Mechanical Engineering

VADL team members talk with James Bridenstine, NASA Marshall Director Jody Singer and Mike Kincaid, associate administrator, Office of NASA STEM Engagement, at NASA’s Artemis Day in New Orleans. Front, left to right, Jon Powles, Alex Barnett, Bridenstine, Abbey Carlson, Sophia Moak and Adam Smith. Rear, Kincaid and Singer. Five… Read More

Nabil Simaan, professor of mechanical engineering, has been elevated to IEEE Fellow by the Board of Directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The award – effective January 1, 2020 – recognizes Simaan for contributions to dexterous continuum robotics for surgery. Technologies developed by his group have advanced… Read More

Douglas Adams, Daniel F. Flowers Professor, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for extraordinary research contributions in experimental nonlinear dynamic systems with societal impacts in the energy, national security and manufacturing sectors. AAAS also cited Adams, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental… Read More

Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Engineering, has been selected to serve on a Subcommittee for International Research and Engagement established by the Vanderbilt University Research Council to provide governance for the TIPs-funded GlobalVU initiative. The GlobalVU initiative aims to improve international research and… Read More

A new continuum robot designed by Vanderbilt engineers achieves multi-scale motion and may open up a huge world of previously impossible complex microsurgeries. The robot is capable of providing both a large macro motion workspace as necessary for surgical intervention and a small micro motions workspace with motion resolutions of… Read More

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory collaboration with Vanderbilt University will grow stronger through a new faculty liaison—a School of Engineering professor—and enhanced management of travel assistance awards. Jason Valentine, associate professor of mechanical and electrical engineering, is the new faculty liaison and will carry on the collaborations established by Carlos Lopez,… Read More

Schematic of the proposed Vanderbilt payload with autonomous guidance, sampling and recharge capability. NASA is challenging college and university rocket teams to design solutions for its proposed manned and unmanned planetary missions to the Moon and beyond. The agency is committed to landing American astronauts, including the first woman, on… Read More

Soldiers from the 101st and Matthew Yandell, chief innovation officer of HeroWear and recent Vanderbilt engineering PhD graduate, carry howitzer rounds to simulate the physical demands of field artillery missions. Photo|Professor Karl Zelik, Vanderbilt University GPS, duct tape, microwaves and computers—these everyday items have one thing in common:  Each invented,… Read More

Left, Nilanjan Sarkar, professor of mechanical engineering, is the lead investigator on a significant new NSF convergence grant. He, Joshua Wade, a senior staff research scientist, Michael Breen, an intern on the project, and Claire Barnett, communications coordinator at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, work an interactive prototype,… Read More

The Vanderbilt University School of Engineering announces the appointment of three tenure-track junior faculty members representing the biomedical, mechanical, and electrical engineering and computer science departments, and three non-tenure appointments. David Braun David Braun is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Prior to joining the engineering faculty, he was assistant… Read More