Fall

Alumnus Will Brown donates engineering scholarship in honor of his mother

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 15:52:56 +0000

Alumnus Will Brown donates engineering scholarship in honor of his mother Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/21/2021 - 08:52

Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering alumnus Will Brown (MechEngr’92) has established the Connie Faye Brown scholarship to benefit mechanical, chemical or electrical engineering students.

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In 2022, consider these 5 climate resolutions

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 20:09:05 +0000

In 2022, consider these 5 climate resolutions Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/17/2021 - 13:09

When possible, choose electricity over gas at home. Using natural gas makes your home a hidden source of air pollution, according to research from mechanical engineering faculty.

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Video: College of Engineering and Applied Science Fall 2021 Graduation

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 21:44:16 +0000

Video: College of Engineering and Applied Science Fall 2021 Graduation Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/16/2021 - 14:44

Congratulations to all of the fall 2021 University of Colorado Boulder Engineering graduates! The Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering is impressed, proud and eager to see how each of you will change the world as Forever Buffs. Watch the Dec. 16 ceremony from inside Macky Auditorium and view photos of the in-person event below. We also invite you to read more about the ME Outstanding Dissertation Award winner Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr'21) as well as the college Graduating Student Award winners.

In case you missed it, watch the Dec. 16 ceremony from inside Macky Auditorium and view photos of the in-person event. Congratulations to all of the fall 2021 University of Colorado Boulder Engineering graduates!

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Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:59:50 +0000

Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/15/2021 - 10:59

Rachel Leuthauser

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjg_RIj-LRc]

Header image: A view of the instrument, built by Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr'21), as the experiment replicates the conditions on exoplanets, causing the experiment to glow with heat.

Scientists do not need to travel light-years away to chart the atmospheres of exoplanets, thanks to research happening in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering with scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr’21) has developed an experiment that recreates the actual climate of planets beyond our solar system inside a 2,000 lb. instrument at Professor Greg Rieker’s lab on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map the gases in their atmospheres, which could one day help humanity find life on other planets.

“If we looked at Earth’s atmosphere, we would know that life is here because we see methane, carbon dioxide, all these different markers that say something is living here,” Rieker said. “We can look at the chemical signatures of exoplanets as well. If we see the right combination of gases, it could be an indicator that something is alive there.”

Rieker and Cole’s work can contribute to exoplanet transit spectroscopy – a research method to observe the composition of an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Scientists use a telescope to look at the light passing through it. As the light interacts with gases in the atmosphere, those gases absorb the photons as they move through.

“Scientists need a map for how to interpret what the light is telling us when it gets here,” Rieker said. “That is where Ryan’s experiment comes in. As we create this little microcosm of that exoplanet’s atmosphere in our lab, we send in our own characterized light with lasers and study the photons that come out. We can measure the changes and map how the light is absorbed.”

In collaboration with scientists at JPL, Cole and Rieker’s experiment combines sensor measurements with computational models to help detect the different gases on exoplanets. While Cole built the instrument that replicates the exoplanets’ climates and measures how light is being absorbed at those exotic conditions, JPL's Deputy Section Manager Brian Drouin’s lab supplied the tool that interprets the measurements.

Their research could optimize telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, which as of mid-December, is set to launch Dec. 24 from the European Space Agency’s site in French Guiana.

“The James Webb Space Telescope and others like Hubble are looking at the ultimate horizon of what humans can see,” Cole said. “Greg and I are trying to make their visions a little clearer. Our laboratory measurements can help to interpret the telescopes’ observations of distant planetary atmospheres.”

There are endless expanses of the universe for these telescopes to explore – more than 4,800 confirmed exoplanets and about 7,900 more that NASA says could be planets. With Rieker and Cole’s experiment factored into the expedition, our understanding of exoplanets and the gases in their atmospheres can be improved – and therefore, it also advances the search for extraterrestrial life.

How the instrument works

The high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on exoplanets can be recreated inside this instrument.

“There really are not many systems out there that can reach the high-temperature, high-pressure conditions that we reach,” Cole said. “Not only do we need to reach those conditions, we also need the temperature and pressure to be extremely uniform and well-known. Achieving these criteria is one of the most unique aspects of our experiment.”

The size and scope of the instrument Cole developed is what allows them to reach the high-temperatures and high-pressures that are seen on exoplanets. The experiment inside the piece of equipment can get up to 1,000 degrees Kelvin, which is about 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit.

The 2,000 lb. instrument also has thick steel walls that are designed to reach 100 atmospheres. To put that into context, Earth’s mean pressure at sea level is one atmosphere.

Starting in 2016, when he joined Rieker’s lab, Cole had to work through about five iterations of the high-temperature, high-pressure cell before getting it right.

“Ryan is the first one to do it,” Rieker said. “He has created datasets that are really close to perfect.”

