Kwangbem Ko ("KB") ’24, recent graduate from the master’s program in mechanical engineering, won first place in the Masters Student Paper Competition Cardiovascular category at the 2024 Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C), held in Lake Geneva, WI. His paper is titled “Computational Study on the Hemodynamics of Bioprosthetic Pulmonary Valves in Patients with Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.” Ko was a member of the Mittal Lab and is entering the bioengineering and bioengineering doctoral program at Stanford University this fall.
Congratulations, KB!
Please welcome new Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Julie Lundquist to our mechanical engineering community! Dr. Lundquist has dual appointments in WSE (at MechE) and KSAS, and will be a ROSEI researcher.
Lundquist, who researches atmospheric dynamics in hopes of making wind energy more efficient, was named Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Wind Energy. Her research uses observational and computational approaches to understand the atmospheric boundary layer, with an emphasis on atmosphere-wind energy interactions.
"I want to solve these big picture problems, and knowing the work that we're doing can make an impact in the world inspires my research," Lundquist says. "Our civilization is moving so fast, and the disparities are so dramatic. If I can do something that helps make electricity more accessible to more people, in a way that doesn't cause harm, that's one step toward addressing energy challenges and global climate change while reducing pollution. And I get to solve some really fun puzzles along the way."
Lundquist comes to Johns Hopkins from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and affiliate faculty in the Department of Applied Mathematics. She also holds a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which will continue at Hopkins.
Lundquist earned her Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English and physics at Trinity University, and her Master of Science as well as her PhD in astrophysical, planetary, and atmospheric science from the University of Colorado Boulder. She completed postdoctoral research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory before joining the staff there as a physicist.
MechE ranked No. 13 in newest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School rankings!
JHU's engineering graduate programs are again ranked among the nation's best, as WSE retained its No. 14 spot, tied with UCLA. Five engineering graduate programs saw their rankings improve this year, and every graduate program is ranked among the top 25 in its category!
UAVs' agile flying lets them work in crowded areas, but their small size limits sensing and computing power. But Associate Professor Marin Kobilarov's new platform uses a neural network to detect, track, and grasp objects w/ 93% success—all via onboard computation. The hardware designs and software framework are open source!
The team equipped an existing quadrotor (a UAV with four rotors) with custom hardware components and developed a framework for running computationally intensive algorithms on the small onboard computer, including using a neural network to detect objects based on camera images.
“A Small Form Factor Aerial Research Vehicle for Pick-and-Place Tasks with Onboard Real-Time Object Detection and Visual Odometry” was featured in IEEE’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).
Co-authors are Cora Dimmig, Anna Goodridge (now at ETCH, INC), Gabriel Baraban, Pupei Zhu, and Joyraj Bhowmick.
#uav#objectdetection#drones#computervision#aerialrobotics#uavs#pickandplace#mechanicalengineering
Our amazing new office space in Latrobe Hall is up and running! Thank you to faculty, students, and staff for your patience during renovations - the wait was worth it!
#HopkinsEngineer Asher Varon, PhD candidate, won the $25,000 first-place prize at the third annual Student Venture Showcase, hosted by @jhucarey . Varon’s winning project, ViVE, is a medical technology startup that serves as a safety net for individuals with opioid use disorder. The wearable device immediately detects an opioid overdose and administers naloxone.
The showcase is also sponsored by Johns Hopkins Technology Venture’s @pavacenter and HopStone Capital, a student-led group that offers students an immersive experience in the world of venture capital.
Congratulations, Asher!
Congratulations to #HopkinsEngineer Minh Lê, PhD student in MechE, who was named one of the International Astronautical Federation's Emerging Space Leaders! This group was chosen by the IAF Emerging Space Leaders Sub-Committee composed of highly experienced space stakeholders.
Lê will travel to Milan, Italy, in October 2024 to participate in the 75th International Astronautical Congress.
Lê is specializing in the mechanics of hypervelocity impact on rubble pile asteroids. She received a BS in astronomy and astrophysics from Florida Tech.
Lê believes that space studies and exploration should be a collaborative effort not only between nations, but also between commercial companies and government agencies to share knowledge, enable technology development, and allow humanity to advance faster in this space-faring journey.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering held its 2024 Convocation awards ceremony Thursday, May 23, directly following commencement. Full list of award winners below.
Charles A. Miller Award
Theo DeGuzman
Dominique Regli
James F. Bell Award
Kyungmo Choi
Madison Morrison
Robert George Gerstmyer Award
Aabhas Jain (J)
Zuriel Erikson Valencia Joven (J)
James Kaluna
Matthew Konkol (J)
Genevieve Mehra
Andrew Palacio
Catherine Pollard (J)
Creel Family Teaching Assistant Award
Evan LaTourrette-Ghez
Yensabro Kanashiro
Gargi Sadalgekar
William N. Sharpe Award
Krystal Lan
Delphine Tan
ME Special Achievement Award
Claire Elizabeth Borden
Nina Tedeschi
Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student Council (MUSC) Award
Owen Mitchell
Andrew Palacio
Pi Tau Sigma Award
Theo DeGuzman
Alex Ren
Senior Design Project Team Award: IQT24
Theo DeGuzman
Genevieve Mehra
Owen Mitchell
Iris Renteria
Congratulations to everyone!
See website for photo gallery.
"Wild Kratts" episode featuring MechE's Dr. Chen Li and lab students is now live! The brothers spent an entire day at Hopkins learning about mudskipper-inspired robots. Watch here:
/videos/watch/wild-kratts-full-episodes/1385807/fish-out-of-water/1485713
Do you hear that? It’s the sweet sound of innovation.
Senior @jhumeche students Michael Chacon, Andrew Palacio, Madison Morrison, and Leen Alfaoury successfully designed a leaf blower that drops the overall noise level by nearly 40%. After workshopping more than 40 versions, they landed on an attachment that cuts the machine’s noise almost like a muffler on a car. @stanleyblackdecker expects this patent-pending product to hit store shelves in two years.
Video Description: The video starts with a student using a leaf blower and demonstrating the sound level before and after with the improved product outside on the Homewood campus. It then shows interview clips from four students and scenes of them working in the classroom.
While NHL titans battled it out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a different kind of hockey showdown took the spotlight last week in the Glass Pavilion. On May 6, MechE hosted its annual Mechatronics JHockey Tournament, in which seven #HopkinsEngineer teams of robotic players battled for supremacy on the rink. With teaching assistants and Dr. Jeremy Brown acting as referees, the Back Bay Midnight Pedalers claimed victory over Puck Me after a lively three-hour-long, double-elimination contest.
“The event went really well overall,” Brown said. “Hats off to all the teaching assistants (Anway Pimpalkar, Ahan Dalia, Lorenzo Gregory, Shubhan Mathur, and Zhenjie Jiang) for their hard work and dedication throughout the semester. Most importantly, a big congrats to all the teams that took part in the tournament. I think this was the best way to end the course, and I know everyone had fun!”
See website for full results!
