University of Virginia School of Engineering & Applied Science | Page 2

MAE today Contents 3 4 5 6 A 3-D Education Message from the chair Chris Goyne — Dedicated to Experiential Learning Relationships: The Next Dimension in 3-D Printing Profiles in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Writer Charlie Feigenoff Editor Josie Pipkin Graphic Design Travis Searcy Mountain High Media Photography Dan Addison Tom Cogill Dwight Dart MAE News is published by the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. An online version of the magazine is available at www.mae.virginia.edu/NewMAE/pubs. Address corrections should be sent to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace, P.O. Box 400746, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4746 or email [email protected]. This department is clearly on the move. We continue to assemble an exceptional faculty, including world leaders in such fields as microscale and nanoscale heat transfer, hypersonic combustion, and biomechanics, and we’re both expanding and deepening our expertise. This year we added our second Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Professor, Xiaodong “Chris” Li. Chris believes one way to develop high-value-added products is by combining natural materials like cotton fabric with techniques of nanotechnology. A perfect example is the process he developed to create an armored cotton T-shirt, an innovation that earned him a spot on The New York Times “Year in Ideas.” Our good fortune continues. We are in the process of hiring additional faculty members for the coming year — and we shall soon have good news to report. We also are fortunate in our students, who are more accomplished and highly motivated than ever. As you’ll read, NASA selected a proposal from a team of students in Associate Professor Chris Goyne’s Capstone course to send a sensor 23 miles into the stratosphere to measure cosmic rays. Theirs was one of only 10 proposals that NASA accepted from universities nationwide. Our graduate students are also flourishing. Several have secured fellowships to the Engineering School’s Graduate Teaching Internship Program, which provides an opportunity for them to polish their skills as teachers and decide if a career in academia is something they would like to pursue. I am pleased to report that the evaluations from the students in their classes have been glowing. Another high point for the department this year is our growing collaboration with the Curry School of Education and area school districts, a partnership that is putting 3-D printers in the hands of local middle school and high school students. Stratasys, a leading producer of 3-D printers, has long recognized our leadership in using this technology for educational purposes. Through careful lesson plans and working with teachers, we hope to ensure that more young people graduate with a fundamental knowledge of science and math. Take all this together and you can see that this is an exciting time for the department. But we couldn’t have done it without the assistance of our devoted friends and alumni. Your support is always appreciated. It helps us in so many ways to provide an educational experience that is equal to the talents of our students. We thank you! With best regards, Hossein Haj-Hariri Professor and Chair News 2 Spring 2014