Mechanical Engineering

Students wonder what to do with old windmill blades

Wind power has a bright future, but what happens when wind turbines power down? A worn blade the length of a football field isn’t easy to recycle.

Brain drain could give patients peace of mind

Pressure from excess cerebrospinal fluid on the brain is often relieved by surgically installing a shunt that carries the fluid to a reservoir. But when pressure in the reservoir itself is too high, the shunt needs a little help.

B.J. Fregly named ASME Fellow

B.J. Fregly, a professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering and a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, has been named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Pedram Hassanzadeh wins NSF CAREER Award

Atmospheric blocking is known to cause or exacerbate extreme weather events, but much about them remains a mystery. Rice University fluid dynamicist Pedram Hassanzadeh has won a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to study these events with an eye toward better understanding the physics behind their complex mechanics.

‘An unprecedented year’: Record number of Rice grad students awarded NSF fellowships

Two dozen current graduate students are among 44 affiliated with Rice to win Graduate Research Fellowships and three years of financial support.

Houston Methodist, Rice U. launch neuroprosthetic collaboration

Rice and Houston Methodist are partnering to solve clinical problems with neurorobotics at the new Center for Translational Neural Prosthetics and Interfaces, a collaboration that brings together scientists, clinicians, engineers and surgeons.

Rice undergrad soars into inaugural group of aerospace fellows

Bria Romero, a mechanical engineering sophomore at Rice, has won one of 43 inaugural Patti Grace Smith Fellowships launched to empower Black excellence in aerospace.

Chip simplifies COVID-19 testing, delivers results on a phone

Programmed magnetic nanobeads paired with an off-the-shelf cellphone and plug-in diagnostic tool can diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less.

Rice model offers help for new hips

People, papers and presentations Nov 16, 2020

Ryan Udell, a senior mechanical engineering major, has received honorable mention in the 2020 Distinguished Undergraduate Awards presented by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

Malaria test as simple as a bandage

HOUSTON – (Nov. 2, 2020) – Testing for malaria could become as simple as putting on a bandage.

Literal rise of the internet enables new climate science

Collaborative National Science Foundation grants will use data from internet balloons to study atmospheric gravity waves and their influence on the weather and climate.

Deep learning gives drug design a boost

A computational tool created at Rice University may help pharmaceutical companies expand their ability to investigate the safety of drugs.

New technology TA positions empower students to partner with professors

These student jobs are about more than just troubleshooting Zoom calls.

No limit yet for carbon nanotube fibers

Rice University researchers report advances in their quest to make the best carbon nanotube fibers for industry.