Mechanical engineering

Better surfaces could help dissipate heatHeat transfer in everything from computer chips to powerplants could be improved through new analysis of surface textures.

Sharper ultrasound images could improve diagnosticsNew system developed at MIT allows precise measurements and tracking of disease progression.

Textured surface may boost power output of thin silicon solar cellsMIT team finds new approach to trapping light efficiently in thin-film silicon solar cells.

Teaching self-assembling structures a new trickMIT researchers produce 3-D configurations that could lead to new microchips and other devices.

Mechanical engineering’s condiment-bottle coating gives waste the slipMIT $100K competition runner-up LiquiGlide developed out of Varanasi group

In the World: MIT-designed cooler preserves tuberculosis drugs, records dosesA simple cooler could help patients battle antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis.

Crowding causes cells to produce an orderly matrix of moleculesMaking proteins stand in line could lead to more lifelike lab tests.

Device may inject a variety of drugs without using needlesJet-injected drugs could improve patient compliance, reduce accidental needle sticks.

Oxygen-separation membranes could aid in CO2 reductionCeramic membranes may reduce carbon dioxide emissions from gas and coal-fired powerplants.

Department of Mechanical Engineering's Toy Lab 'PLAYsents' student-built prototypesIn 2.00b, students focus on their inner child.

Entrepreneurial students dive into product design and developmentJoint MIT-RISD course yields concepts from iPad-friendly backpacks to waste-free sugar.

Whirr, click, hum: Robots go at it in 2.007 finaleCompetition concludes mechanical design class, unleashing a wide variety of spinning, pumping and striking robots.

Woodie Flowers, a pioneer of hands-on engineering educationFlowers and his former student, David Wallace, have created a fun, teamwork-based approach to learning the art of mechanical design.

New technique predictably generates complex, wavy shapesMay help improve drug delivery and explain natural patterns from brain folds to bell peppers.

Through a glass, clearlyMIT researchers find a way to make glass that’s anti-fogging, self-cleaning and free of glare.

New method to prevent undersea ice clogsSurface coatings developed by MIT researchers could inhibit buildup of methane hydrates that can block deep-sea oil and gas wells.

Hybrid copper-gold nanoparticles convert CO2May reduce greenhouse gas emissions

MIT students teach hands-on learning abroadMISTI Global Teaching Labs attracts students looking to share the Institute's unique approach to science and engineering education.

Shifting sandsNew model predicts how sand and other granular materials flow.

Moving microfluidics from the lab bench to the factory floorThe Center for Polymer Microfabrication designs manufacturing processes for a new generation of diagnostic tools.

A new dimension for solar energyInnovative 3-D designs from an MIT team can more than double the solar power generated from a given area.

Buckle inInspired by a toy, the ‘buckliball’ — a collapsible structure fabricated from a single piece of material — represents a new class of 3-D, origami-like structures.

Calculating the cost of advanced manufacturingThe Environmentally Benign Manufacturing group studies the life cycle of new technologies.

Catching some rays — lots of themNew MIT design for a metamaterial could be far more efficient at capturing sunlight than existing solar cells.