Mechanical Engineering

A new peer-reviewed study shows that a back-relieving exosuit originally developed at Vanderbilt University and then commercialized by spin-off company HeroWear can simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce injury risk. This has important implications for the future of workplace safety and for workers in civilian and defense sectors. The results… Read More

Ravindra Duddu, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University, is among a team of researchers who have developed a novel approach to better predict fracture propagation in Greenland glaciers, which has implications for global sea level rise that impacts coastal communities around the world. Ravindra Duddu… Read More

Surgeons at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have successfully completed the first-in-human clinical trial of a surgical robotic device developed by a Vanderbilt engineer to advance precision and control when removing kidney stones. The device is the first-known independently steerable kidney stone retrieval device, enabling more effective maneuvering… Read More

Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is leading a team of researchers that has developed a system of artificial cilia capable of monitoring mucus conditions in human airways to better detect infection, airway obstruction, or the severity of diseases like Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases… Read More

Paul Slaughter knew early on he wanted an engineering degree that would help amputees, even writing in a high school career essay about designing prosthetics to assist athletes. The Vanderbilt Mechanical Engineering graduate student recently got that opportunity when he designed a prosthetic leg for Army veteran Kelly Elmlinger… Read More

The Apex 2 exosuit is giving Australian defense personnel a boost. (RAAF)   A back-relieving exosuit designed by Vanderbilt spin-off company HeroWear is continuing to show its effectiveness with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ordering hundreds of additional suits and eyeing larger expansion. HeroWear, a Nashville-based workforce wearable… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to advance research that uses artificial intelligence to improve communication between neurodivergent and neurotypical youth and adults with the goal of placing more neurodivergent individuals with conditions like autism in the STEM workforce. The three-year $900,000 award is through NSF’s… Read More

A surgical robot capable of performing an entire surgery without human intervention: That’s the goal of a landmark, multi-institution project being led by a Vanderbilt engineer that recently received an award up to $12 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Robert Webster and his… Read More

Vanderbilt University announced Sept. 18 the launch of its Institute of National Security, led by Paul M. Nakasone, former director of the National Security Agency, former commander of U.S. Cyber Command and retired four-star general. Founding director Paul M. Nakasone The institute emerged from Vanderbilt’s rich history of… Read More

Group of capsules moving in tubular tortuous structures and sampling liquids.   Vanderbilt researchers have developed technology for sampling body liquids in tortuous and narrow spaces that could lead to early detection of diseases like cancer. The research led by Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering,… Read More