Swanson School of Engineering

06/10/2026

Junyu Liu, an assistant professor for the Department of Computer Science, was recently awarded an NSF grant for his research collaboration with the professors from the Pitt Swanson School of Engineering. They are using their awarded NSF grant to support their research project, titled “Simulating f...

06/10/2026

Although many sabbaticals involve crossing oceans or traveling out of state, leaving home isn’t the only way to immerse oneself in new research, develop educational plans, form new collaborations, and shore up existing ones. In this final installment of a three-part series, Pitt professors Daniel Cole, Julie Vandenbossche, and Aaron Batista share their experiences taking a sabbatical right here in Pittsburgh. https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/the-many-shapes-of-sabbaticals/

06/09/2026

Congratulations to our civil engineering alumnus James Serafin BSCE '95 on his new role at Oak Ridge National Laboratory!

Published: June 8, 2026 Updated: June 8, 2026 James “Jim” Serafin Jr. the new director of the Facilities and Operations at ORNL. Credit: Alonda Hines/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has named James “Jim” E. Serafin Jr. as director of the ...

06/08/2026

While researching a cleaner, more efficient way to produce ethylene, Pitt's Aime Laurent Twizerimana, Götz Veser, Mohammad S. Masnadi, and Nader Sawtarie discovered a new way to create battery-quality graphite right here in Pittsburgh. The team launched startup Graphonos Materials and this past spring they won a $20,000 Aramco Innovator Prize and Pitt Big Idea Center's $25,000 Big Idea Competition Grand Prize! https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/from-cleaner-cracking-to-black-gold/

06/08/2026

The day you've awaited has finally arrived...academic honors are posted! Congrats to this semester's students! https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/student/academic-honors/

06/01/2026

Slippery floors cause thousands of workplace injuries every year, and a team at the Swanson School of Engineering just slid their way into a best paper award for studying how to fix that. ⚠️

Henry Ing (BS BioE ‘22, MS ‘24), Kurt Beschorner, and Tevis Jacobs validated a model that predicts how much friction exists between a shoe sole and a floor surface when a contaminant like oil is present. Along with co-authors Anna Randolph, Vimanyu Chadha, Ph.D., and Ky Reifler, the team received the 2025 Best Paper Award from the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Journal of Tribology for their work this spring.

Read more about the winning paper below! 👟

🔗 https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/slick-science/

05/28/2026

This April, 55 members of Pitt’s ASCE Student Chapter competed at the ASCE Mid-Atlantic Student Symposium, and the collective effort paid off. The team designed and built bridges, surveyed land, solved problems, and created and raced a concrete canoe – and won first place overall! Congratulations! https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/building-momentum-community-bridges-and-the-andy-war-hull/

05/28/2026

Right before submitting his application to Pitt, Jonathon (Jack) Bender changed his intended major to engineering. Now in his third year as a chemical engineering student, he can be found, quite literally, all over Benedum Hall – mentoring, making rubies, or even transforming a 3D printer. https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/an-exponential-cascade-upwards-and-out/

05/21/2026

Pitt researchers Melissa Bilec, Federica Geremicca, and John Brigham, with UCF’s Alessandro Fascetti, have built an interactive digital twin of Pitt’s Mascaro Center that allows users to “walk” through the building and assess energy use, air quality, and the materials in real time. Their research is advancing how we build, maintain, and automate buildings more sustainably. https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/digital-twin-studies/

05/20/2026

Join the Department of Bioengineering for the Annual "Be Like B" 5K! 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

Inspired by Distinguished Professor and former Bioengineering Department Chair, Harvey Borovetz, Graduate BMES is hosting this fundraiser on June 6th, 10:30am to 1:00 pm at the Drug Discovery Institute (700 Technology Dr, Pittsburgh).

All proceeds benefit the Best of the Batch Foundation, an organization dedicated to unlocking potential in communities to build the best future for kids and families by providing choices, motivation, and education.

Details:
• $10 / person
• Refreshments included 🍽️
• Bring your furry friends 🐾
• Prizes for top finishers, best pet, and most creative race name 🏆

RSVP by May 26th, and contact us with any questions!

🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoBJT8l5sb9zgZ0mvchTZmJVZys6oF_gLDSa3AP6wEQ_FNWw/viewform