Category: News

Recognition for Excellence The University of Florida Industrial Training and Assessment Center (UF-ITAC), housed in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and directed by S.A. Sherif, Ph.D., has been named the 2026 U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Training and Assessment Center of the Year, the highest recognition awarded among ITACs nationwide. The Center of […]

University of Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor Amor Menezes has been appointed to the Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The committee brings together experts from academia, industry and government to examine emerging biotechnologies and their potential to […]

When astronauts travel deeper into space, every drop of fuel becomes critical, and keeping those fuels stable for months or even years is one of the biggest engineering challenges facing future missions. Now, University of Florida researchers have uncovered a surprising behavior in boiling liquids that could help solve that challenge. The findings, published July […]

A cross-disciplinary research team led by the University of Florida won a prestigious federal grant on Wednesday to develop an autonomous artificial intelligence platform that could fundamentally change how new materials are discovered.   Selected from more than 5,000 applications, the project is one of 278 chosen under the U.S. Department of Energy’s highly competitive Genesis Mission Request […]

Curtis Taylor, Ph.D., joins the 2026 class of Senior Members of the National Academy of Inventors – one of the highest distinctions presented within the organization. A pioneer in both nanomechanics and engineering education, Taylor leads the Advanced Structures (AS) and Immersive Engineering Education (IEE) laboratories simultaneously. The scope of his research spans the study […]

Year after year, engineering students at the University of Florida face a similar challenge: internships can shape their future, but they’re unsure of which opportunities will match their goals, abilities and emerging sense of self as engineers. A new artificial intelligence system, developed by UF researchers, aims to make the decision easier. Pro-CaRE, created by […]

Looking Beyond the Surface Some engineering problems are easy to see. Others remain hidden deep within rocket engines, medical devices, and components so small that conventional tools cannot physically reach them. Those invisible challenges are exactly what fascinates Hitomi Yamaguchi Greenslet, Ph.D. “If I ask you to put your finger inside a hypodermic needle, you […]

One of my earliest memories is looking at the moon as a child in Nairobi, Kenya, and wondering, “Why is the moon following me?” Space became the ultimate canvas for my curiosity. The moment that transformed that curiosity into a mission came in 2011, when I watched the final space shuttle launch live in Florida. […]

Dr. S.A. Sherif, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and MAE Excellence Term Professor, received the 2026 IAHE Rudolph A. Erren Award for leadership in the thermochemical area of hydrogen production, as well as hydrogen transmission, distribution, and storage. The award was bestowed on Sherif by the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE) at the […]

Mechanical Engineering Experience If you are an engineer, there is a good chance that you still remember your Capstone project. Capstone is the culminating experience of an undergraduate engineer’s time in MAE – it is an opportunity for students to combine all of the practical and theoretical knowledge that they have accumulated to create a […]

Elementary school students across Florida are using robotic fish to learn one of science’s most fundamental skills: asking questions. A partnership between the University of Florida Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Thompson Earth Systems Institute at the Florida Museum of Natural History is developing hands-on classroom kits that help students investigate scientific concepts through […]

Students participating in the University of Florida’s Center for Precollegiate Education and Training (CPET) recently took part in a hands-on rocketry experience led in collaboration with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Instructional Professor Matthew J. Traum, Ph.D. The activity gave students the opportunity to design, build, and launch model rockets while exploring […]

For Grace Tran, the sky is no limit. A mechanical engineering student in the combined master’s program, Grace’s career interests are in advanced robotic systems where human interaction, health, and impact are central. She is a long-time member of Gator Motorsports, where she began as a brake system engineer and worked her way up to […]

MAE alumni Juan Santiago and Scott Smith were inducted into the National Academy of Engineering – one of the highest professional accolades an engineer can receive – for their substantial contributions to academia, industry, and the world. Juan Santiago Juan G. Santiago, Ph.D., is the Charles Lee Powell Foundation professor and the vice chair of […]

For Yu Wang, Ph.D., engineering has always been about more than technology. It’s about people. Long before receiving one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for early-career faculty, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Wang was fascinated by a simple question: How can we teach autonomous systems to be safer, more reliable, and more beneficial […]