Departments Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Gabrielle Whittle works on her convertible heel design.

How a business idea ‘heeled’ her need to be an entrepreneur

Whittle, who recently graduated in mechanical engineering, received an inaugural $10,000 Innovator Award for her development of an adjustable sole and removable heel that will enable her product to be worn as a flat or a high-heeled shoe.

by Ian Thomsen June 16, 2021

Northeastern graduate Anvesh Gurijala in his lab

It’s strong enough to protect airplanes from lightning strikes, light enough to create performance skis

Boston Materials, a company started by a Northeastern professor and two graduates, manufactures a new type of carbon fiber that is light, tough, and as smooth as velvet. The added bonus? The company uses 100 percent reclaimed materials, an impressive statistic especially in an industry that creates so much waste.

by Emily Arntsen June 10, 2021

Yi Zheng, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, created a new recyclable material that can be used to cool down buildings without relying on conventional cooling systems. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

How to keep cool without turning on the A/C

What if buildings could stay cool all on their own—no electricity required? That’s the premise of Yi Zheng’s new invention. The associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern has created a material that can be used to make buildings or other objects able to keep cool without relying on conventional cooling systems.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki June 7, 2021

Mechanical engineering major Amanda Vasconcelos considers herself “one of the lucky people” to have always known what career she wanted. Now, she’s building animatronic toys as a co-op at toy-maker Hasbro. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

She deconstructed robotic toys as a kid. Now she builds them for Hasbro.

Amanda Vasconcelos considers herself “one of the lucky people” to have always known she wanted to be an engineer. Now, she’s building animatronic toys as a co-op at the multinational toy-making company Hasbro.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 27, 2021

‘We want to make sure kids are getting health education’

Arunika Makam, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student, heads an organization that helps high schoolers make good choices about sexual health, mental health, and substance use.

by Ian Thomsen September 9, 2020

He’ll donate the face shields he’ll make in his dorm

After the pandemic forced him to leave campus in March, mechanical engineering student Max Seidel joined with a friend to produce and donate 4,250 shields to hospitals, police departments, schools, and other organizations. Seidel returned to campus over the weekend with plans to continue production using a 3D printer from his single room in International Village.

by Ian Thomsen September 2, 2020

Jessica Faust. Photo courtesy of Jessica Faust.

With her help, we can build better bridges (and better bones)

Jessica Faust, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, has put in numerous hours in labs across Boston to develop better materials for buildings and bone grafts. Her achievements have earned her an Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Research.

by Khalida Sarwari May 12, 2020

Faculty Expert

Babak Heydari

Assistant Professor or Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Sagar Kamarthi is a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The future of manufacturing is here. Are we ready?

Sagar Kamarthi, who teaches mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern, is helping the workforce prepare for a new landscape. This year, he is one of two faculty to receive Northeastern’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

by Khalida Sarwari April 29, 2020

Image of emergency response tent in Pennsylvania

This model can help hospitals prepare for a surge of COVID-19 cases

Engineering professor James Benneyan helped create a tool to calculate when hospitals might run out of essential resources, such as staff and ventilators, as COVID-19 cases peak.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa April 15, 2020