What's Current in

Mechanical Engineering

The open back of a smartphone shows lithium-ion batteries inside
Photo Credit
Tyler Lastovich / Unsplash
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from cell phones to laptops

Lithium shows its metal, paving the way for better batteries

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New microCT machine unites biologists and materials scientists
concept illustration of robot collective acting like a tool
Photo Credit
Brian Long/UCSB
Disk-shaped robots can act collectively to accomplish tasks such as lifting and manipulating objects, or supporting weight

How to get a robot collective to act like a smart material

Researchers solve a fluid mechanics mystery
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At blue economy summit, ocean experts and stakeholders converge
image of lab instrument
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
The scanning ultrafast electron microscope in the Bolin Liao lab

Researchers create the first ever visualization of photoexcited charges traveling across the interface of two semiconductor materials
two women on stage
Photo Credit
James Badham
Yangying Zhu (right), assistant professor in the UCSB Mechanical Engineering Department, receives her award certificate from ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Evelyn Wang at the National Academy of Sciences, in Washington, D.C.

Making desalination more efficient, by way of renewable energy
lfireflies looking like yellow circles in the early evening
A long-exposure shot of fireflies in Thailand

Rhythms of nature: understanding synchrony in oscillatory systems
concept illustration of turning heat into electricity

Investigating the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films
young woman smiling
Photo Credit
Courtesy
College of Creative Studies biology student Ashley Yeh '24

Creative Studies student earns coveted Knight-Hennessy Scholarship for neuroscience
the cellular development of an embryonic tooth
Photo Credit
Neha Pincha Shroff and Pengfei Xu
Tooth epithelium (cell surface; yellow) and mesenchyme (cell surface; magenta). Proliferating cells (cyan) expand the tissue, generating a mechanical pressure at the tissue center that drives the formation of the main tooth signaling center or organizer, the enamel knot.

Pressure determines which embryonic cells become ‘organizers’
concept photo of a green building amid regular buildings

This adaptive roof tile can cut both heating and cooling costs
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Nine early-career faculty members receive 2023-24 Hellman Fellowships
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