mechanical engineering News

Two UCF alums will play a major — albeit painstakingly slow — role in moving the NASA’s historic Space Launch System with Orion spaceship over land before it launches from Earth.

The grant means more underrepresented students – who make up 48.5% of the student body at UCF – will have an opportunity to work with engineering, physics, and medical faculty experts to develop innovative technologies critical for advancing space exploration.

Students benefit from on-the-job training and soft-skills development, and some candidates are converting their internships into jobs after graduation.

Zachary Whitacre ’21 has specialized in the interface of engineering and human health as a mechanical engineering student at UCF.

The UCF researchers are developing a way for large machines to “breathe” in and out cooling blasts of water to keep their systems from overheating. 

University faculty and graduates have made major contributions to the space industry.

The approach could lead to creating something as simple as a cough drop or lozenge that people would pop in their mouths before going into the grocery store, work or school.

There are more than 10,000 potential candidates for biofuels, and Vasu’s research group was tasked with testing five of the most promising.

Growing up on a family farm, graduating senior Dale Wagner never imagined the skills he learned raising palm trees would lead to a mechanical engineering degree, a rare chance to work on innovating a Honda motor or land him a job at Boeing.