Mechanical engineering

Left to right: Infinite Cooling researchers graduate student Karim Khalil, associate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi, and graduate student Maher Damak.

Infinite Cooling wins Cleantech University Prize competition

Startup is meeting global environmental needs by changing the way power plants use water.

August 8, 2017

New hybrid gas-to-electric drones from MIT spinout Top Flight Technologies offer an order-of-magnitude increase in range, payload size, and power over battery-powered counterparts. The drones may pave the way for package delivery and human flight.

Hybrid drones carry heavier payloads for greater distances

Startup’s gas-electric engines may pave way for package delivery and human flight.

August 4, 2017

A Flybrix LEGO drone lifts off. Flybrix kits let consumers “tinker around with LEGOs, come up with a design you like, and see it fly,” says cofounder Amir Hirsch ’06, SM ’07.

Startup soars with LEGO drones

Co-founded by Amir Hirsch ’06, SM ’07, Flybrix drones offers people of all ages the ability to fly their ideas.

August 3, 2017

MIT engineers have devised a way to assess a cell’s mechanical properties simply by observation. The researchers use standard confocal microscopy to zero in on the constant, jiggling motions of a cell’s particles.

Fast, noninvasive technique for probing cells may reveal disease

Researchers gauge a cell’s stiffness, which can reflect cancer or other conditions, simply by watching it.

August 3, 2017

Anette “Peko” Hosoi named associate dean of engineering

Mechanical engineering professor will help guide educational initiatives and strategy.

August 2, 2017

Twenty high school girls from around the country participated in this year’s Women’s Technology Program (WTP), a four-week program that gives girls hands-on engineering experience in the lab and classroom. Pictured here, this summer’s WTP class takes a tour of the Pappalardo Lab.

Closing the gender gap in mechanical engineering

Women make up 49.5 percent of MIT’s undergraduates in mechanical engineering, due to department’s proactive approach, study finds.

July 31, 2017

The COBRA sensor is more portable and cost-effective than existing indirect calorimetry sensors. It includes a chest harness and bite grip that enable hands-free use of the system during exercise and training.

Monitoring metabolic energy expenditure, health, and fitness with a breath analyzer

Simple-to-use, low-cost respiratory sensor enables measurement and tracking of personal metabolism.

July 27, 2017

"Something I’ve recommended is for the Tour de France to have [recumbent bicycles] start prior to the regular upright bicycles," says Professor Emeritus David Gordon Wilson. "It would be very exciting to add this element, since recumbents are not only faster, but safer, so you wouldn’t see the domino-style pile-ups that often occur."

David Gordon Wilson's lifelong love of the bicycle

MIT emeritus professor, designer, and inventor, is set to release the fourth edition of his popular book, "Bicycling Science," known as the "bike bible."

July 25, 2017

Graduate student Anthony McDougal has developed a model that predicts a single heart cell’s response to dwindling supplies of oxygen.

Study predicts heart cells’ response to dwindling oxygen

Results may help surgeons determine when and how to treat heart attacks.

July 20, 2017

MIT engineers have designed a gel-like material that can be coated onto standard plastic or rubber devices, providing a softer, more slippery exterior that can significantly ease a patient’s discomfort during surgery.

New gel coatings may lead to better catheters and condoms

Bonded layers of rubber and hydrogel yield tough, slippery, and impermeable coatings.

July 18, 2017

Researchers have developed a fast, inexpensive robotic device that can find even tiny leaks in pipes with pinpoint precision, no matter what the pipes are made of.

Finding leaks while they’re easy to fix

Robot can inspect water or gas pipes from the inside to find leaks long before they become catastrophic.

July 17, 2017

An avid downhill mountain biker, Associate Department Head and professor of mechanical engineering Anette (Peko) Hosoi visits Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield, New Hampshire. Hosoi’s research interests of include fluid dynamics and bioinspired design.

Pushing the limits of athletic performance

MIT 3-Sigma Sports links students and researchers with industry partners to solve the greatest engineering problems in sports.

July 16, 2017

Jim Christian SM '14 is co-founder and vice president of product for Mountain Hub, an app-based network in which people can upload and share critical real-time information about outdoor conditions.

Using sensors and social networks to make slopes safer

Alumni aim to make outdoor sports safer through gathering data and building a real-time social network.

July 10, 2017

The MIT Motorsports team is all smiles with their Second Place Overall Spirit of Excellence Award silver trophy at the Formula SAE Electric competition in Lincoln, Nebraska.

MIT team races to second in electric car competition

Strong performances across multiple categories boost MIT Motorsports electric vehicle team at SAE Collegiate Design Series event in Lincoln, Nebraska.

June 30, 2017

1) Graphene, grown on copper foil, is pressed against a supporting sheet of polycarbonate. 2) The polycarbonate acts to peel the graphene from the copper. 3) Using interfacial polymerization, researchers seal large tears and defects in graphene. 4) Next, they use oxygen plasma to etch pores of specific sizes in graphene.

Scientists produce dialysis membrane made from graphene

Material can filter nanometer-sized molecules at 10 to 100 times the rate of commercial membranes.

June 28, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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