Once the conditions are reached inside Cole’s instrument, the team sends light through the experiment from frequency comb lasers, a technology that was the basis of Nobel-Prize winning research at the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The laser has hundreds of thousands of wavelengths of light that are very well-behaved, making it an ideal tool to study light-matter interactions.

“We pass the laser through this environment and in doing so, we record how the laser light interacts with the gas that we have confined in the core of this unique experiment,” Cole said. “We measure how the light has been absorbed at different frequencies, which can be used to interpret observations of actual exoplanetary atmospheres.”

Those measurements then go through JPL’s interpretation tool. That computational model extracts the fundamental quantum parameters that enable the team to map how the atmosphere’s gas molecules will interact with light at any condition.

Rieker compared the relationship between the measurements they attain and the parameters that JPL supplies to a JPEG, the standard format for image data. While we see the photo, the JPEG data is the code, or set of instructions, for the image.

In this case, the equipment in Rieker’s lab provides the photo – the exoplanet conditions and light passing through its atmosphere. The JPL tool provides the JPEG code – the data that describes how the light is interacting with gases in the atmosphere.

Applications for sustainability on Earth

Looking inside the instrument when the experiment reaches high-temperatures and high-pressures.

Rieker’s work did not start with the goal of mapping exoplanet’s atmospheres. The original objective was to understand the combustion inside a rocket or aircraft engine. He had set out to chart the emissions coming from those engines, which can help society find more efficient ways to burn fuel.

“I think it is interesting that you can tie the applications of the instrument from a jet engine at the Denver International Airport to the atmosphere of a distant an exoplanet far from Earth,” Cole said.

The range of the technology’s function still allows the team to mimic the inside of a jet engine and map the gases being emitted, but while building the equipment, Cole recognized that the conditions inside the simulated engine were very similar to conditions on the surface of Venus – high-temperature and high-pressure.

“Venus is a really interesting planet because physically, Venus and Earth are very similar in terms of size and density,” Cole said. “There is an ongoing question in the planetary science community that says you can draw an interesting comparison between Venus and Earth. Does Venus give us another data point for how Earth-like planets evolve?”

Venus has an atmosphere that is almost 860 degrees Fahrenheit and is 95-times the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere. The planet is completely inhospitable largely due to a runaway greenhouse effect driven by the high amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The potent greenhouse gas traps heat in Venus’s atmosphere, leading to extremely high surface temperatures.

While Earth’s atmosphere is nowhere near the levels of carbon dioxide found on Venus, studies of Venus’s atmosphere could advance climate change research.

“Our equipment can help scientists better understand Venus and the evolution of atmospheres that are increasingly burdened with carbon dioxide,” Cole said. “The experiment can help our understanding of the atmospheres of Earth-like planets with a sample size of two planets, instead of just one.”

From the inside of an engine to the surface of Venus and distant exoplanets, the fundamental goal of Rieker and Cole’s work is to understand how light interacts with gas molecules. However, no matter the scope, the applications of Rieker and Cole’s research all have the same theme – to promote life. One day soon, that might include life elsewhere, not just on Earth.

Professor Greg Rieker and Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr’21) have developed an experiment that recreates the climates of planets beyond our solar system right in the lab. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map their atmospheres, which could help humanity detect life outside our solar system.

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Completing a co-op at Tesla

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 15:58:48 +0000

Completing a co-op at Tesla Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/15/2021 - 08:58

Ahmed Ashmaig

Ahmed Ashmaig is an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering co-president of the National Society of Black Engineers Boulder Chapter. He participated in a co-op at Tesla during fall 2021.

Ahmed Ashmaig

Where did you work over the summer and what kinds of projects did you work on?

I was a process engineering intern working mainly on the Model Y and Model X vehicles. I used software such as SolidWorks and Catia V5 to create tooling, which improves the seat manufacturing process. I would make CAD designs and 3D print the hardware for testing. I also proposed process changes which instilled Lean Six Sigma concepts. My goal was to make the seat assembly lines as efficient as possible by reducing waste, costs and headcount, while improving quality and safety.

What interested you in working at Tesla?

From day one, I was treated like a full-time employee rather than an intern. I was tasked with meaningful projects and my managers had high expectations for me. This was challenging at first, but also extremely rewarding. I knew that my results would have a real impact on both the success of the company and the acceleration of the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Also, the engineers’ desks are right above the production floor. I was able to create designs and immediately test them myself. Having a balance of computer work and human interaction is important to me and meant that I was never stuck in a cubicle all day.

How has what you’ve learned in your classes showed up in your work? And what did you learn during the co-op that you did not know before?

My Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) certification from my first year MCEN 1025: Computer-Aided Design and Fabrication class helped a ton. However, I realized that most learning is done on the job rather than in school. I would say that communication skills were most important during my time at Tesla, but it is something that is not traditionally taught in our classes. Instead, my group projects and club involvement helped me develop this skill.

