Category: News

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 […]

Subrata Roy, a University of Florida professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering has been selected for induction into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame for his pioneering work developing plasma‑based technologies that address challenges in areas including health care, food safety, water treatment and space exploration. Roy’s inventions have been patented, commercialized and applied beyond the laboratory, leading […]

This year, five MAE students were selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). This fellowship distinguishes students from around the nation and supports their graduate studies and research pursuits. The group includes outgoing undergraduates as well as established graduate students, highlighting the excellence of UF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering […]

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering proudly congratulates our Interim Chair, Douglas E. Spearot, on his induction into the prestigious University of Florida Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars (ADTS). This outstanding recognition highlights Dr. Spearot’s lasting impact as an educator, researcher, and mentor, and reflects his unwavering commitment to student success and excellence in […]

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering gathered students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends for its annual Awards Celebration in April, an evening dedicated to celebrating achievement, service, and the MAE community. The banquet represents months of coordination and teamwork across the department and beyond. Teams and individuals throughout the MAE community worked together to […]

Eunice Chung Carter, an academic advisor with MAE Undergraduate Student Services, was recognized with a Superior Accomplishment Award for going above and beyond in demonstrating her commitment to students. When her team faced staffing challenges, Carter carved out time to schedule 175 course sections for the summer and fall terms while balancing her primary responsibilities. […]

Imagine a cluster of drones swarming above a dense thicket of trees, eyeing its way through unfamiliar topography to locate a missing person amid unpredictable weather.   Each drone has its own complex communication and computing capabilities. But as that weather starts to sour against the clock, the rescue mission requires group optimization, not a single […]

With a black cloth draped over months of work, anticipation built earlier this month as the University of Florida’s Solar Gators prepared to reveal the next evolution of their solar-powered race car.  When the cover finally dropped, applause and possibility filled the room as Flare — sleeker, larger and reengineered — marked the team’s latest […]

As a boy in India, Anil Rajvanshi often found himself at the train station intently observing locomotives and dreaming.  “I just would stand in front of this huge steam engine and be mesmerized,” recalled Rajvanshi, Ph.D. “I thought that the best thing in the world would be an engine driver. And then I found this […]

Many of us remember a mentor whose influence stayed with us long after the lessons ended. Someone whose guidance continues to shape how we think, work and lead. For many doctoral students in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida, SA Sherif, Ph.D., has been that steady voice throughout their […]