Mechanical Engineering

A senior design team reimagined 11-plus Vanderbilt-owned acres in Wedgewood-Houston as a mixed use container development. A team of civil and mechanical engineering students has a new vision for land Vanderbilt owns in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood of Nashville – apartments for graduate students, restaurants and offices made from 648 used… Read More

The relentless increase in heat loads imposed on devices in modern technologies is driving renewed interest among engineers and materials scientists in the area of heat transfer. A key challenge is finding approaches to enhance the materials’ capability of conducting heat. Deyu Li A team of engineers led by Vanderbilt… Read More

Students work on a prototype of a robotic elephant calf for the Nashville Zoo. Senior Design Day 2021 will highlight dozens of problem-solving projects developed over the 2020-21 academic year by teams of students, though the format is a bit different this year. The annual celebration and showcase of ingenuity… Read More

From 11 to noon Wednesday, April 7, engineering Dean Philippe Fauchet will match gifts from donors to the school that reach a total of $2,500 during a ‘Power Hour’ challenge on Vanderbilt Giving Day. Philippe Fauchet “Giving Day is an opportunity to help advance the school’s mission of education,… Read More

The idea Karl Zelik (Vanderbilt University) Erik Lamers (Vanderbilt University) Karl E. Zelik, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and recent Ph.D. graduate Erik P. Lamers revealed a new exosuit designed to bring back relief to workers who have been under high strain throughout the pandemic, including last-mile… Read More

Eric Barth, his wife Helen, and their daughters, Nola and Kira, outside Hank Ingram House during a recent visit. Eric Barth, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been named the faculty head for one of the ten houses that make up The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. Barth, his wife… Read More

Claire Tomlin is a pioneer in hybrid control systems research, particularly aeronautical applications to address problems in aircraft flight control and collision avoidance. She has developed algorithms to help determine when unsafe conditions may arise as variables and interactions become increasingly complex. Her work includes issues of autonomous control of… Read More

Researchers devised a hybrid, hyperbolic-silicon photonic waveguide platform that transmits mid-IR and near-IR light at the same time, on the same chip, demonstrating dual-band optical processing.  Illustration: Caldwell Lab A team led by Vanderbilt engineers has achieved the ability to transmit two different types of optical signals across a single chip… Read More

The extraordinary, creative efforts of five engineering faculty members to adapt to their new teaching environments in Fall 2020 were recognized recently with a Teaching Innovation Award from Philippe Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering. The honorees quickly converted their in-person classes to online formats due to the… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the busiest cochlear implant center in the U.S., performing more than 300 implant surgeries each year. A key driver is close collaboration among engineers, surgeons, audiologists, speech scientists and other experts. This interdisciplinary, trans-institutional work has enabled a truly customized approach for each patient. Read More