Travel + Leisure published an article about the science behind some of the country's best thrill rides. The author quotes Jeffrey Rhoads, professor of Mechanical Engineering and advisor to Purdue's Theme Park Engineering and Design club.

Graduate students from Purdue teamed up with students from Dresden, Germany to complete an international course in refrigeration and compressors. They spent one week at the Technical University of Dresden, collaborated long-distance over the summer, and then convened for one week at Purdue University's Herrick Labs to present their final projects.

A team of researchers from Purdue University and the Toyota Research Institute of North America are developing a new cooling technology for hybrid and electric vehicles. The technology under development uses "jet impingement" to enhance cooling by flowing the coolant in a perpendicular direction, producing jets that wash across a hot surface and improving heat transfer.

In the 21st century, 3D printing should be easy -- but it isn't. What will it take for the average person to design something in 3D, and easily convert it into a physical object? MakerPad is a new online platform that allows anyone to design and print objects in 3D, using their smartphone. It uses the same smartphone gestures you already know: tilt, swipe, pinch, move. It also uses the phone's cameras to re-create existing objects, and allow you to easily manipulate them. Then the online platform easily enables the object to be sent to a 3D printer or laser cutter. And because it's an online platform, MakerPad can take advantage of the latest cutting edge hardware: whether it's a new smartphone, a video game controller, or a VR headset.

A new website highlighting "Beautiful Research" features the work of the Hypergolic Propellants Lab at Zucrow Labs. Hypergolics are substances that instantly combust when they come into contact with each other.

Vincent Leman (BSME '00) has a love for all things artistic, and all things mechanical: so he combined them into one passion for building beautiful furniture. Dust Furniture pieces have abstract curves, otherworldly angles... and a solid basis in Mechanical Engineering. In this alumni profile, Vincent talks about how his education at Purdue informs the design and manufacture of his unique furniture.

David Keefe and Alex Weaver met at Purdue, learning how to build Rube Goldberg machines: including a Guinness world record holder. After graduation, they started their own business, Euclid Machine and Design, designing and fabricating custom items. Their most recent project? The SpongeBob Musical! For the musical's world premiere in Chicago, Euclid designed and built several chain reaction machines: spinning, banging on drums, and even launching balls onto the stage! You never know where Mechanical Engineering at Purdue will take you!

Congratulations to Purdue ME grad Jill Hruby, President of Sandia National Labs. Jill recently received the Suzanne Jenniches Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers.

By building a tumor microenvironment on a chip, Bumsoo Han is working to turn chemotherapy into "precision medicine."

Every year, the Gifted Education Resource Institute (GERI) brings 7th and 8th graders from around the world to Purdue for a taste of college life. This year, one of their courses was in Toy Design, led by Karthik Ramani (Donald W. Feddersen Professor of Mechanical Engineering). Students learned the basics of design, and then collaborated to build motorized robots out of cardboard, which told a story.