Mechanical Engineering- University of Michigan

10/23/2026

Last Friday, we kicked off our Homecoming festivities with a breakfast honoring our 2026 ME Alumni Merit Award Winner, Laurie Transou (BSE '90; MSE '91)!

During the event, Laurie participated in a fireside chat with three of our ME undergraduate students on the MRacing Formula SAE team. They discussed Laurie's career, the automotive industry, advice for mechanical engineering students, and so much more!

In 2026, Laurie retired as chief program engineer for the Ford Mustang, one of the longest continuously produced nameplates in automotive history. During her 30-year career at Ford, she mentored more than 100 women engineers and reached thousands more through professional development events she helped organize.

Thank you to Laurie, Brooke Brown, Doga Kurt, and Yashish Manohar for taking part in our Homecoming Breakfast and Fireside Chat!

👉🔗 Learn more about Laurie's career: https://bit.ly/47VimuF

10/22/2026

Want to relive ME Homecoming? You can now check out all our photos and save your favorite memories from the ME Homecoming Open House photo album! 🎉💛

📸 🔗 View the full album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD8avT

10/21/2026

Thank you to all our alumni, students, faculty, and staff who joined us in G.G. Brown to celebrate Homecoming last Friday!

From our Homecoming Breakfast and Fireside Chat to our Open House and Lab Tours, it was a great day of celebrating the Michigan Mechanical Engineering community.

No matter how far you go, you’ll always have a home in Ann Arbor!💙💛

10/19/2026

Join Maggie Zhang for a day in her life as a University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering PhD student! 〽️💙

Maggie is a third-year PhD student advised by Talia Moore, U-M assistant professor of mechanical engineering and robotics. She works in Moore's Evolution and Motion of Biology and Robotics (EMBiR) Lab, where her research focuses on understanding biomechanics for implementation into modeling software and robotics.

From Maggie's morning routine to time in the lab and winding down after work, take a peek into the life of a ME PhD student!

10/15/2026

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded $600,000 to University of Michigan Mechanical Engineers to explore the use of vortex acoustic waves to improve the efficiency of underwater communication.

Long-range communication plays a critical role for the U.S. Navy in operating underwater vehicles (AUVs) and maintaining two-way communication between vessels and divers, preserving safety in often harsh conditions.

The U-M project builds upon ME Associate Professor Chengzhi Shi's earlier research, which demonstrated that by using the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of vortex acoustic beams, multiple signals could be layered, or multiplexed, and transmitted at a single sound frequency. However, this solution for underwater communication was only suitable for ideal environments.

Acoustic iso-propagation vortices (IPVs), vortex waves that maintain nearly-constant size across independent OAM channels, offer a potential solution.

With a smaller beam size than the higher orders of conventional OAM beams, acoustic IPVs are able to transmit through turbulent settings without interfering with other signals. The lack of interference means acoustic IPVs better preserve each channel's identity, simplifying reception and demultiplexing.

“If successful, this research will lead to reliable, high-speed underwater communication in realistic ocean environments, which is important for the Navy to maintain its role in global security,” Shi said. “The long-term goal of this research is to establish advanced underwater communication and maritime sensing capabilities unprecedented in existing technologies.”

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Michigan Engineering

10/15/2026

Current U-M Mechanical Engineering graduate students — join us from 11 am to 12pm next Thursday, October 22, for Effective Networking: Building and Sustaining Connections!

In this workshop, CEW+ staff will share strategies for using networking to advance your career development and personal goals.

Attendees will learn foundational skills for building connections, adapting to different settings, and navigating networking do's and don'ts.

👉🔗 Don't miss out! RSVP today to save your seat: https://myumi.ch/G7eJ1

10/14/2026

Calling all current University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering students!

Are you looking to learn more about emerging technologies in the auto industry? Wondering if it's a career path worth exploring? Come join us for an engaging session featuring Leggett Dynamics from 11am to 2pm on Wednesday, October 21!

Discover how this global, technology-focused company creates intelligent comfort and motion systems that transform vehicle seats and interiors into more comfortable, connected experiences.

Explore products, career opportunities, and an industry shaping how people move, feel, and interact with their vehicles. Bring your curiosity and resumes!

Food will be provided, and prizes will be awarded during this session!

👉🔗 No RSVP required. See the full event listing: https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/event/leggett-dynamics-informational-session/

10/14/2026

Chengzhi Shi, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering, is leading a research team that was recently awarded a $3.74 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a minimally invasive "vortex ultrasound" device for the treatment of pulmonary embolisms.

For a faster, safer way to treat pulmonary embolism—potentially deadly blood clots stuck in the lungs—engineers and vascular surgeons are joining forces to develop a minimally invasive “vortex ultrasound” device.

The tiny ultrasound source will be mounted on the end of a catheter, to be delivered to the clot through blood vessels. Once there, it will send out twisting sound waves to break up the clot without damaging the blood vessel walls. The team believes that the swirling waves break up the clot’s internal structure more quickly by creating bubbles within it.

“With this approach, we hope to treat clots in the lungs more quickly and safely while potentially providing an alternative to open-chest surgery for severe pulmonary embolism,” said principal investigator and associate professor of Mechanical Engineering- University of Michigan Chengzhi Sh.

Learn more ⬇️

10/13/2026

It's Homecoming week! Join U-M Mechanical Engineering this Friday, October 16, from 2-4 pm for our Homecoming Open House!

Open to all, the Homecoming Open House is a great opportunity to connect with alumni, tour ME research labs, and learn about the world of Mechanical Engineering.

Games, photo-ops, raffles for ME swag, and light refreshments will be available for attendees!

👉🔗 We can't wait to see you there! RSVP today: https://myumi.ch/gk17Q

10/08/2026

Meet U-M ME Faculty: Associate Professor Rohini Bala Chandran ⭐⚙️

Bala Chandran leads the Transport and Reaction Engineering for Sustainable Energy (TREE) Lab, where her research focuses on the design, building, and testing of processes and reactors that convert and distinctly store sunlight and renewable electricity in the form of heat and chemical bonds.

👉🔗 Visit the TREE Lab website: https://treelab.engin.umich.edu/