Mechanical & Materials Engineering News

In his lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, Abdelghani Laraoui works on improving scientific materials and processes for quantum sensing applications. (Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing)
September 04, 2024 - Abdelghani Laraoui is collaborating with faculty from Jackson State University in Mississippi on a three-year, $800,000 project to help train dozens of African-American youth while developing America's expertise in quantum sensing.  Full Story

A Rivian R1T electric pickup crashes against a lane barrier during a July 1 crash test at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. (Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing)
July 30, 2024 - New results from a University of Nebraska-Lincoln July 1 crash test using an electric pickup truck raise more questions about whether significant upgrades are needed to prepare the nation’s roadways for rapidly increasing numbers of electric vehicles.  Full Story

Twenty-six Nebraska Engineering undergraduate students received summer 2024 stipend awards from UCARE.
July 30, 2024 - Twenty-six College of Engineering students are among the 114 University of Nebraska–Lincoln undergraduate students who were awarded stipends to participate in research with a faculty mentor this summer.  Full Story

Craig Zuhlke (left) and George Gogos (back), co-directors of the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces, and Graham Kaufman, doctoral student in electrical engineering, pose with the Leybold ultra-high vacuum laser surface processing and materials analysis system in the CEFS lab in the Engineering Research Center. (University Communicaton and Marketing photo)
July 23, 2024 - When researchers from the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces presented at a major international conference in May, their work on a revolutionary surface modification technique created a buzz among attendees.  Full Story

Three Nebraska Engineering students and a physics student from Nebraska Wesleyan University will gain unique experience for nine weeks this summer, staying at Kobe University, then transitioning to Toyohashi University of Technology, where they will work for eight weeks on a research project. (Google Maps)
May 29, 2024 - With support from a National Science Foundation IRES grant, Three Nebraska Engineering students and a physics student from Nebraska Wesleyan University will gain unique experience for nine weeks this summer, doing research at a university in Japan.  Full Story

Eric Markvicka (left), assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, holds a tray of liquid metal samples while graduate student Ethan Krings works on a sample at right. Markvicka has earned a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to advance his work with room-temperature, non-toxic liquid metals. (Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing)
April 22, 2024 - Eric Markvicka received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program grant to support research to produce materials that could propel the fields of soft robotics, stretchable electronics and beyond.  Full Story

Tyler Wortman, Nebraska mechanical engineering alumnus, is designing and building pharmacy fulfillment centers for Amazon.
April 22, 2024 - Tyler Wortman, former Nebraska football player, earned two mechanical engineering degrees at UNL. Now, he's building and designing pharmacy fulfillment centers for Amazon.  Full Story

(top row, from left) Stuart Bernstein, Shubhendu Bhardwaj, Chris Bourke, Bai Chi, Derek Heeren; (center row) Michael Hempel, Kelly Kopocis, Keegan Moore, Ryan Pedrigi; (bottom row) Santosh Pitla, Eva Schubert, Cody Stolle, Rebecca Wachs, Christine Wittich
April 16, 2024 - Fourteen faculty from the College of Engineering are among the 100 faculty to whom the University of Nebraska–Lincoln will award promotion and/or tenure in 2024.  Full Story

Students who led the winning projects at the 2024 Engineering Pitch Competition are (from left) Patrick McManigal, Brooke Bode and Alyssa Grube.
April 08, 2024 - Nebraska Engineering students Patrick McManigal, Brooke Bode and Alyssa Grube earned the top three places April 2 at the 2024 Engineering Pitch Competition, held at the Willa Cather Dining Complex.  Full Story

Nebraska AXP team members (left) launched balloons in Roswell, New Mexico during the October 2023 annular eclipse and will launch two balloons on April 8, 2024 during a total eclipse as part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, for which mechanical engineering student Isaac Cade designed the logo (right).
April 04, 2024 - A team of Nebraska students will launch two balloons in southeastern Missouri on April 8. The balloons will carry experiments as payloads to take advantage of the rare total eclipse.  Full Story