What advice do you have for other students that may want to pursue a similar opportunity?

I would advise students to be confident in their skills and to apply anywhere and everywhere they would like. However, you can significantly improve your chances of being hired by making genuine connections with employees and hiring managers. Having a strong network is important and ensures that your applications are considered. Make sure to build your social media presence and connect with alumni, professors and students in careers and companies you’re interested in.

Ahmed Ashmaig is an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering co-president of the National Society of Black Engineers Boulder Chapter. He participated in a co-op at Tesla during fall 2021.

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Lynch among AB Nexus grant program fall 2021 award winners

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 20:10:46 +0000

Lynch among AB Nexus grant program fall 2021 award winners Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/09/2021 - 13:10

Seven new grants have been awarded to advance a wide range of projects; momentum builds as AB Nexus continues through its second year.

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Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Martin - unspun named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2021

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 20:20:13 +0000

Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Martin - unspun named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/08/2021 - 13:20

Rachel Leuthauser

Kevin Martin (MechEngr'16)
Header image: unspun jeans

Technology first prototyped in the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Senior Design course has been named one of the Best Inventions of 2021 by TIME Magazine.

Alumnus Kevin Martin’s (MechEngr’16) robotics and apparel company unspun has built a machine that 3D-weaves yarn into a seamless pair of jeans tailored to fit individual buyers. The machine uses topographical weaving to produce the pants in just ten minutes.

Martin hopes the technology will help reduce global carbon emissions by making the design, manufacturing and consumption of apparel intentional.

“The big north star that we kept coming back to is our climate,” Martin said. “Climate change is probably going to be the most pressing issue of our lifetime. Apparel is one of the dirtiest industries in the world because clothing that is never sold ends up in landfills or gets burned. We felt like there was a big opportunity to drive change.”

His company’s mission is to implement sustainable practices to ensure each piece of fabric that goes into making a pair of jeans is not wasted – which means each pair is made-to-order.

Ordering a pair of jeans from unspun starts with a 3D body scan. Customers can use their iPhone to scan themselves. The scan captures 30,000 data points for the robotic weaving machine to create the perfect fit.

The 3-D weaving machine is the technology that was originally developed in Senior Design. Martin, who graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2016, and his unspun co-founders sponsored a 2017 capstone project to build their first prototype.

“I don’t know that unspun would have actually existed without the Senior Design team,” Martin said. “We needed a prototype and they crushed it for us.”

After that capstone project, Martin advanced the prototype with help from a National Science Foundation grant and venture capital investment. Unspun is now on version three of the machine, which is what earned the TIME Best Invention 2021 accolade.

unspun's app that body scans customers for the perfect fit.

“The greatest feeling this year was to unveil the machine for the first time after not being able to talk about the hardware for four or five years,” Martin said. “To say to the world that we have developed this new method of apparel manufacturing called 3D weaving and it works.”

This is the second time unspun has made TIME’s Best Inventions list. The company was also given the honor in 2019 for the software that designs their custom denim jeans.

Martin, who grew up in Colorado Springs, said his interest in robotics started in high school. He built remote control airplanes and created his own version of a drone by attaching cameras to them. He then started a company building upon that drone technology.

At �� Boulder, Martin pivoted the startup company to cable cameras, allowing the system to move around on wires and be safer for indoor filming.

“We came up with this whole plan to sneak into the Idea Forge to test it on the rafters in the evening so hopefully nobody would see us,” Martin said. “I remember sitting on the rafters when Professor Daria Kotys-Schwartz walked by and all I could think about was how much trouble I was going to be in. Instead, she said our robot looked really cool and asked how she could help. She was so supportive.”

Martin’s advice to current mechanical engineering students is to take advantage of that encouraging atmosphere. There are many resources for aspiring entrepreneurs and engineers to plug into.

“Go find those instructors and professors at the university that are doing incredible things,” Martin said. “Share your excitement with them and get their perspective. You do not need to have all ten next steps of your life figured out, but they can help you figure out the next one or two.”

Customers can order a pair of jeans on the unspun website or using the iPhone app. You will need the iPhone app for the body scan. Unspun jeans cost around $200, but Martin said �� affiliates can get 20% off with the code SKOBUFFS.

Kevin Martin's (MechEngr'16) startup earned the accolade for its 3D-weaving machine used to produce a seamless pair of jeans. The technology was first prototyped in the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Senior Design course.

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Nuclear deformation research could advance artificial tissue engineering

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 16:38:33 +0000

Nuclear deformation research could advance artificial tissue engineering Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/02/2021 - 09:38

Professor Corey Neu and Benjamin Seelbinder's (PhDMech’19) work, now published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, looks at how cells adapt to their environment and how a mechanical environment influences a cell. Their research has the potential to tackle major health obstacles.

