Mechanical & Materials Engineering News

A Nebraska Engineering team led by Eric Markvicka has developed the "electronic nose," a sensing device that can be used to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are excreted by human skin or present in exhaled breath. This data could be used to identify the presence of diseases, such as COVID-19.
April 22, 2022 - A team of Nebraska Engineering researchers, led by Eric Markvicka, was chosen as a winner at the DMD 5MP competition for their"electronic nose," a sensing device worn on the skin that can identify organic compounds in exhaled breath or skin excretions.  Full Story

Nebraska's national champion debate team included College of Engineering students Amber Tannehill (second from left, front row), Zachary Wallenburg (second from left, back row) and Salman Djingueinabaye (third from right, back row).
April 21, 2022 - When the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Speech and Debate Team recently earned the first national championship in its 151-year history, three students from the College of Engineering were key contributors to the Lincoln Douglas Debate victory.  Full Story

Aaron Haake (left), a senior mechanical engineering major, and Mark Nail, a 2020 mechanical engineering graduate, have been awarded 2022 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.
April 21, 2022 - Aaron Haake, a senior in mechanical engineering, and Mark Nail, a mechanical engineering alum, were chosen to receive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships.  Full Story

Nebraska’s Shane Farritor is the inaugural winner of the University of Nebraska’s Faculty Intellectual Property Innovation and Commercialization Award. (Craig Chandler / University Communication)
April 15, 2022 - Shane Farritor, professor of mechanical and materials engineering, was selected as the inaugural winner of the NU system's Faculty Intellectual Property Innovation and Commercialization Award.  Full Story

Ruiguo Yang, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, is using a $540,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program to explore how cell-cell bridges respond to strains of different magnitudes and rates. (Craig Chandler / University Communication)
April 13, 2022 - Ruiguo Yang is examining how cell-cell junctions — protein structures that enable cells to attach to neighboring cells — respond to the wide range of strains they're subjected to every day, such as cardiac pulses, stretching of the skin and peristalsis  Full Story

Prize winners at the March 23 Engineering Pitch Competition were: First place – Auto Planter, Ian Tempelmeyer (grad student in biological systems engineering); second place – Transverse Direct Drive, Matthew Penne (grad student in electrical and computer engineering); third place – UNL Maker Group, Isaac Regier (senior in mechanical and materials engineering) and Brendan Colford (senior in architecture).
April 08, 2022 - Ian Tempelmeyer, a graduate student in biological systems engineering, won first place in the Engineering Pitch Competition on March 23 for a pitch on a robotic system with a planter attachment to aid corn farmers.  Full Story

Lasers in the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces are creating surfaces that can help keep power lines from freezing and whipping in the wind. (KETV)
March 25, 2022 - Nebraska Engineering faculty and students working with femtosecond lasers in the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces are creating surfaces that can help keep power lines from freezing and whipping in the wind.  Full Story

Felicity Sierra, freshman mechanical engineering major, listens to a career panel in the Kiewit Scholars Program. (Craig Chandler / University Communication)
March 25, 2022 - Felicity Sierra, a freshman from Chicago, is charting her own path in engineering as one of 10 students chosen to the inaugural cohort of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering's Kiewit Scholars Program.  Full Story

Eric Markvicka, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering.
March 03, 2022 - Erick Markvicka, who grew up helping on his grandparents' farm and was inspired by fellow Ravenna native and Nebraska Engineering professor Shane Farritor, is working to create a future where humans and technology work together more intimately.  Full Story

On June 28, 2021, the College of Engineering held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction on Kiewit Hall.
February 16, 2022 - The College of Engineering experienced a year of major milestones and growth in 2021, even as the college and the University of Nebraska system continued to deal with the changing demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Full Story