Mechanical Engineering

Engineers at MIT have developed a new model to simulate dynamic soaring, and have used it to identify the optimal flight pattern that an albatross should take in order to harvest the most wind and energy. They found that as an albatross banks or turns, it should do so in shallow arcs, keeping almost to a straight, forward trajectory.

Engineers identify key to albatross’ marathon flight

Flying in shallow arcs helps birds stay aloft with less effort.

October 10, 2017

Amy Smith is the founding director of the MIT D-Lab.

Designing for a more equitable world

D-Lab founder Amy Smith teaches MIT students to tap into the heart of international development.

October 6, 2017

Second-year student Albert Go (left) says the NEET program is the best way to learn: “I like application and learning from my peers. With the projects, I’m excited to see what I’m learning about come to life.” From left: Albert Go, Mitchell Guillaume, Michael Everett, and Yu Liang (Gloria) Fang.

Putting projects at the forefront

NEET pilot initiative centers around interdisciplinary projects to prepare students for the practice of engineering.

October 5, 2017

Winners of the 2017 Better World Media Contest: At left, Max Freitas and his D-Lab project partner Hope Chen (pictured, with patient) developed and field tested prosthetics with Rise Legs through MIT-India. Right: Dou Dou '17 brought over 80 Israeli and Palestinian high school students together by teaching them computer science and entrepreneurship through MIT-MEET.

Tackling the world’s challenges in the field

MISTI media contest showcases MIT students working to build a better world.

October 2, 2017

Lup Wai Chew (left) explains his research in Wind Enhancement in Urban Areas to alum Luis De Jesus.

Presentation practice: Hurricanes to prosthetics

Students hone their communication skills by presenting their research projects at the 4th annual Mechanical Engineering Research Exhibition.

October 2, 2017

Jim Magarian is a third-year graduate student and an engineering leadership instructor with the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership (GEL) Program.

Veteran engineer studies career pathways of today’s graduates

After a mid-career jump to academia, PhD student Jim Magarian now analyzes engineering workforce issues.

October 1, 2017

MIT-France student intern Annie Dai (seated) spent a summer at Plume Labs.

Clearing the air

At Plume Labs in Paris, MIT-France interns take on an invisible threat by helping to develop a wearable device that tracks indoor and outdoor air quality.

September 29, 2017

“It’s important to have a single test that can differentiate between the four serotypes of Dengue and Zika, because they co-circulate. They’re spread by the same mosquito,” says Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a visiting scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

New test rapidly diagnoses Zika

Paper-based diagnostic avoids false positives from Dengue fever and other related viruses.

September 27, 2017

Associate professors Julie Shah, Sertac Karaman, and Amos Winter, in front of the newly renovated Building 31.

Building 31 powers back up

Members of AeroAstro and MechE are returning to a dramatically renovated building, with robots, drones, and even a Corvette in tow.

September 24, 2017

Engineers at MIT have devised a framework for identifying key patterns that precede an extreme event.

Technique spots warning signs of extreme events

Method may help predict hotspots of instability affecting climate, aircraft performance, and ocean circulation.

September 22, 2017

Erica James, associate professor of medical anthropology and urban studies in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, co-presents with Dennis McLaughlin, H.M. King Bhumibol Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (not pictured) on the results of their research project, Leverage Points: Opportunities for Increasing Food Production in Developing Countries, funded by ...

Projects make inroads on global food and water challenges

MIT researchers supported by J-WAFS present results of their work on food and water security.

September 21, 2017

In this image, light strikes a molecular lattice deposited on a metal substrate. The molecules can quickly exchange energy with the metal below, a mechanism that leads to a much faster response time for the emission of fluorescent light from the lattice.

A new approach to ultrafast light pulses

Unusual fluorescent materials could be used for rapid light-based communications systems.

September 18, 2017

MIT researchers have found a surprising new twist to the mechanics involved when droplets come in contact with surfaces. Pictured here is a microscopic top view of a droplet.

Stick, peel, or bounce: Controlling a freezing droplet’s fate

MIT study reveals a new way to enhance or reduce the adhesion of freezing droplets.

September 11, 2017

Mechanical engineering students at MIT get hands-on experience conducting a research study from start to finish during Course 2.671’s Go Forth and Measure project.

On a mission to measure

From heart rates to exploding pumpkins, the topics students can explore for the Go Forth and Measure project are virtually unlimited.

September 8, 2017

D-Lab research associate Megha Hegde and two local students from India conduct a hands-on workshop on water filters with the women of Mujholi village in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand, India, for the new xylem filter technology, funded by J-WAFS Solutions.

J-WAFS awards commercialization grants to develop technologies for water and food solutions

Three new projects and two renewals receive J-WAFS Solutions grant funding for 2017-2018.

September 7, 2017

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