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As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 20:24:20 +0000

As Los Angeles traffic slowed amid pandemic, researchers gained air pollution insights Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/30/2021 - 13:24

A team of scientists led by the Department of Mechanical Engineering are using the once-in-a-lifetime event to answer an unusual question: How much do vehicles in a city like Los Angeles add to the ammonia emissions that can hang in the air and sicken residents?

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Alumni Spotlight: Elle Sandifer - Working with Sanergy to address international sanitation challenges

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:17:06 +0000

Alumni Spotlight: Elle Sandifer - Working with Sanergy to address international sanitation challenges Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/30/2021 - 09:17

Elle Sandifer (MechEngr'20)

Elle Sandifer is a 2020 graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, she worked as a process engineer with Sanergy to address urban sanitation challenges in Nairobi, Kenya.

Can you tell us about Sanergy and your work with the company?

Sanergy is a startup that addresses the lack of sanitation services and waste management in Nairobi, Kenya. The company franchises FreshLife latrines to communities in Nairobi and then organizes the regular collection of the waste from these latrines. Rather than simply disposing of it, the waste is taken to a processing facility where 100% of it is used to make products that can be used by the local community. Some of the waste is processed using a Black Soldier Fly bio-waste treatment method that results in larvae animal feed. The rest is mixed with agricultural waste from the surrounding area to be composted and sold back to Kenyan farmers as fertilizer.

My time with Sanergy was spent as a process engineer, which I found to be incredibly interesting and purposeful. The team I worked with was focused on the expansion of the company. We completed conceptual designs of future, optimized processing facilities while looking to improve current processes and technologies. As Sanergy is a start-up that is rapidly expanding, I was thrown into the mix immediately. A company like this means more responsibility and autonomy right off the bat, but it also creates space for innovation and welcomes learning on the job. My team’s work moved quickly and we designed three separate facilities in the time I worked there. Working with Sanergy was a great mix of technical engineering and impact-focused work. I had great co-workers and mentors and am so grateful for my time there.

What did your path from the University of Colorado Boulder to Sanergy look like? Are there experiences you had at �� Boulder that helped you prepare for your work after graduation?

I was first introduced to engineering for developing communities through Engineers Without Borders (EWB) during my first year at �� Boulder. There are multiple teams on campus and I highly recommend checking them out. While EWB is student-led and can be slow moving due to the travel limitations of college break schedule, the drive within the team to do the best work for our partner community in Nepal had a big impact on me. My time working with EWB inspired me to figure out how I could use my degree in service to others.

Another huge part of my path was a research opportunity that I participated in through the Discovery Learning Apprenticeship program. There are all kinds of research projects to choose from and I focused on applying for development-based projects. I worked with the United States Agency of International Development’s Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership, assisting a PhD student in her study of collaboration on water projects in East Africa. I absolutely loved the position and continued to work with her after graduation.

Funding resources at �� Boulder:

"A very special thank you to the SEE Student Grant Program and Kat McConnell, without which my experience with Sanergy would have not been possible." -Elle Sandifer

Finding a job or internship in international development may mean that you could be working for free. During the three months before I was hired by Sanergy, I worked as an unpaid fellow, an opportunity that was made possible by the SEE Grant. I also completed an unpaid internship with a great Portland-based organization called Green Empowerment while working as a barista. This is a difficult part of working in development, but alternative funding sources are always out there. Applying for jobs internationally can seem like a long shot, but organizations are really just looking for passionate people. I had no connection to Sanergy or Kenya when I applied, so if you find something interesting out there, go for it!

What advice would you have for a current or prospective �� Boulder student interested in working with organizations that are doing work related to global health and the environment?

An engineering degree is powerful to have and can be used to have a real impact on problems directly affecting people and the climate. There are more technical organizations than you think working on these problems and I encourage you to seek them out when looking for internships and job opportunities. My biggest advice would be to get involved with things you are interested in outside of coursework while you are still in school. Universities have a really unique environment with innovative projects happening in all spaces and there are many opportunities that are only for current students. This will make you a stronger candidate for jobs, but more importantly, it will help you find your passion within engineering.

I made a list of organizations or programs that I have either been a part of myself, worked closely with someone who was involved or just think are doing great work. Places that I have used as job search engines to find positions in these fields are included as well. This is not a comprehensive list, but I hope it can give students who want to explore a place to start. Please feel free to reach out to me via email or LinkedIn if you have any questions or want to chat about getting involved at �� Boulder!

Email Eleanor Sandifer Connect on LinkedIn

Elle Sandifer is a 2020 graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, she worked as a process engineer with Sanergy to address urban sanitation challenges in Nairobi, Kenya.

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