Mechanical engineering

Francie Diep writes for Popular Science about how a new mathematical theory developed by MIT researchers may help to explain how surfaces wrinkle. “The equation could help chemists working on high-tech materials,” explains Diep.

Students in course 2.009 not only learn about the process of creating new products, but also how to pitch their invention, writes Boston Globe reporter Stefanie Friedhoff. According to Prof. David Wallace, the course covers “how you make a product in the real world, with engineers and designers and business people all working together.”

In this New York Times video, James Gorman explores new MIT research examining how rainfall produces a scent. The researchers found that when raindrops hit porous surfaces they release aerosols. The scent is “not from the rain itself,” explains Prof. Cullen Buie, “it’s from the earth.”

Jared Silverman of USA Today reports on how MIT researchers have found that raindrops release aerosols when they hit the ground, causing a distinctive odor. The researchers found that “light to moderate rain produces more aerosols compared to heavy rain,” Silverman explains. 

MIT researchers have found that when raindrops hit the ground they release aerosols, which produce a distinctive scent, reports Avianne Tan of ABC News. Prof. Cullen Buie explains that the findings also show how bacteria could spread through “chemicals being carried by aerosols."

“It turns out tiny bubbles may be to thank for that earthy smell we get after it rains, according to a study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” writes Lori Grisham for USA Today. “The study may serve as a jumping-off point for other research about chemicals in soil.”

MIT researchers have discovered why rainfall produces such a distinctive smell, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The researchers examined high-speed footage of raindrops and found “when rain hits the ground [it] may be sending out signature smells that get carried away on the wind." 

MIT scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind why rainfall can produce such a distinctive scent, writes Macrina Cooper-White for The Huffington Post. The researchers found that when rain hits a porous surface, tiny bubbles form. When the bubbles burst, they release aerosols, which carry the “rainlike aroma” into the air.

Using high-speed cameras, MIT researchers have captured how the smell of rain is released into the air, the BBC reports. “The results may help to explain how some soil-based diseases are spread and the authors are now studying whether contaminants such as E. coli can be spread significantly via rainfall,” the BBC explains. 

Sarah Kaplan of The Washington Post highlights Prof. Sangbae Kim’s work developing a robot modeled after the cheetah. Kim explains that he took inspiration from the cheetah’s movements to design a robot that could run. “We can steal a lot of ideas from nature that we can apply . . . to speed up our engineering evolution,” he explains.

Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes about the affordable wheelchair made out of bike parts developed by Prof. Amos Winter. Winter and his team have now created a second wheelchair that allows riders to “navigate ski slopes and bike trails.”

MIT researchers have designed a robotic cheetah that could possibly be used in search and rescue operations or as inspiration for the design of prosthetics, reports the Associated Press. “Our goal is we are trying to make this robot to save a life,” says Prof. Sangbae Kim.

The result of five years of testing, a robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers can run at speeds of 10 miles per hour and jump 16 inches high, reports the Associated Press. "In the next 10 years, our goal is we are trying to make this robot to save a life," explains Professor Sangbae Kim.

A new technique developed by MIT researchers for capturing waste heat that can be used to produce electricity has been named one of 10 World Changing ideas by Scientific American, reports Ryan Bradley. “This is something attractive,” says Dr. Yuan Yang, a postdoctoral associate at MIT, “because low-grade heat is everywhere.”

Alexandra Ossola of Popular Science features Prof. Kamal Youcef-Toumi’s work developing an autonomous robot to patrol pipes for leaks. “The two-liter-bottle-size prototype cruises through pipes at up to 3 miles per hour in search of subtle pressure differences that indicate a loss of fluids,” writes Ossola.