Mechanics of Snow

ME Course Column: Mechanics of Snow

March 17, 2022

MCEN 4228/5228: Mechanics of Snow motivates students to look at natural materials in an analytical way. The idea behind the course is to teach students the science behind certain phenomena by looking at the fundamentals of snow and ice from the atomic level to the mechanics of the snowpack.

Aspero Medical micro-textured balloon

New medical balloon technology aims to improve endoscopy success

Aug. 24, 2021

Professor Mark Rentschler's Boulder-based company will seek FDA approval after receiving a patent for its leading-edge medical balloon technology.

Goldfish

Engineers uncover the secrets of fish fins

Aug. 12, 2021

New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder has uncovered the engineering secrets behind what makes fish fins so strong yet flexible. The team’s insights could one day lead to new designs for robotic surgical tools or even airplane wings that change their shape with the push of a button.

Rocky Mountains

2020-21 Rocky Mountain Mechanics Seminar Series

The Rocky Mountain Seminar Series provides CU Boulder faculty, staff and students with the opportunity to hear from researchers across disciplines from various institutions.

slide ring polymer contraction

Researchers scale up tiny actuator inspired by muscle

Nov. 12, 2020

Researchers at CU Boulder are collaborating to develop a new kind of biocompatible actuator that contracts and relaxes in only one dimension, like muscles. Their research may one day enable soft machines to fully integrate with our bodies to deliver drugs, target tumors, or repair aging or dysfunctional tissue.

eskin

'Electronic skin' promises cheap and recyclable alternative to wearable devices

Nov. 6, 2020

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are developing a wearable electronic device that’s “really wearable”—a stretchy and fully-recyclable circuit board that’s inspired by, and sticks onto, human skin.

endoscopic balloon with micro-texture

Spinout Aspero Medical receives NSF SBIR funding for endoscopic balloon with more grip

Aug. 25, 2020

Aspero Medical, a spinout company of CU Boulder’s Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering and CU Anschutz Medical Campus was recently awarded $225,000 through the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This award will allow the company to further technologies in the field of gastroenterology.

robotic skin jianliang xiao

Robotic skin could transform manufacturing, human robot interactions

Dec. 6, 2019

A talented group of researchers across the college is creating skins for robots to maximize their local sensing capabilities, improving operational safety and human-robot interaction along the way.

e-skin

Self-healing, fully-recyclable electronic skin has new applications

June 28, 2019

CU Boulder researchers Jianliang Xiao and Wei Zhang have developed self-healing, fully-recyclable electronic skin that is completely recyclable. They are now investigating applications surrounding the material's ability to shapeshift.

fire ant

Fire ant colonies could inspire molecular machines, swarming robots

Nov. 5, 2018

Think of it as mathematics with a bite: Researchers led by Franck Vernerey have uncovered the statistical rules that govern how gigantic colonies of fire ants form bridges, ladders and floating rafts, one of the most ingenious networks in nature.

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