Mechanical Engineering

Renewable energy pilot facility completes decade of continuous operation Local visitors to Nashville’s scenic Love Circle may be accustomed to sharing the one-of-a-kind skyline view with a high-tech neighbor: a wind turbine and a solar panel array that sends energy back to the city’s power grid. The wind-solar facility atop… Read More

George Thomas Hahn, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, died June 7, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. Funeral services will be held June 9 at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Micah. The service will be streamed online. George Hahn Hahn served the Vanderbilt School of Engineering for 18 years with distinction until… Read More

By Graham Hays Quentin Millora-Brown, a senior forward on the men’s basketball team, had his best individual season this year. A starter in 30 games, he led Vanderbilt in blocked shots and was second in rebounding. Perhaps even more importantly, he helped create the culture of success—a willingness… Read More

Olivia Busk and Michael Finn-Henry by Amy Wolf Strategically managing precise steps up a wall or cliff at breakneck speeds is exactly where Michael Finn-Henry, a mechanical engineering student and contender for the 2024 Paris Olympics, finds clarity. Speed rock climbing is a finesse sport that requires fast feet… Read More

David Braun, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award for foundational research in mechanically adaptive robotics. His CAREER project, “Mechanically Adaptive, Energetically Passive Robotics,” will enable the creation of new-generation industrial robots, transportation systems, and devices that can assist and augment humans. David Braun The five-year,… Read More

Arthur McLeod (Mac) Mellor, 80, emeritus Centennial Professor of Mechanical Engineering, died Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, in Durham, N.C. Mellor joined the faculty of the School of Engineering in January 1988 as Centennial Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He retired from Vanderbilt in 2004. Arthur (Mac) Mellor During his career, Mellor’s… Read More

Jeff Ray, dean of Western Carolina University’s College of Engineering and Technology and a Vanderbilt University engineering graduate, died July 26, 2021. He was 61. Jeff Ray A Tennessee native, Ray spent five years as an electrician and earned a Journeyman Industrial Electrician license while working at R.R. Donnelley &… Read More

2021 marks 10th anniversary of Miree’s passing; Scholarship match deadline is Aug. 31 This spring marked the 10th anniversary of the Kyser Miree Scholarship, which was established to recognize the life and leadership of the late Kyser Miree, BE’09. In recognition of this milestone and in hopes of reaching an endowment of $1,000,000,… Read More

L to R: Working on tail section of rocket; Building a carbon fiber nose cone with members of the rocket team; Reisner inspects the full-scale rocket on the launch pad; Reisner and his team running to reach the rocket at touchdown. by Brenda Ellis May. 3,… Read More

One tip:  Think like an engineer “Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned the hard way,” laughs Hassan Sharaff, BE’07, gesturing to, well, everything: the polyethylene greenhouse walls with a soaring aluminum frame, torqued by last year’s derecho winds, and tray after tray of arugula, basil, kale and lettuce shoots, drinking… Read More