Did you know that explosives and propellants generate a piezoelectric effect? Steve Son and Zucrow Labs just received a $7.5 million Air Force grant to thoroughly study it for the first time.

What is a "rockoon"? A rocket launched from a balloon, bypassing 98% of the earth's atmosphere. It may revolutionize the micro-satellite business. A new Purdue startup, Leo Aerospace LLC, hopes to do just that. Dane Rudy (BSME '17) is the CEO.

Engineering solves important challenges everywhere, including in rural Africa. Jun Chen, associate professor at Purdue ME, is part of a multidisciplinary team who received a national design grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for a sustainable system to store grains during the rainy season.

Amy Ross followed her father's footsteps into mechanical engineering at Purdue University, as well as NASA. But while Jerry Ross was destined to become a spacewalker, Amy wanted to build the spacesuits that would protect our astronauts. Her work was put to the test in 1998, as her Phase VI gloves were first tested in space... by her father Jerry. Those Phase VI gloves are still in use today by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Xianfan Xu has just demonstrated a thin film that can dissipate heat by flowing electrons on its surface but not its interior. The surface of the material has a ten times larger thermal conductivity to electrical conductivity ratio. The research was published in the journal ACS Nano.

Deaf Kids Code is an organization that brings STEM-focused workshops to kids who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, at no cost. Purdue ME professor David Cappelleri collaborated with Deaf Kids Code founder Shireen Hafeez on a do-it-yourself robot kit specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, which uses light to control the robot.

This earwig's wing is an origami marvel of the animal kingdom. In research just published in the journal Science, Andres Arrieta shows how Purdue Engineering and ETH Zürich studied and re-created this bio-inspired origami for human use.

Top ten yet again! Purdue ME's graduate program was ranked 8th in the country, according to US News and World Report. Click for all of Purdue Engineering's 2019 rankings.

Our Purdue ME faculty are active in research, in teaching, and in collaboration -- and they're getting noticed for their success. Here are some recent faculty honors: