dimensions.

December 7, 2016

Clockwise from top left: Alix de Monts ’14, senior Anita Liu, senior Melody Liu, and senior Lisa Ho have been selected as Schwarzman Scholars.

Four MIT students named 2017 Schwarzman Scholars

Alix de Monts, Lisa Ho, Anita Liu, and Melody Liu will study for one year at Tsinghua University in China.

December 2, 2016

Maker mentor Alisha Schor, second from left, teaches students on the use of equipment in the MIT MakerWorkshop.

A community of making

Academics from around the country gather to discuss makerspaces.

December 1, 2016

MIT senior Brian Wanek wears a racing helmet inside a prototype of what will be the driver’s seat in the 2017 MIT Formula SAE car as sophomore Wasay Anwer measures the frame.

Harder, better, faster, stronger

The MIT Formula SAE team takes a great leap forward to build their 2017 race car.

November 29, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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