University of Virginia School of Engineering & Applied Science | Page 2
MAE today
Contents
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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