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Mechanical Engineering Home >Department Faculty Search: Research Areas

Energy
There has been a recent resurgence of interest in developing new technologies that can exploit the untapped potential of fluid power. Fluid power offers promise for substantial improvements in the energy efficiency of heavy machinery and passenger vehicles, and for compact tools and robots that can operate for long periods of time without external power. As the lead institution for the NSF-sponsored Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power, our Department is at the forefront of this work. We are focusing on three goals: improving energy efficiency; expanding the use of fluid power in transportation; and developing portable, wearable and autonomous fluid-power devices. This work could lead to energy savings of $10 to $20 billion per year and the development of products such as such as hydraulic hybrid vehicles, un-tethered medical and rehabilitation devices, wearable high-powered tools and mobile robots. The ERC includes seven universities, three nonprofit institutions and fifty member companies. For more information see www.fperc.org.

Medical Devices
Medical Devices is a major area of research for our Department. With the addition of the Medical Devices Center, launched this past summer, we are in a position to accelerate interdiciplinary research and development of new medical devices. Our faculty are using their expertise to create new medical devices for diagnosing and treating cancer and cardiovascular, ocular, urologic diseases; and artificial arteries, coronea and other tissues for eventual transplantation and use in the body. The proximity of the University’s medical school and the presence of more than 500 medical device companies in the Twin Cities area makes this an especially vibrant home for research in medical device engineering.

Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline with revolutionary potential for producing new materials, improving energy efficiency, and creating new disgnostic tools and therapies for medical applications. Researchers in the Mechanical Engineering Department are working in all of these areas. We are using plasmas to produce nanoscale coatings with improved hardness and wear resistance. We are exploring applications of highly uniform semiconductor nanocrystals, produced using a process invented in the department, as building blocks for more efficient lighting and solar cells. And, we are working on new nanoparticle-based medical imaging techniques and cancer therapies. Concerns have been raised about possible unanticipated health effects associated with exposure to such nanomaterials. Our department has one of the world’s leading programs on the measurement and behavior of gas-borne nanoparticles, and we are using that expertise to study their health and environmental impacts.