Mechanical Engineering

Drone maker hurt by US-China rift, opening door to US rivals

Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about the challenges of using drones for commercial purposes and about American perceptions of DJI, a China-based drone manufacturer.

a trapezoid with gray dots on the left and colored dots on the right representing atoms in a disordered material

Using stress to shape microlevel structures

A new study describes how external forces drive the rearrangement of individual particles in disordered solids, enabling new ways to imbue materials with unique mechanical properties.

‘Nanocardboard’ flyers could serve as Martian atmospheric probes

As NASA plans to launch its next Mars rover, Perseverance, this summer, Penn Engineers are now testing their ‘nanocardboard flyers’ ability to lift payloads.

A robot resembling a toy car attached to a pole turns round and round over a surface covered in hydrogel.

New scavenger technology allows robots to ‘eat’ metal for energy

Penn Engineering researchers’ new metal-air scavenger vehicle gets energy from breaking chemical bonds in the aluminum surface it travels over, rather than from batteries.

The Origami Mask Project's engineers are designing DIY face masks for COVID-19

Shu Yang of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about the The Origami Mask Project, which is developing simple, easy DIY face masks.

Yumin Gao, Leo Li, Minhal Dhanjy, Darsham Bhosale, Kateryna Kharenko and Ryan Goethals (clockwise from top left) pose with their prototypes and trophies.

Scrap metal-powered lights win Y-Prize 2020

The winning team of this year’s Y-Prize, an invention competition in which entrants are challenged to pitch an innovative business plan for a technology developed at Penn Engineering, Metal Light, proposes technology to provide illumination for houses not connected to electrical grids.

an audience in a lecture hall watching a speaker give a powerpoint presentation

Future collaborators and scientific pioneers at the Women in STEM symposium

Graduate students and faculty across Penn met to share their work and discuss solutions for issues faced by women in STEM.

Gif of water moving across a microscope plate, leaving behind several particles

Looking to mud to study how particles become sticky

A collaboration of geophysicists and fluid mechanics experts led to a fundamental new insight into how tiny ‘bridges’ help particles of all kinds form aggregates.

Hand holding a magnifying glass over back of disassembled smartphone

Engineers collaborate to create electroadhesive grippers

A collaborative team has developed a method for electroadhesion—which exploits the same phenomenon as static cling—to manipulate microscale objects.

Kathie Jin adjusts her helmet inside a Penn Electric Racing car.

Kathie Jin races towards the future with Penn Electric Racing

As the mechanical co-lead and operations lead for Penn Electric Racing (PER), a Formula SAE Electric Racing team, Engineering junior Kathie Jin leads a group of eighty students to design, build and race electric cars.

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