Department of Mechanical Engineering
February 5, 2015
New tool monitors effects of tidal, wave energy on marine habitat
A robot developed at the University of Washington will deploy instruments to gather information in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and tidal energy.
January 19, 2015
Boeing, UW open research lab on Seattle campus
The Boeing Advanced Research Center, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the UW campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and UW engineering professors.
November 20, 2014
UW undergrad’s early life challenges become a hectic schedule of opportunity
From starting his own company – and recruiting 11 friends to join him – and running a successful nonprofit to doing research in the lab and taking a full course load, engineering undergraduate student David Coven is an expert schedule juggler.
October 24, 2014
U.S. Navy awards $8 million to develop wave, tidal energy technology
The UW has an $8 million, four-year contract to develop technologies that can harness waves, tides and currents to power naval facilities worldwide.
September 30, 2014
UW students to build hybrid-electric muscle car in EcoCAR 3 contest
The UW is one of 16 schools invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co. EcoCAR 3 competition that spans four years with stand-alone contests each spring. Their challenge in this next competition is to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car.
September 22, 2014
New degree programs aplenty starting with school year
Through new degree programs starting this fall, students will learn architecture from a liberal arts perspective, complete social sciences degrees online, become expert in the teaching of science, and much more.
June 23, 2014
Ferroelectric switching seen in biological tissues
University of Washington researchers have shown that a favorable electrical property is present in a type of protein found in organs that repeatedly stretch and retract, such as the lungs, heart and arteries. These findings are the first that clearly track this phenomenon, called ferroelectricity, occurring at the molecular level in biological tissues.
June 20, 2014
UW students’ electric-hybrid car takes 2nd in international competition
The University of Washington’s Advanced Vehicle Works team won second place in the international EcoCAR 2 competition this month for turning a Chevrolet Malibu into a highly efficient hybrid vehicle running on electric grid energy and biodiesel.
April 15, 2014
UW graduate’s lens turns any smartphone into a portable microscope
The Micro Phone Lens, developed by UW mechanical engineering alumnus Thomas Larson (’13), can turn any smartphone or tablet computer into a handheld microscope.
February 6, 2014
UW’s James Riley elected to National Academy of Engineering
James Riley, a University of Washington professor of mechanical engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Election to the academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer.
Credit card-sized device could analyze biopsy, help diagnose pancreatic cancer in minutes
University of Washington scientists and engineers are developing a low-cost device that could help pathologists diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and faster. The prototype can perform the basic steps for processing a biopsy, relying on fluid transport instead of human hands to process the tissue.
September 11, 2013
UW engineers to make cookstoves 10 times cleaner for developing world
University of Washington engineers have received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a better cookstove, which researchers say will use half as much fuel and cut emissions by 90 percent.
June 27, 2013
UW gas-, electric-powered cars claim 1st and 2nd in national contest
The University of Washington Formula Motorsports team took first place at the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers competition held June 19-22 in Lincoln, Neb.
May 6, 2013
New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes
A new device will give hospitals and research labs a much easier way to separate DNA from human fluid samples to help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis and forensic investigations.
April 15, 2013
High glucose levels could impair ferroelectricity in body’s connective tissues
Researchers found that a protein in organs that repeatedly stretch and retract can lose their functionality when exposed to sugar.
April 12, 2013
New device could cut costs on household products, pharmaceuticals
A new procedure that thickens and thins fluid at the micron level could save consumers and manufacturers money, particularly for some soap products.
January 24, 2013
Organic ferroelectric molecule shows promise for memory chips, sensors
A paper in Science describes an organic crystal that shows promise as a cheap, flexible, nontoxic material for the working parts of memory chips, sensors and energy-harvesting devices.
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