Mechanical Engineering
The research and education at Berkeley’s Department of Mechanical Engineering are among the most active, innovative and productive in the nation. The work we do covers the spectrum from molecular to global, from nano-scale devices and processes to ocean engineering and atmospheric phenomena. The application areas include critical medical devices and mobility assistance in healthcare; alternative fuel and energy supplies in transportation; advanced sensors and control in buildings; and sustainable product design and manufacturing. Our contributions to many of these areas — such as magnetic data storage, nanomaterials and phenomena and microsystems and MEMs — are pioneering.
Did you know?
- Mechanical engineers are developing robots that can drop, rattle and roll from heights of 600 feet or more. The researchers began developing these tensegrity-structured robots in partnership with NASA for possible space exploration, but closer to home, the technology is being developed for use in disaster rescue and remote monitoring.
- Researchers at the High Performance Robotics (HiPeR) Lab are giving wings to batteries as a clever solution to the limited battery life of consumer drones. They’re equipping batteries with a quadrotor for flight so they can approach drones mid-air, dock on a landing tray and provide power until the next replacement battery flies in.
- Mechanical engineers are developing a model to help surgeons determine an individual patient’s fracture risk after back surgery. The problem comes from the added stress that can occur when discs are fused together to treat degeneration. The model predicts increases in stresses in the adjacent disc following fusion by using a patient’s CT or MRI scans.
Laura Treers
Ph.D.’23, ME
Making robotic exoskeletons more affordable
While a number of research teams around the world are working on exoskeletons to improve mobility for the disabled, the researchers at Berkeley’s Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory wanted to develop reliable, inexpensive exoskeletons so that the technology would be accessible to more people. In 2011, their device helped a Berkeley paraplegic walk across the stage at commencement. SuitX, a company that has spun off the Berkeley robotics lab, recently debuted a lighter, more agile exoskeleton that is about half the cost of others on the market.
Going to extremes
Research by Berkeley mechanical engineers may soon make it more practical to use battery-powered vehicles and devices in extreme temperatures, such as icy-cold winters in Minnesota or stifling-hot summers in Death Valley. The researchers developed a thermal regulator that can improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries outside of what’s now considered to be the optimal window — typically 20 to 40 degrees Celsius. Testing showed that at minus 20 degrees Celsius, the regulator increased the battery temperature to 20 degrees Celsius just by retaining the battery’s self- generated heat. At 45 degrees Celsius, the regulator kept the batteries from overheating by limiting the temperature rise to about 6 degrees through constant heat dissipation.
