Rice University Mechanical Engineering

05/29/2026

First place in Shanghai! 🏆 Congratulations to Team TacTile, Rice Mechanical Engineering students who turned stroke rehab into interactive gameplay and brought home the win at the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Student Design Competition.

TacTile lets stroke patients do real therapy through real games, swapping the monotony of repetitive exercises for something they actually want to play, while tracking speed, accuracy and progress along the way.

A well-deserved win for Avery Janenda, Amelia Pillar, Mina Schepmann, Tomi Kuye, Hannah Wixom and Brian Mercado. Thank you to mentors Marcia O'Malley, Elijah Rice, Gary Woods, David Trevas, Tracy Volz, Elyse Chase and the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen - Rice University for their guidance and support.
Read more: https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-engineering-students-turn-stroke-rehab-interactive-gameplay

05/27/2026

Tayfun Tezduyar, Kenji Takizawa, and their Waseda University collaborators Takuya Terahara and Hiroka Miura recently published a paper on computational analysis of flow from a bioprosthetic aortic valve to the aorta.

The analysis shows complex vortex structures and flow reversal associated with valve motion, highlights how the curvature and torsion of the aortic arch govern near-leaflet flow patterns, and can help surgeons assess how the valve will perform for each patient depending on those same parameters.

This first-of-its-kind solution is made possible by a synthesis of Space-Time Computational Flow Analysis (STCFA) methods from the Team for Advanced Flow Simulation and Modeling (TAFSM), including three unconventional approaches:
🔹 High-resolution boundary-layer representation, despite contact between the leaflets
🔹 ST Isogeometric Analysis, with superior accuracy compared to traditional numerical methods, despite the geometric complexities of this real-world problem
🔹 Computational efficiency focused where it matters most, including the valve-leaflet surfaces

🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq93fun0tgk
🔗 Paper: https://lnkd.in/gJ2D9vwT
🔗 Space-Time Computational Flow Analysis book: https://lnkd.in/g6t6pvUQ
🔗 TAFSM: https://www.tafsm.org/
🔗 TAFSM (Japan): https://www.jp.tafsm.org/

https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00466-026-02788-5Space–Time Isogeometric Analysis of the Aortic-Valve to Aorta Flow with High-Resolution Boundary-Layer Represent...

05/11/2026

A semester-long course project could soon make aerospace materials safer and less prone to catastrophic failure.

Ethan Javedan, Ricky Miller and Joanna Feaster, students in Denizhan Yavas's Composite Materials for Aerospace Structures course, developed carbon fiber composites with architected lattice interlayers inspired by nacre that absorb up to four times more energy while maintaining strength — a finding published in Composites Part B. Rather than altering material chemistry, the team redesigned the internal structure, allowing damage to spread gradually.

Read more: https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-students-turn-classroom-project-publishable-breakthrough-aerospace-composites

05/05/2026

We are proud to celebrate Megan Worstell, senior in Mechanical Engineering, who has been named a recipient of the 2026 Rice Center for Engineering Leadership Award! 🎉

The award is given to seniors whose character, leadership and responsibility have been outstanding throughout their time at Rice. Megan has embodied exactly that — as a Student Director at RCEL, a Mechanical Engineering Teaching Fellow and a campus event leader, she has invested in the growth of everyone around her.

Congratulations, Megan — we are cheering you on!
👉https://rcel.rice.edu/news/rcel-announces-winners-2026-parks-prize-and-rcel-award-engineering-leadership

04/24/2026

In work published in Advanced Portfolio News, Rice mechanical engineer Denizhan Yavas and collaborator Ashraf Bastawros of Iowa State University demonstrate that lunar dust, long seen as a hazard for space exploration, can strengthen fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The findings point to a path toward building habitats, protective barriers and other infrastructure for sustained human presence on the moon — without relying solely on Earth-supplied materials.

Learn more:https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-led-research-turns-lunar-material-building-blocks-future-moon-infrastructure

04/24/2026

Congratulations to all Rice Mechanical Engineering students who participated in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen - Rice University Huff OEDK Engineering Design Showcase!

🏆 Team TacTile took first place in the W***y Revolution Award for Outstanding Innovation for their modular at-home rehabilitation system that turns therapeutic exercises for stroke survivors into engaging gameplay.

Learn more about all the teams and projects at this year's showcase.https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-students-showcase-bold-engineering-solutions-annual-oedk-event

04/22/2026

Breastfeeding is one of the most complex biological processes in early motherhood, and much of what drives it remains invisible.

Chihtong "Lily" Lee, a doctoral researcher in Rice Mechanical Engineering, is working to change that. Using medical imaging data and computational models, she simulates how breast tissue deforms and how electrical properties change during feeding, building toward noninvasive tools that help mothers track milk flow in real time. Her work recently earned her a travel fellowship from the American Academy of Mechanics to present at the 2026 US National Congress on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Read the full story:https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-doctoral-student-uses-mechanics-map-how-breastfeeding-works-real-time

04/21/2026

Join us for the Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series featuring Dr. W. Hong Yeo, G.P. "Bud" Peterson and Valerie H. Peterson Endowed Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech, presenting "Printed, Wireless, Soft Bioelectronics for Human-Machine Interfaces and Health Monitoring."

Dr. Yeo will discuss the fundamental scientific principles behind integrated nanomembrane biosensors and bioelectronics in wearable configurations. He will present innovative solutions utilizing soft sensors and integrated electronics to address current limitations in health monitoring systems, including novel strategies for designing advanced systems through materials engineering, printing-based nanomanufacturing, and hard-soft system packaging technologies.

📅 Wednesday, April 22, 2026
⏰ 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
📍 Maxfield Hall 251, Rice University
https://events.rice.edu/event/428345-mech-seminar-series-w-hong-yeo

04/20/2026

Congratulations to Marcia O'Malley on receiving the 2026 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, which honors Rice's top instructors based on votes from alumni who graduated within the past two, three, and five years.

One of her most memorable moments in the classroom comes from her hands-on mechatronics course, where students design and build DC motors from scratch, starting with nothing but enamel wire and magnets. Dr. O'Malley says seeing their excitement when theory becomes reality never gets old.

A well-deserved recognition of the lasting impact she brings to Rice Engineering and Computing.

Nine Rice faculty members received the 2026 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, which honors Rice’s top instructors based on votes from alumni who graduated within the past two, three and five years.

04/17/2026

A team of Rice University Mechanical Engineering undergraduates worked with the Houston Zoo through the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen - Rice University to design a sustainable, heated flooring system for the flamingo habitat. Using circulating warm water through piping buried beneath the sand, the system offers a safer, more energy-efficient alternative to the electric space heaters the zoo had relied on during colder months.

By the end of the semester, the team had delivered a working proof-of-concept and detailed recommendations for scaling the system to the full habitat.

Read the full story:

A team of Rice undergraduates set out to find a better solution for keeping Flamingos at the Houston Zoo warm during the winter months.