Mechanical Engineering
Research labs and groups
NAU Mechanical Engineering research
Find links to the different research labs and groups in NAU’s Mechanical Engineering Department.
Labs & groups
Bioengineering Devices Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Tim Becker
Website: Bioengineering Devices Lab
The BDL provides opportunities to Ph.D., Masters, and undergraduate students interested in neurovascular devices such as new microcatheter designs, ischemic stroke systems, and innovative embolic agents for aneurysms (improving on coils, flow diverters, liquid embolics, etc). The lab conducts extensive in vitro cerebrovascular flow model development and simulates patient anatomies with innovative 3D-printed tissue-like biomaterials.
Biomechatronics Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Zach Lerner
Website: Biomechatronics Lab
The Biomechatronics Lab is a research facility focused on improving mobility in individuals with neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disabilities through innovation in mechanical and biomedical engineering. The laboratory conducts experiments and develops musculoskeletal models and simulations to study the underlying mechanisms causing movement and orthopedic disorders. The insight gained from these analyses aids the design of robotic assistive devices and treatment strategies, which are subsequently evaluated and refined using experimental and computational methods.
Climate Solutions Engineering Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Jennifer Wade
The Climate Solutions Engineering lab investigates material and engineering systems that provide solutions to slow our warming climate through a variety of carbon capture processes, either directly from the atmosphere (direct air capture) or modified energy systems like biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECSS). Work in this group combines computational efforts that models the mass and energy fluxes with experimental approaches that characterize the key properties of the materials driving the process.
Dynamic and Active Systems Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Michael Shafer
Website: Dynamic and Active Systems Lab
The Dynamic and Active Systems Lab is a research group setup for the development and study of smart materials, mechatronic systems, and novel wildlife telemetry systems. Major equipment in the lab includes a single-point laser vibrometer, data acquisition systems, a fused deposition modeling 3D printer, multiple pieces of active and passive electronic systems equipment, and multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV-RT systems). The lab’s research areas span the biology and electrical systems domains needed for wildlife telemetry systems development, and the mechanics and dynamics domains associated with smart materials.
Experimental Biofluids Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Zhongwang Dou
We mainly focus on experimental investigation of fluid dynamics in biological and environmental systems, with emphases on cardiovascular fluids, biomedical devices, particle-laden flows, and flow-structure interactions. We also work extensively on developing new instrumentations for non-invasive flow measurement and field test, involving 4D particle image/tracking velocimetry, ultrasound imaging, x-ray imaging, and novel flow apparatus.
Feigenbaum Research Group Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Heidi Feigenbaum
Website: Feigenbaum Research Group
The Feigenbaum Research Group studies a wide variety of topics in theoretical and applied mechanics, including, but not limited to, plastic deformation of materials, adaptive materials, structural mechanics, continuum mechanics, biomechanics, and biomimetics.
Multifunctional Materials and Adaptive Systems Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Constantin Ciocanel
Website: Multifunctional Materials and Adaptive Systems Lab
The Multifunctional Materials and Adaptive Systems Lab is a research facility that focuses on the development and characterization of multifunctional materials and adaptive electro-magneto-mechanical systems.
The Raz Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Reza Sharif Razavian
Website: The Raz Lab
The Raz Lab is a highly interdisciplinary group that seeks to bridge the fields of robotics, neuroscience, and biomechanics. Our research in robotics and human movements are tightly intertwined. We take the latest theories in sensorimotor neuroscience and biomechanics to develop human-like controllers for industrial and medical robots. We also use theories from robotics and control to uncover human motor intelligence and the causes of motor disorders.
Uncertainty Quantification, Learning, Inference, and Design (UQLID) Lab Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Subhayan De
Website: UQLID Lab
The main research goal of UQLID (pronounced as “Euclid”) Lab is to establish new probabilistic data-driven paradigms to efficiently develop and validate models using machine learning tools that can be used for the design of multi-scale multi-functional structural systems and materials.
Vadasz Research Group Accordion Closed
Faculty: Dr. Peter Vadasz
Website: Dr. Vadasz