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The Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering had another successful year for research funding, bringing in 37 new awards and funding on 72 existing sponsored projects, which totaled nearly $14 million.

Fiscal year 2022 marked 10 consecutive years that the department has brought in $10 million or more in research funding.

"We continue to see strong external support for the department's research mission. This funding supports our faculty and students as they conduct world-leading, cutting-edge research,” said Department Chair Peter Hamlington.

Some of the department’s top research awards this year include:

• Corey Neu received a $462,332 award from National Science Foundation for “Biomechanical Regulation of Intranuclear Elastography and Gene Location in Single Cells.”
   
• Marina Vance received a $549,000 award from the Environmental Protection Agency around “Assessing the Transport of Wildfire-Generated PM Into Homes and Developing Practical Interventions to Reduce Human Exposure.”
   
• Rong Long received a $431,886 award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for “DMREF/Collaborative Research: Switchable Underwater Adhesion through Dynamic Chemistry and Geometry.”
   
• Victor Mark Bright received a $563,611 award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/NIH/DHHS for “Development of 3D-FAST Optical Interface for Rapid Volumetric Neural Sensing and Modulation.”

The largest single grant for this fiscal year in the department was for $592,196 for Associate Professor Chunmei Ban’s work in “3D Engineering for All-Solid-State Rechargeable Battery.”

“The breadth of awards reflects the highly interdisciplinary nature of our department,” said Hamlington. “Over the past year we have seen large new awards focused on topics as diverse as the effects of wildfires on indoor air quality, the development of solid-state batteries, and the creation of optical interfaces for neural sensing and modulation.”

Funding has come from an equally broad range of sources, including the defense department, National Institute of Health, NSF, and industry.

U.S. News and World Report currently ranks the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering #15 public undergraduate program and #17 public graduate program in the country.

“I look forward to seeing our external research funding increase in the coming years," said Hamlington.