ME News

Title	Description	Info
Pinar Acar receives Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award	Mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Pinar Acar has received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Research Program award, a three-year grant of $450,000, to study the changes in magnetic fields for components intended to replace rare-earth metals.	Date: Jan 26, 2021
Ranga Pitchumani appointed editor-in-chief of Solar Energy	Pitchumani’s selection follows an international search to lead the flagship journal in the field of solar energy.	Date: Jan 21, 2021
Virginia Tech named Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute managing member	CyManII will enter into a five-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to lead a consortium of 59 proposed member institutions in introducing a cybersecure energy-ROI that drives American manufacturers and supply chains to further adopt secure, energy-efficient approaches.	Date: Jan 07, 2021
Virginia Tech researcher cracks the hidden strengthening mechanism in biological ceramics	Ling Li, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, has found insights into building stronger and tougher ceramics by studying the shells of bivalve mollusks. The results of his group’s findings were published in the Nov. 10, 2020, issue of Nature Communications.	Date: Jan 05, 2021
Shocking the cellular world: Engineers’ collaborative work discovers force signature of cells undergoing electroporation	Electroporation has been used in many medical applications, such as gene transfection and electrochemotherapy, since the 1980s. In this study, the researchers improved upon an established method of electroporation, in which medicines or genes are injected into holes formed in a cell’s membrane.	Date: Dec 22, 2020
Bahareh Behkam named John R. Jones III Faculty Fellow	Behkam, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the John R. Jones III Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.	Date: Dec 17, 2020