Mechanical Engineering

A biochemistry instructor curious about an enzyme discovered in the damaged neurons of people with multiple sclerosis made a leap toward a potential cure for countless neurodegenerative ills. Vanderbilt University’s Amrita Pathak, working with Bruce D. Carter, biochemistry professor and associate director of the Vanderbilt Brain… Read More

Jillian Bremner is steering beyond her academic focus this summer to explore her passions for scuba diving and ocean conservation, with the aim of eventually combining engineering with a marine career. A rising junior mechanical engineering major from Colorado, Bremner is spending eight weeks volunteering for Global Vision International… Read More

Elizabeth Lee identifies as many things. She’s a mechanical engineering major, a proud Asian American, and a woman working in the STEM fields. To give a clearer voice to these identities, Lee created a web comic called “Existing Quietly, Living Loudly.” She develops the concepts, draws the panels and writes… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers studied the wings of cicadas to aid in developing a surgical planning tool to help restore speech for people with vocal fold paralysis. A swarm of cicadas that left thousands of insect carcasses across the Vanderbilt University campus in 2011 is leading to transinstitutional research at the Vanderbilt… Read More

Deyu Li, professor of mechanical engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a distinction awarded to ASME members who have made significant engineering achievements. Deyu Li Li has made significant contributions in nanoscale energy transport as well as microfluidics and nanofluidics.  He is internationally… Read More

Robert W. Pitz and Sankaran Mahadevan are members of the 2018 class of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics fellows. They join 20 other members from academia, industry and government honored by the AIAA. AIAA confers the distinction of Fellow in recognition of an individual’s notable and valuable contributions to… Read More

New hyperlens crystal is capable of resolving details as small as a virus on the surface of living cells. The atomic structure of the hexagonal boron nitride crystal is shown in the cutout. (Keith Wood / Vanderbilt) Just imagine: An optical lens so powerful that it lets you view… Read More

Imagine slipping into a jacket, shirt or skirt that powers your cell phone, fitness tracker and other personal electronic devices as you walk, wave and even when you are sitting down. A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system developed at Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices… Read More

Building transient electronics is usually about doing something to make them stop working: blast them with light, soak them with acid, dunk them in water. Professor Leon Bellan’s idea is to dissolve them with neglect: Stop applying heat, and they come apart. Using silver nanowires embedded in a polymer that… Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Office of the Provost has recognized three engineering faculty proposals with Discovery Grants, one of Vanderbilt’s primary means of investing in advancing the discovery of knowledge in its core disciplines and strengthening the university’s scholarly profile. A total of 13 faculty proposals have… Read More