Lehigh InMotion - Fall 2023 MEM Newsletter

December 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Dear friends and colleagues:

This Fall 2023 issue of our bi-annual newsletter allows us the opportunity to look back on the significant accomplishments of the students, faculty, and alumni of Lehigh's Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM) department. Earlier this Fall, MEM announced the Lehigh Aerospace Initiative to launch an MS in Aerospace Engineering program. This initiative builds on our popular and successful aerospace engineering minor. We are currently engaged in planning discussions with alumni who have shown interest in the initiative. To learn more about the Aerospace Initiative and how to get involved, visit our launch site here.

The last academic year has also been a very productive one for MEM. Our faculty secured exciting new research grants from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and National Science Foundation. You can read some of those successes in this newsletter. In the last academic year (2022-23), MEM faculty either led or participated in external grant proposals totaling over $30.8M; this number marks an impressive 66% increase over the previous academic year. To keep up with our increased research and teaching loads, MEM is looking to fill three open faculty positions: two tenure-track positions in Robotics and Energy Conversion and storage and a third teaching-track position in Thermal-Fluid Sciences.  

We are always seeking ways to connect with alumni and friends of MEM at Lehigh. If you have news to share about work or ideas for creative educational programs or research collaborations, we would love to hear from you. It has been very exciting for me to lead MEM in this post-pandemic period and cheer on our students, faculty, and staff to reach even greater heights. If you are appreciative of our efforts and the direction the department is heading, please consider making MEM your philanthropic priority this year.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS

Banerjee leads Stakeholder Engaged, Equitable, Decarbonized (SEED) Energy Futures Training Program following $3M NSF award

The five-year award will allow Lehigh to provide graduate students with the skills needed to explore, collaborate, and pioneer solutions to society’s reliance on carbon-based energy sources and energy inequities. Through the program, Ph.D. candidates, as well as to those pursuing a master’s of science degree or master’s of art degree, will be trained in the skills needed to lead innovation toward an equitable, decarbonized energy future. Read more >>

Romero continues Phase II of clean energy fuel project following $1.65M DOE award

Faculty member Carlos Romero is Director of the Energy Research Center and co-Associate Director of the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy. Phase I of this project developed basic components of a system that can characterize the composition of feedstock blends before they enter a gasifier. The goal of Phase II is to implement machine learning to enhance laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and make the process commercially viable. Read more >>

Related:

• Romero and Neti pioneer Thermal Energy Storage technology
• Rising to the challenge: MEM research contributes to breakthroughs in direct air capture and energy storage technologies for CO2

MEM undergraduate refines Lehigh’s first Mars rover in preparation for 2024 University Rover Challenge

To secure an invitation to compete in the finals at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, the Lehigh University Space Initiative submitted a written report and video detailing the design and operation of their rover. The team’s inaugural entry scored well, but did not make the cut. Zemichael Gebeyehu ’24 says that the team is currently iterating and testing the current rover to enter again. Read more >>

"The team is very, very self-motivated with everything they’ve done, launching these two projects, competing on a national level with their rover, putting stickers on their rover like they do in NASCAR to raise the funds they need. They are more than just technically clever with everything they do.”

-Professor Terry Hart '68