Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

The heart is a pump that wears out over time—that, at least, was the prevailing view. New research has shown that the heart’s aging results from changes in intercellular communications, which tell heart cells, sometimes even healthy ones, to stiffen and break down. By decoding these complex messages, a team of researchers, led by Pinar […] The post Heart-on-a-chip device identifies youth-enhancin…

To invade healthy tissues and continue growing, aggressive cancers mimic and circumvent the body’s native piping system of veins and arteries. Through this process, known as vasculogenic mimicry (VM), tumor cells form fluid-conducting channels that transport blood, oxygen, and nutrients directly to the growing tumor. This behavior enables tumor metastasis and tissue invasion, lowering patient […]…

The University of Notre Dame has earned a spot on the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2025, a list published annually by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The Top 100 U.S. Universities ranking highlights and celebrates U.S. academic institutions that play a large role in advancing innovation through the critical step of protecting their […] The post Notre Dame ranks am…

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among people with obesity, a condition affecting one in eight people worldwide. Studies show that fat around the heart can fuel inflammation, damage heart muscle cells, disrupt heart rhythm and increase the risk of heart failure, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. To better understand how obesity […] The post 3D-bioprinted model offers new way t…

During the spring semester, the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering welcomed Shivam Barwey as an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, further expanding the college’s expertise in advanced computational engineering.  Barwey’s research focuses on the intersection of scientific machine learning and computational fluid dynamics, with a specific …

Internationally recognized biomedical engineer John Fisher will join the University of Notre Dame as director of the campus-wide Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative (BELS) and Arthur J. Schmitt Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. His appointment begins Aug. 1. Fisher is currently chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Marylan…

For three years in a row, a faculty member from the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering has won the prestigious CMBE Rising Star Award given by the Biomedical Engineering Society’s (BMES) Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Special Interest Group (CMBE-SIG). CMBE-SIG recognizes exceptional junior principal investigators for their high-impact, innovative research through this annua…

To think, feel, talk and move, neurons send messages through electrical signals in the brain and spinal cord. This intricate communication network is built of billions of neurons connected by synapses and managed and modified by glial cells. When neurons die, this communication network is disrupted and since this loss is irreversible, neuron death causes […] The post Physical pressure on the brai…

Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he did engineer it into a precise scientific instrument. By grinding and refining his own lenses to increase their magnification, he was able to make observations that challenged the longstanding belief in a stationary earth. In astronomy, as in many other fields, engineering and science are locked together […] The post Closer to the stars: Notre Dame stu…

The Notre Dame College of Engineering is pleased to announce the Fall 2025 recipients of the Staff Excellence Awards, which recognize staff members’ exemplary contributions above and beyond the scope of their standard job responsibilities. Award recipients are honored for having a substantial positive impact on the operations of their departments, the College, and the […] The post Cheers to Recip…

A team of five undergraduate researchers from the University of Notre Dame’s College of Science and College of Engineering earned a gold medal at the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris, France. iGEM—the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition—is an annual global event that challenges undergraduate and high school teams to apply synthetic biology to real-world problems. […] The post Ina…

Alec Houpt, who earned his doctorate from the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) at the University of Notre Dame in 2020, will collaborate with Sergey Leonov, research professor in AME, to pursue the development of a supersonic nozzle designed to freeze and capture carbon dioxide and water from industrial exhaust. Houpt and Leonov, who previously served […] The post Alumni f…

Thomas Corke, the Clark Equipment Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for its distinguished Dryden Lectureship in Research.  Corke will deliver his lecture, “Active Drag Reduction with Net Power Savings in Turbulent Boundary Layers – Physics and […] The post Thomas Cor…

Meenal Datta, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been named the inaugural Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. “Professor Datta’s pioneering work brings to bear mechanical engineering’s tools and perspectives on the treatment and understanding of aggressive cancers,” said Patricia Culliga…

To better understand glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, Meenal Datta, the Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, thought outside the box—and off planet Earth. The post Fighting to cure brain cancer appeared first on Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering .

Meenal Datta, the Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been selected by the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) to receive its 2025 Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award. This single-recipient award is BMES’s most prestigious honor for early stage investigators. Prior winners have gone on to […] The post Meenal…

Cave entrances often appear black and forbidding.  Light enters, but little escapes, absorbed as it “bounces around” the interior. To trap light in much the same way, engineers at the University of Notre Dame have devised a superblack material from a matrix of microscopic, sheer-walled “caves”—each just 10 microns wide. The result reflects less than […] The post Robust, low-cost superblack materi…

Pinar Zorlutuna, Roth-Gibson Professor of Bioengineering and director of the Bioengineering Program at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to the Biomedical Engineering Society’s (BMES) 2025 Class of Fellows. Fellows are selected on the basis of their “exceptional achievements and experience in the field of biomedical engineering.” Zorlutuna designs biomimetic environments in order to …

The University of Notre Dame is accepting applications for the next cohort of Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows, a select group of early-career scholars in science, engineering, and the liberal arts who are committed to Notre Dame’s mission to be a powerful force for good in the world. Up to 18 fellows—six each in the Colleges of […] The post Notre Dame opens applications for 2026 Provost’s Postdoct…

“We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding group of new faculty to the College of Engineering,” said Patricia J. Culligan, Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering. “Their wide-ranging expertise and innovative research will help shape the future of engineering, strengthen our academic community, and provide transformative opportunities for our students to […] The post Th…