Message from the Chair
Dear friends and colleagues:
The Fall 2025 issue of our bi-annual newsletter allows us to reflect on the significant accomplishments of the faculty, alumni, and students of Lehigh's Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM) department. It's been an eventful year for Lehigh MEM, with the department playing a leading role in launching an interdisciplinary MS Program in Aerospace and Space Systems Engineering (AESE).
This past year, our faculty have secured exciting new research grants, launched new research initiatives, and won major research awards. The most notable being Prof. Hannah Dailey, who won the Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE). You will find details of those accomplishments and many others, including our alumni and current students, in the newsletter.
If you appreciate our efforts and the direction the department is heading, please consider making MEM your philanthropic priority this year. Your support is crucial to our continued success and academic excellence efforts as we navigate financial uncertainty due to reductions in federal research opportunities. Your contributions will help elevate MEM students and faculty to greater heights.
The department is also seeking volunteers to serve on our advisory council. The advisory council includes established professionals from industry and academia who contribute insights to guide the future of our educational programs. If you are interested in getting involved, please complete this self-nomination form.
On behalf of the entire group of MEM faculty and staff, I wish you and your family Happy Holidays.
Arindam Banerjee, Ph.D.
Paul B. Reinhold Professor and Chair, MEM
Vermaak named 2026 Fulbright Scholar
Associate professor Natasha Vermaak is a leader in the field of inelastic design. Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious, competitive fellowships that provide opportunities for scholars to conduct research abroad. Under the Fulbright Hauts-de-France award, Vermaak will travel to France during the summer of 2026 to explore more resilient plastic design approaches for additive manufacturing. Read more »
Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) secures $12M grant from the Department of Energy (DOE)
AMEC co-director Arindam Banerjee, Lehigh's Paul B. Reinhold Professor and MEM chair, notes that the five-year award will allow AMEC to expand its scope and reach by offering week-long summer courses, launching new research projects, and improving test facilities. AMEC is a partnership among the University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University, the Coastal Studies Institute, and Lehigh. Its mission is to turn the vast energy of the ocean into a sustainable power source. Under the new DOE award, Banerjee will team up with MEM faculty member Parisa Khodabakhshi to run a project focused on the structural performance of tidal turbine blades under turbulent loading out of Lehigh's Tidal Turbulence Test Facility. Read more »
Demir and Vasile receive NSF CAREER awards
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award is given annually to junior faculty members across the U.S. who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research. This year, two MEM assistant professors received this prestigious award.
Assistant professor Ebru Demir's research explores how small robots that resemble microorganisms could potentially be used for targeted drug delivery, minimally invasive surgery, and fertility treatments. Read more »
Assistant professor Cristian-Ioan Vasile's research focuses on enabling widespread use of robots that are both efficient and effective. Read more »
Dailey wins Presidential Early Career Award
Associate professor and MEM associate chair Hannah Dailey '02 '06G '09 PhD received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for her work developing a virtual mechanical test that can identify problems with bone healing early in the healing process. PECASE is the highest U.S. government honor for early-career researchers in science and engineering. Read more »
Khodabakhshi leads NSF-funded 3D printing research
Assistant professor Parisa Khodabakhshi aims to streamline machine learning models for high-performance parts in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare industries. The three-year, $350,000 NSF grant will allow Khodabakhshi to develop a physics-based, data-driven reduced-order model for predicting microstructure evolution in binary alloy solidification. Read more »
Vermaak leads multidisciplinary project supported by $2M NSF grant
Associate professor Natasha Vermaak will lead a multi-institutional team investigating rotating detonation engine materials. The team was one of 25 to receive NSF funding as part of the organization's Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Program. Read more »
Dailey leads international, four-year project funded by NSF and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
The funding is part of an international collaboration with Switzerland's AO Research Institute Davos (ARI). Led by associate professor and MEM associate chair Hannah Dailey '02 '06G '09 PhD, the team will aim to create computational models that can predict how bones will heal over time, with a long-term goal of developing patient-specific simulations to guide clinical care and improve surgeon education. Read more »
Sun strengthens department's research in thermodynamics and heat transfer
Tenure-track assistant professor Jianxing Sun is passionate about integrating cutting-edge research discoveries and real-world applications into the classroom. He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Biointerfaces Institute at the University of Michigan. Read more »
Remembering Geoffrey Andrews '15
The Lehigh Engineering community is mourning the tragic passing of MEM alumnus and visiting lecturer Geoffrey Andrews '15, who died in a plane crash on June 19, 2025, at age 30. Andrews was a rising leader in the field of hypersonic aerodynamics and had recently returned to teach a graduate-level course as a visiting lecturer. He was instrumental in helping design Lehigh's newly launched master's degree program in Aerospace and Space Systems Engineering. Read more »
"We enjoyed having Geoffrey back to teach our students; his loss is heartbreaking, and he will be profoundly missed by all of us who knew him." Professor Arindam Banerjee, Paul B. Reinhold Professor and MEM Chair
Geoffrey M. Andrews '15 Aerospace Award
We are honored to announce the establishment of the Geoffrey Andrews '15 Aerospace Award in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. This award will annually recognize one Lehigh undergraduate student who demonstrates exceptional academic achievement and commitment to the field of aerospace engineering.
