Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 2 No. 3 Fall 2017 | Page 4

Embrace change - the result of
innovation and collaboration
It's fall in Blacksburg and that
means there is a lot of change. The
colors, the weather, and this year,
even the university logo which you
can learn more about on Page 8.
Change is constant and a nec-
essary component of innovation.
In this issue, we are taking a look
at change across a broad variety
of fields. One thing that hasn’t
changed, however, is that when
we cooperate and collaborate with
other departments, the results are
extraordinary.
Our modeling analytics team
lead by Associate Professor and
John R. Jones III Faculty Fellow Rui
Qiao, was called on by Associate
Professor Lou Madsen of Chemistry
to help model a new ion gel that
could be revolutionary for batteries.
See Page 12 for the whole story.
Our DREAMS lab, led by another
John R. Jones III Faculty Fellow,
Associate Professor Chris Williams,
also teamed up with Chemistry,
this time with Professor Tim Long
and what they’ve done is nothing
less than to develop a process to
3D print a product thought to be
unprintable. It’s a discovery that
could have enormous implications
for the space industry and many
others. Read the story on Page 24.
Our students are also
working toward change – changing
the lives of those in developing
areas for the better. An unmanned
aerial vehicle designed and built
by students in mechanical and
electrical engineering under the
direction of Associate Professor
Kevin Kochersberger’s Unmanned
Systems Lab, will be tested in Mala-
wi in November. The test comes at
the request of UNICEF, the United
Nation’s children’s emergency relief
arm. The agency has established a
drone corridor in Malawi and the
Virginia Tech aircraft was designed
to autonomously fly to remote
areas and collect HIV dried blood
spot cards to be flown back and
tested. UNICEF has also expressed
interest in the aircraft to aid in
humanitarian disaster relief. Read
more on Page 30.
Changes aren’t permanent – but
change is, and how we adapt to
change says a lot about our re-
lentless drive to make the world a
better place; our desire to work to-
gether; and our ability to innovate
to meet the needs of the changing
world around us. The Department
of Mechanical Engineering, its
faculty, staff, and students, not
only look forward to change, we’re
actively working toward it.
MOMENTUM FALL'17
PAGE 4
Azim Eskandarian
ME Department Head