Sept. 2, 2025 - ME Faculty & Staff Newsletter
Department Highlights
‘Cyborg jellyfish’ could aid in deep-sea research, inspire next-gen underwater vehicles
Assistant Professor Nicole Xu first became fascinated with moon jellyfish more than a decade ago because of their extraordinary swimming abilities. Today, Xu has developed a way to harness their efficiency and ease at moving through the water in ways that could make some types of aquatic research much easier.
Beyond Arrakis: Dune researchers confront real-life perils of shifting sand formations
Associate Professor Nathalie Vriend is leading a research effort exploring how sand dunes evolve over time, shifting and surging across the landscape. Her team ultimately wants to answer a pressing question: Can humans efficiently shift or even halt the flow of the planet’s largest dunes?
ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø advancing artificial intelligence research for real-world applications
Professor Sean Humbert is one of many ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø faculty members making important artificial intelligence (AI) discoveries. With the help of his lab group and other CEAS collaborators, Humbert is developing algorithms and autonomous systems that can process sensor data within milliseconds to operate in places and situations where direct human engagement creates unacceptable risk.
ME undergraduate student works to address methane crisis in summer project
Rising senior Alex Hansen spent his summer break in ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø’s Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) studying the consequences of methane emissions. His work analyzing data gathered from unique methane detection sensors can one day help researchers address the methane crisis at some of the world's most prevalent methane emissions sites.
Racing toward innovation: Inside ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø’s fastest student organization
Carson Malpass isn't just a senior in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, he's the leader of one of ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø's fastest student organization: ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø Racing. The team builds internal combustion race cars from the ground up to compete in the prestigious Formula SAE competition, travels the country racing endurance cars against professional teams and is now venturing into the electric vehicle (EV) frontier.
Why are hourglasses filled with sand and not water?
A group of former seniors designed a series of hourglass displays for their Senior Design capstone class this past semester that currently sit in the window of Associate Professor Nathalie Vriend's Granular Flow Laboratory. The project, located at ECNW 1B90 in the basement of the Engineering Center, aims to answer a simple question: why are hourglasses filled with sand and not water?