Full Archive

  • The Freedom of Constraint
    Dec. 13, 2014
    You’ve probably heard of MechE alum and Associate Professor Hugh Herr (SM ’93), head of the Biomechatronics group at MIT Media Lab. The TED Talk he gave earlier this year sparked a flurry of media...
  • New Device Could Make Large Biological Circuits Practical
    Nov. 24, 2014
    Researchers have made great progress in recent years in the design and creation of biological circuits — systems that, like electronic circuits, can take a number of different inputs and deliver a...
  • Outside-the-Box Thinker
    Nov. 3, 2014
    When an aspiring mechanical engineer on a budget wants a top-of-the-line guitar, what does he do? He makes it himself, of course. At age 13, Nathan Spielberg — now an MIT senior — began building his...
  • New particle-sorting method breaks speed records
    Jun. 24, 2014
    Researchers compare the processing of biological fluid samples with searching for a needle in a haystack — only in this case, the haystack could be diagnostic samples, and the needle might be tumor...
  • Pills of the future: nanoparticles
    Nov. 27, 2013
    Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer. However, the particles have to be injected into patients, which has limited their usefulness...
  • Watching tumors burst through a blood vessel
    Sep. 20, 2013
    Cancer cells metastasize in several stages — first by invading surrounding tissue, then by infiltrating and spreading via the circulatory system. Some circulating cells work their way out of the...
  • Bioengineering: A Mechanical Engineering Crossroads
    Dec. 10, 2012
    Assistant Professor Sangbae Kim works on his lab’s current bioinspired project, the robotic cheetah. Photo Credit: M. Scott Brauer by Alissa Mallinson MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering...
  • Faculty Research: Professor Roger Kamm
    Dec. 10, 2012
    Visualizing Sneaky Tumor Cells   Professor Roger Kamm and PhD candidate Ioannis Zervantonakis. Photo Credit: Tony Pulsone   by Alissa Mallinson   Not many people have watched as a single tumor...
  • Faculty Research: Professor Rohit Karnik
    Dec. 10, 2012
    In a New Microchip, Cells Separate by Rolling Away   Associate Professor Rohit Karnik in his lab. Karnik’s new microfluidic device isolates target cells (in pink) from the rest of the flow by...
  • Faculty Spotlight: C. Forbes Dewey Jr.
    Dec. 10, 2012
    A Lifetime of Bioengineering Achievement   by Alissa Mallinson   Photo credit: Tony Pulsone Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biological Engineering C. Forbes Dewey Jr. first came to MIT’s...
  • Faculty Spotlight: Professor Ioannis V. Yannas
    Dec. 10, 2012
    A Lifetime of Biomaterials Engineering Achievement   by Alissa Mallinson   Professor Ioannis V. YannasPhoto courtesy of Professor Yannas In 1969, Professor Ioannis V. Yannas was an expert on fibers...
  • Competing Mechanisms Influence Tumor Cell Migration
    Dec. 5, 2011
      Color map showing the distribution of pressure across the gel region (between the two rows of semi-circular posts) containing the cancer cells.   It’s no secret that cancer is deadly. But did you...
  • Talking Shop with Associate Professor Domitilla Del Vecchio
    Dec. 5, 2011
      Domitilla Del Vecchio works on intelligent transportation systems that communicate to prevent collisions. What areas does your research focus on? Broadly speaking, my group works in control...

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