MechE Connects

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The classical mechanical engineering department that you’re thinking of might have cars, might have steam engines – we have all of those things, but we go so far beyond that.

- Anette (Peko) Hosoi, Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering has expanded from its traditional areas to encompass many emerging technologies, ideas, and principles. This breadth allows our department to confront multidisciplinary challenges, while embracing the core principles that have always defined MechE... It would be impossible to showcase every facet of our work, or every contributor, but through the stories and highlights in this issue, we invite you to celebrate the breadth of MechE at MIT.
- Department Head A. John Hart.

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MechE Connects Video

Across MechE, faculty and staff are engaging in cutting-edge research at the frontiers of mechanical engineering, with teaching and exploration at the intersection of engineering and physics, math, electronics, biology, computer science, and many other fields of study. From the nanoscale to the macroscale, across communities, climates, regions, and geographies, and from the ocean floor to the far reaches of space, there’s an incredible breadth of work underway in MechE at MIT.

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This Issue's Stories

Designing cleaner vehicles

Fueled by curiosity, second-year graduate student Adi Mehrotra ’22 is working on sustainable solutions in vehicle design.

Student Spotlight: Engineers of tomorrow

The future of the engineering field is as limitless as the imaginations of its practitioners, MechE grad students show.

Smart irrigation technology covers “more crop per drop”

Working directly with end users, the GEAR Lab team has created several drip irrigation technology solutions, including a low-cost, solar-powered precision irrigation controller that optimizes energy use and water use.

Vijay Vaitheeswaran ’90: Engineer, economist, editor

MechE Alumni Profile: Vijay Vaitheeswaran ’90, is Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor for The Economist.

MechE Connects Spring 2024: News and Awards

Departmental news, research updates, faculty and staff awards, and other highlights from the Spring 2024 issue of MechE Connects.

Bringing closure to models: Deep learning physics

New approach uses machine learning and AI to discover missing processes and interactions in mathematical models of dynamical systems.

Bioinspired robotics class offers intriguing surprises

In class 2.74, Bio-Inspired Robotics, students learn about the complexity behind simple, everyday movement before experimenting with mechanical models and integrating these components into a final robotic system.

The breadth of MechE

Across MechE, faculty and staff are engaging in cutting-edge research at the frontiers of a new vision for mechanical engineering.

Class opens the door to a new world of mechanical engineering

MechE innovates the traditional Mechanics and Materials II class, led by Professor Carlos Portela, by exposing students to leading-edge concepts of nanotechnology, nanomechanics, and metamaterials.