News

Eckhard Groll was awarded the Peter Ritter von Rittinger International Heat Pump Award 2017. This award recognizes deserving individuals or teams that have distinguished themselves in the advancement of heat pumping technology applications, market development, as well as dissemination activities with lasting international impact. This award is named for Peter Ritter von Rittinger, an Austrian engineer credited with the design and installation of the first practical heat pump system at a salt works in Upper Austria in 1856. The award was given at a ceremony during the banquet of the 12th International Heat Pump Conference in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on May 17th.

Aswin Ramesh, Ph.D. student working with Prof. Greg Shaver, received the Ward A. Lambert Graduate Teaching Fellowship for 2017, which is for ME Doctoral students who have a strong potential and desire for an academic career. The Fellowship gives him the opportunity to teach a class, so he will be teaching a controls class in Fall 2017 under the guidance of Prof. Peter Meckl.

Jelena Paripovic, a Ph.D. student, was awarded the Outstanding Service Scholarship Award through the College of Engineering. This award is presented to engineering graduate students who have provided outstanding service to the graduate student community, the School, the College, and/or the University. She received the award at the CoE Graduate Student Award Luncheon held on April 19, 2017.

Consumer drones can hover and take photos, but they can't physically interact with their environment. The Boomcopter changes that. It's a tri-rotor, with an extra arm and propeller that allows it to move laterally, while performing a task with its arm. It can open doors, flip switches, and attach sensors onto walls -- all autonomously, using an array of sensors and cameras. In dangerous or inaccessible environments, the Boomcopter can perform tasks that would be too risky for humans. David Cappelleri is assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, working with Ph.D. candidates Daniel McArthur and Arindam Chowdhury at Herrick Labs.

Francesco Danzi, visiting scholar working with Prof. James Gibert on topology optimization smart structure with internal resonance, won a SPIE Student Paper Award at the annual conference recently held in Portland, OR.

Shirley Dyke, Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, and her Post Doc, Chul Min Yeum are the first to combine computer vision and deep-learning technologies for rapid assessment of structural wreckage.

Purdue University is leading part of a national effort to reduce vehicle fuel consumption by 20 percent through automated systems that interconnect cars and trucks. Purdue leads a project focusing on Class 8 trucks (tractor-trailers), and will work with team members Cummins Inc., Peloton Technology, Peterbilt Motors Co., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and ZF TRW.

George Chiu, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been elected as the Editor-in-Chief for the publication IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, starting in January 2017.

Patricia Davies received the 2016 Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics from ASME, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

A native of Bangalore, India, Chaitanya Bhat came to Purdue University as a graduate student in mechanical engineering, researching the acoustic properties of diesel engines at Herrick Labs. At the same time, he has always had a love for North Indian (Hindustani) classical music. Now he can pursue his two favorite kinds of sound: as an acoustical engineer for Honeywell in Bangalore, and as a performing musician in concerts and recordings. In his own words, here is Chaitanya's story...