School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Soft robotic devices show particular promise for medical applications where the ability to perform snake-like manipulations with soft devices could radically improve the safety and effectiveness of endoscopic and intravenous procedures. Where traditional catheter devices for these procedures can only be steered at the tip, there exists a need for more maneuverable devices with a high number of degrees of freedom (DOF) that can be controlled throughout the entire length.

Greg Hyslop, Chief Engineer & Executive Vice President of Engineering, Test & Technology, The Boeing Company, will speak on the topic, “Building the Future of Aerospace Together”.
From servicing the next International Space Station to its goal of Zero Carbon Emissions from Commercial Aviation to Flying Taxi Drones, come hear about the opportunities and challenges facing the future of the aerospace industry from the man who leads The Boeing Company’s 50,000+ engineers worldwide and oversees its technology vision, strategy and investment.

Birds have deployable covert feathers that are hypothesized to aid in aerodynamic flow control. Inspired by this biological control solution, we use high-fidelity simulations to explore a simplified configuration in which a flat plate is mounted via a torsional spring on an airfoil. We first characterize what dynamical regimes this system can undergo for various spring and inertia values, explaining some of the underlying fluid-structure interaction mechanism and their implications on performance changes.

Renewable bio-derived fuels can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide when used in compression ignition engines. However, their effective utilization depends on thoroughly understanding their combustion properties. We will examine results on the low-temperature oxidation of canola and coconut-derived biodiesel in a motored engine.

Trucking is the lifeblood of the economy, transporting 70% of the goods across the country to your front door. It is also an industry experiencing dramatic technological change, on a scale not seen since the invention of the automobile itself.

New cyber technologies are providing profound opportunities for network-wide autonomy in critical infrastructures, but also introducing new complexities in infrastructure operations. At its essence, achieving network-wide autonomy requires coordinating sensing and control resources across a dynamical network to achieve resilient operations in the face of disruptions.