Wandke’s entrepreneurial and innovative teaching recognized with KEEN fellowship

MechSE prof. Kevin Wandke was one of just 30 educators nationwide to win an Engineering Unleashed Fellowship through KEEN, a program of the Kern Family Foundation. He will use the grant to continue his work developing a framework for AI chatbots to function as stakeholders in some engineering design courses.

mechse.illinois.edu

A highly tunable electro-optic isolator for signal routing in photonic integrated circuits

MechSE Prof. Gaurav Bahl and his group have developed an electric-optic isolator for unidirectional light propagation. The compact, low-power and highly tunable design makes it ideal for optical signal routing in data centers.

mechse.illinois.edu

Three of Bradshaw's students recognized for authoring best papers

Mechanical engineering PhD students Shahzad Yousaf, Ahmed Afifi, and Viyan Bade were each recognized for authoring some of the top research papers among their peers. They are all advised by MechSE Prof. Craig Bradshaw.

mechse.illinois.edu

From the lab to the world stage: Illinois cooling technology helps FIFA and Houston beat the heat

This summer, SolarMantle, a startup spun out of Prof. Lili Cai’s research, partnered with the FIFA Sustainability Team and the City of Houston to deploy its passive cooling film on public infrastructure ahead of one of the world’s largest sporting events.

mechse.illinois.edu

A material in Spanish World Cup star Pedri's cleats could also repair your colon

A microstructure technology designed by an engineer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is making strides on and off the pitch.

fastcompany.com

New electrochemical device targets climate change by sucking CO2 out of air – News Bureau

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Engineers have developed a new way to pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere using a process similar to charging and discharging a battery — an advance that could help address the planet’s excess CO2 problem.

news.illinois.edu

Cai wins award to go commercial with radiative cooling coating

Thanks to an award from the Illinois Proof of Concept program, MechSE Prof. Lili Cai will be able to advance her efforts to commercially deploy the high-performance

mechse.illinois.edu

Interdisciplinary student collaboration seeks to mitigate life-threatening condition with PedalPro

PedalPro is a low-cost pedal device that can be used by immobilized hospital patients while in bed. The adjustable pedaling platform allows patients to actuate their legs at regular intervals to avoid the onset of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can develop in the legs during long periods of immobility. The device was developed by several Senior Capstone Design teams in collaboration with Carle Illinois College of Medicine students.

mechse.illinois.edu

Robotics, autonomy, and controls: Assistant Professor Justin Yim

Mobile robots have the potential to be uniquely useful tools and teammates, but currently have trouble getting around in many environments. Cluttered living rooms, ladders, and other spaces humans easily navigate remain challenging for robots. Natural environments like intertidal zones, cliffs, and trees are even less accessible to robots. In many cases, robots are physically incapable of consistently traversing complicated terrain regardless of control scheme due to force and power constraints, insufficient endurance and range, or insufficient control bandwidth. MechSE Assistant Professor Justin Yim's research enables high-performance locomotion in robots and investigates the underlying science by concurrently designing mechanisms that exhibit reduced-order dynamics and advantageous energy flow with controllers that leverage these mechanisms’ natural dynamics. By improving robot locomotion, robots will be able to accompany humans wherever they go and even reach places humans cannot.

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Illinois Grainger Tech Takes the Field of the World Cup

World Cup players will wear friction-engineered shoes made with microstructure technology from the lab of Illinois Grainger Engineering professor Bill King.

grainger.illinois.edu

Seven ME graduate students named Mavis Future Faculty Fellows

MF3 Fellows in The Grainger College of Engineering have an opportunity to develop and enhance their skills in the core areas of research, teaching, and mentoring through various professional development activities in preparation for a successful academic career.

mechse.illinois.edu

Illinois researchers discover new mechanism to suppress frost spreading

New research from the lab of Prof. Nenad Miljkovic establishes a clear link between microscopic ice bridge behavior and macroscopic system performance, providing a new framework for anti-frosting design in energy systems. Their work challenges a long-held view that

mechse.illinois.edu

Distinguished alum’s career path follows vision to improve human potential

Kendra Sharp (PhD TAM 2001), currently the Dean of the School of Engineering at Santa Clara University, was recognized as one of the 2026 MechSE Distinguished Alumni.

mechse.illinois.edu

Hovakimyan recognized by Illinois Grainger Engineering for research-to-innovation

MechSE Prof. Naira Hovakimyan was selected for a Dean's Award for Early Innovation for Professor for her work at the early stages of the innovation life cycle to turn research into products that benefit the world.

mechse.illinois.edu

Distinguished alum’s business leadership has global reach

Frank Sanders (BSME 1990), the Corporate Vice President & General Manager of Global Supply Chain Operations for Intel, was named one of the 2026 MechSE Distinguished Alumni.

mechse.illinois.edu

Copper cold plates could slash data-center energy usage

Computer chips are becoming increasingly high powered, which means they produce more heat. This, combined with the increase in data centers, is putting a strain on the energy grid. For the past 40–50 years, computer chips have been cooled by circulating air, but air is insufficient for dissipating the heat produced by modern chips. MechSE Prof. Nenad Miljkovic, Behnood Bazmi, and team say liquid direct-to-chip cooling could offer a more effective solution.

mechse.illinois.edu

Smith recognized for achievements in research

Associate Prof. Kyle Smith was one of this year's recipients of The Grainger College of Engineering Dean's Award for Excellence in Research.

mechse.illinois.edu

MechSE postdoc named a top advisor in Illinois Grainger Engineering

Vish Ganesan, a postdoctoral research associate in Founder Professor Nenad Miljkovic’s Energy Transport Research Laboratory (ETRL), was selected as one of the top 10% of advisors in The Grainger College of Engineering.

mechse.illinois.edu

First-ever Human-Centered Engineering Symposium a fitting platform for MechSE’s breadth of research

Several MechSE faculty, including Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler, Blake Johnson andJustin Yim participated in the first Human-Centered Engineering Symposium, held in March at the campus' Siebel Center for Design.

mechse.illinois.edu

Lee wins TechnipFMC Fellowship for sustainable energy research

Mechanical engineering PhD student Beomhui Lee was recently awarded the TechnipFMC Fellowship from the University of Illinois for the 2026-27 academic year. Lee is advised by MechSE profs. Lili Cai and Jiajun He.

mechse.illinois.edu

Hsiao-Wecksler awarded for research-to-product success

Prof. Liz Hsiao-Wecksler received a 2026 Dean’s Award for Innovation Impact from The Grainger College of Engineering for her work at the early stages of the innovation life cycle to turn her research into products that benefit the world.

mechse.illinois.edu