Celebrating Student Excellence
We are proud to announce that UMaine 2024 Co-Valedictorian is Lydia Gilmore, a graduating senior in mechanical engineering (Read more). She is joined by two of her peers, Sam Morton as the Outstanding Senior and Aaron Howell as the Hovey award recipient. We also celebrate the achievements of our graduating master’s and PhD students with Dariush Bodaghi (PhD) as the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Student in mechanical engineering. Pictured L-R (Lydia, Sam, Aaron, and Dariush).
Showcasing Research at UMaine Student Symposium
Nearly two dozen graduate and undergraduate students in mechanical engineering showcased their research endeavors at the recent annual UMaine Student Symposium.
Offering a New Concentration in Offshore Wind Energy
Starting from the spring 2024 semester, our undergraduate students will have the opportunity to pursue a concentration in Offshore Wind Energy in addition to the one in Aerospace Engineering. The new approved concentration complements the existing graduate concentration in the same area and supports the continuing growth of our research and academic programs tied to floating offshore wind energy and the associated technologies. Students with interest in the new concentration are encouraged to contact Dr. Amrit Verma.
Understanding Behavior of Deforming Rocks
With support from the National Science Foundation, Prof. Senthil Vel is collaborating with colleagues in UMaine School of Earth and Climate Sciences and several international researchers to better understand and quantify the influence of tectonic plate movement on stress and flow laws in rocks. Read more
Extending Research in Wearable Robotics
Through a $432,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging of NIH, Dr. Babak Hejrati and his research team will continue their innovative research on wearable robotics for gait training of older adults. Read more
Expanding Opportunities in Offshore Wind Energy
Dr. Amrit Verma has received a $292,000 award from the Norwegian government to partner with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in developing new collaborative learning and research opportunities between UMaine and NTNU in a rapidly advancing field of offshore wind energy. Dr. Verma’s collaborators include several faculty in Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering Technology at UMaine. Read More
Decarbonizing Through Engineering
Through a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Dr. Justin Lapp and his co-investigators will be conducting research aimed at Solar Decarbonization of Paraffin Dehydrogenation Through Particle Heat Carriers. The light olefin industry accounts for over $300B in annual worldwide sales and requires large amounts of process heat, currently provided by fossil fuel combustion. In this project, a method is investigated to replace those fossil fuels with concentrated solar energy. Solid ceramic particles, coated in catalyst, will be heated by focused sunlight to 900 Celsius or higher, then will be used to heat and catalyze a flow of paraffins for conversion to light olefins. The project team will design, fabricate, and test catalyst pellets. They will build and simulate a prototype proof-of-concept reactor. Read More
Empowering Engineering Students
In recognition of the importance of making college education more accessible to promising low-income students in Maine, NSF has awarded a $750,000 grant to Dr. Alex Friess and his co-investigators in support of a project for Building Bridges for Engineering Students. Read More
Transforming Engineering Education at UMaine
We celebrated the grand opening of the Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center on August 24th. In addition to housing the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ferland EEDC provides a state-of-the-art facility for transforming engineering education at UMaine. Read More