Fundraising for the Geoffrey M. Andrews '15 Aerospace Award will take place through June 30, 2026. We are seeking to raise a minimum of $50,000 to endow this award in perpetuity, ensuring generations of students carry on Geoffrey's achievements and legacy.
For everything that Geoffrey did, this award is our chance as a community to continue his work. We hope you will make a gift in memory of Geoffrey Andrews to honor his impact on Lehigh and advance aerospace and space systems engineering within the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.
New master's degree program in Aerospace and Space Systems Engineering (AESE) launches
The graduate program is designed to meet the surging demand for advanced aerospace expertise and is being led by teaching full professor and former NASA astronaut Terry J. Hart '68. The program offers flexible pathways including on-campus or online courses, with accelerated options for Lehigh undergraduates continuing in the program. Students will be prepared for careers at NASA and in the defense sector, as well as with commercial space ventures and emerging aerospace startups. The MS-AESE program reflects Lehigh's long history in aerospace education and research—from alumni shaping the industry to faculty-led projects spanning flight dynamics, propulsion, and spacecraft design. Read more »
"The most rewarding part of this stage of my career is helping students see themselves in the future of aerospace. We're not just studying past missions—we're building the foundation for the next ones."Terry J. Hart '68, Professor and former NASA Astronaut
Lehigh alumnae shape the future of aerospace and space exploration
From advancing planetary defense and supporting deep-space missions to designing cutting-edge aircraft, the paths of these alumnae reflect the power of curiosity, persistence, and interdisciplinary skills. Tracy Becker '10 is a lead scientist and instrument deputy principal investigator on NASA's Europa Clipper and New Horizons missions at the Southwest Research Institute. Julie Frehafer '11 is a program manager at Lockheed Martin. Jill Seebergh '89 is a principal senior technical fellow at The Boeing Company. Rachel Sholder '16 '17G is a cost and systems analyst at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Read more »
Lehigh University Rocketry Association (LURA) earns new certification
The student club recently completed a successful Level 2 high-powered rocket certification with its custom-designed rocket "Chiquita." LURA is advised by professor Terry J. Hart '68, a former NASA astronaut. The association is student-led and fully equipped to design, build, and launch high-powered rockets. Their next project is a rocket designed to reach 10,000 feet at Mach 1—the speed of sound. Read more »
Lehigh/Victaulic Race Day connects South Bethlehem public school students with MEM engineers
Teams of Lehigh mechanical engineering majors worked side-by-side with students from Bethlehem's Broughal Middle School to design and manufacture custom matchbox cars from scratch. Led by teaching full professor David Angstadt, the program is an integral part of MEM's required junior-level course in manufacturing. The culminating race day event brings together MEM students, faculty, staff, and alumni with students, teachers, and administrators from Broughal and Bethlehem Area School District. The 2025 event was made possible through the generous support of Victaulic, a global leader in piping systems and engineering solutions and a longtime supporter of MEM. Read more »
Haden leads First-Year Rossin Experience (FYRE) for incoming Lehigh engineers
Teaching associate professor Christina Viau Haden will lead the initiative, which is designed to reimagine how engineering students begin their academic journeys. Stephen P. DeWeerth, Lew and Sherry Hay Dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, notes that FYRE demonstrates Lehigh's commitment to nurturing Future Makers—students who learn not only what it means to be an engineer, but also how to belong, to innovate, and to make societal impact from day one. Read more »
MEM student earns highly competitive national award
Graduating MEM senior Harrison Jenkins '25 was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, a program that provides three years of financial support for graduate study. Jenkins will pursue his interests in space robotics and clean energy technologies at Georgia Institute of Technology. Jenkins came to Lehigh on a Posse Scholarship, which grants full-tuition awards to students with extraordinary leadership potential. Once at Lehigh, Jenkins also received the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship. Read more »
MEM student leads team in best-ever finish at national competition
Graduating MEM senior Aidan Dufault '25 was on his way back to Lehigh for graduation when the Lehigh Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) team was announced as the first place winner in the efficiency category at the Formula SAE Michigan competition. The team placed 28th overall, their highest finish ever. Dufault is headed to SpaceX in Texas, where he'll employ experience gained on the team leading the vehicle's chassis design to help build Starship structures. Read more »
Attention MEM alumni: If you have news to share for a future issue of our newsletter, email us today!
We are always seeking new ways to connect with alumni and friends of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics at Lehigh. If you have news to share, or ideas for creative educational programs or research collaborations, we would love to hear from you.