Senior Design Day 2026 News / April 14, 2026 Projects span a wide range of applications, from autonomous robotic systems to consumer devices and environmental testing tools. This year’s projects included GAIA, an autonomous robot that creates field graphics by bending grass without paint, a multi-functional robotic gripper designed for adaptable household use and a testing chamber to evaluate... Read More
Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecture with Joel W. Burdick News / November 6, 2025 In a deep dive into the challenges of autonomy and control, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics hosted Joel W. Burdick from the California Institute of Technology as the Fall 2025 Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecturer. Speaking to full auditorium, Burdick presented his talk, “Robotic Predictions are Hard, Especially About the Future,” exploring how autonomous... Read More
Senior Design Day (2025) News / April 28, 2025 Senior Design is the capstone of the practice-integrated mechanical engineering and applied mechanics curriculum. The two-semester senior design sequence challenges students to bring theory, skills, general knowledge, and inventive energy to bear on substantial engineering problems. This year, eleven teams showcased the wide variety of mechanical engineering. Projects included a... Read More
Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecture with Gareth H. McKinley News / November 20, 2024 In a exploration of fluid dynamics, the MEAM department invited Gareth McKinley from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to speak at the Fall 2024 Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecture. To a full auditorium, McKinley presented his talk “Novel Passive and Active Approaches to Fluid Friction Reduction using Polymers & Plastrons,” unraveling innovative strategies for reducing... Read More
MEAM Welcomes Back Alumni for Career Panel News / November 18, 2024 We were thrilled to welcome five Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) alumni back to campus for our recent Alumni Career Panel as part of the MEAM Career Development Series. This semester, we heard from Christopher Amendano of NextEra Energy, Kathie Jin of Tesla, Alexandra Marcus of 3M, Sarah Pasquale... Read More
MEAM Hosts Symposium in Honor of Mary C. Boyce News / May 1, 2024 The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) recently hosted the Boyce Symposium on April 18 in honor of Mary C. Boyce, recipient of the 2024 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering. Boyce, a professor of mechanical engineering, Provost Emerita of Columbia University, and Dean Emerita of Columbia Engineering,... Read More
2024 Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecture News / April 8, 2024 In a captivating fusion of art and engineering, the recent Tedori-Callinan Distinguished Lecture welcomed Glaucio Paulino, the Margareta E. Augustine Professor of Engineering from Princeton University. With his talk “Origami,” Paulino delved into the mesmerizing realm of geometric mechanics, unraveling the impact of geometry on behavior and properties, particularly within... Read More
Penn’s Fluid Dynamics Symposium: Breaking Waves, Forging Connections News / December 11, 2023 In November 2023, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) played a pivotal role in hosting a satellite workshop preceding the American Physical Society conference in Washington, DC. The workshop’s primary objective centered on spotlighting current research and opportunities at the crossroads of environmental and biological fluid dynamics. The aim was to... Read More
