Shape Shifting Invention

A USF Mechanical Engineering professor is developing a new flexible surface technology that could be applied to a number of industries.

Dr. Craig Lusk uses a laser to cut sheets of polymer into dynamic, geometric pieces. He uses his research to tie together the shapes in a way that could revolutionize some industries and create new products not yet invented. Dr. Lusk specializes in something called "compliant mechanisms," which refers to the movement, or motion, the precision-cut shapes take on when they interact with each other.

Professor Kaw Receives Prestigious Award

Autar Kaw, a University of South Florida mechanical engineering professor who was an early adopter of new technologies and social media to teach complex mathematical calculations, has been named a 2012 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Skating Into Innovation – ME Graduate Patents Skatecase

USF President Genshaft showcases a Skatecase – the patented creation of USF graduate Alexei Novitzky - emblazoned with the university seal and the iconic Bulls "U" during an innovation conference at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Senior Capstone Design project

In an effort to magnify and enhance relations with the University of South Florida, Chromalloy Castings has teamed up with USF's mechanical engineering department in hopes of solving one of the facility's most notorious material handling issues.

The team of four students was taking part in its Senior Capstone Design project, a course aimed toward putting the concepts learned in the mechanical engineering curriculum into practice.

Passion Play

Many students experience group projects and team building exercises while attending their college classes, but very few have a working car as their final product.

USF Racing is a student organization at the University of South Florida that brings together people with a passion for both cars and racing. As a part of USF Racing, members design new racing vehicles and work both within the group and in the community to make them a reality.

NASA Internship Benefits USF Student

To those small children dreaming of spaceships and walking on the moon, University of South Florida student Marie Chenowith has one thing to say: keep dreaming big.

The mechanical engineering student just completed a semester-long internship in the robotics department of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tx. and is back at USF to finish her last semester for her bachelors degree.

It hasn't been an easy journey, Chenowith said.