Plants model more efficient thermal cooling method
Patricia Weisensee, a mechanical engineer in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis,
combined properties similar to those seen in a lotus leaf with those found on rose petals to find a more efficient way for droplets to evaporate from a surface.
Elbow stiffness after injury focus of new research
Spencer Lake, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a one-year, $19,919 grant from the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons to study the causes of stiffness and tightening, or contracture, of the joint after an injury to the elbow, called post-traumatic joint stiffness.
Doctoral students to study biology, mechanics connection under NIH grant
The Venus Flytrap, with its two leaf jaws that sense when an insect approaches and quickly snap shut, is one of nature’s clearest examples of biology and mechanics working together to sustain life. Four doctoral students at Washington University in St. Louis will have the opportunity to take a closer look at this intersection under a five-year, $921,040 grant.
Washington People: Jessica Wagenseil
One in three American adults has high blood pressure. Jessica Wagenseil, DSc, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is investigating how mechanical properties of the cardiovascular system contribute to this widespread disease.