May 23, 2024
Making WAVES with electric boats
This spring marks the first time a UW-Madison team traveled and competed in the “Promoting Electric Propulsion” (PEP) boat races, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). The UW team originally started as a senior design group that took over a project started last year. Read more…
May 15, 2024
Spring 2024 Mechanical Engineering Design Showcase
Forty-six project teams made up of 187 mechanical engineering senior level students presented their work at the spring 2024 design showcase event earlier this month! Read more…
March 6, 2024
Bucky’s Bionic Runners pass the baton
Mechanical Engineering students Jamie Wolpert, Caroline Gillis, Logan Fitzpatrick, and Nicole Salata had a uniquely impactful task for their senior design capstone project. Their group, Bucky’s Bionic Runners, was asked to design a lightweight and comfortable prosthetic device that would allow Arcadia High School student Caden to compete with his cross country team. Read more…
March 5, 2024
A look at aerospace engineering in senior design
When the Engineering Mechanics (and Aerospace Engineering, EMA) program moved into the Mechanical Engineering Department in 2023, everyone was excited about the new opportunities for students across both programs. While both the ME and EMA undergraduate programs give students exciting hands-on opportunities, the two programs are not identical. One distinguishing feature of EMA is the focus on mechanics applied to aerospace engineering. This is especially notable in the EMA senior design courses. Read more…
May 15, 2023
Celebrating Spring 2023 Senior Design Showcase
Over the past year, 42 design teams comprised of nearly 170 students have engaged with clients from industry, research, the community, and others to design and build solutions to complex engineering problems. Read more…
April 20, 2023
Bucky’s Flyboys Design Blasts Off
One of the spring 2023 Mechanical Engineering Senior Design teams, Bucky’s Flyboys, recently took second place in the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s annual Aerospace Propulsion Outreach Program (APOP) competition. The objectives of the competition were to modify a small gas turbine engine such that it could produce DC power while maximizing thrust to weight ratio. To accomplish this task the team utilized Thermoelectric Generators (TEG’s) to convert heat from the engine’s exhaust stream into DC power. Read more…
December 20, 2022
Senior Design’s ‘Rowing Pains’
It’s not every day that college students get to work with Olympians, but it was just part of the coursework for the ‘Rowing Pains’ senior design group.
UW Mechanical Engineering alumnus Grant James is a men’s rowing Olympian and an inductee in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. For this senior design project, James was curious if a cost-effective crew shell (boat) could be 3D printed. The standard single shell boats are expensive and time consuming to manufacture, a limitation on any collegiate crew program. The goal of the Rowing Pains project was to provide crew coaches with 3D printed boats at a cost tenfold less than traditional boats. Read more…
December 20, 2022
Fall 2022 Mechanical Engineering Design Symposium
The Fall 2022 Mechanical Engineering Design Symposium showcased the work of 12 undergraduate design teams on December 13th! Read more…
May 6, 2022
Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Showcase
Congratulations to all students who shared their work at the Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Showcase Thursday, May 5th! Read more…