A MESSAGE FROM THE DEO

The ME department has had an exceptional academic year in 2022-2023, thanks to its Strategic Vision plan that was launched in 2018, aimed at pioneering a new frontier in autonomy. To achieve this goal, the department has recruited four assistant professors in the field of Robotics and Autonomous Systems since 2018 and is currently in the process of adding one more to their team. Additionally, the department launched the Artificial Intelligence, Modeling and Simulation (AIMS) certificate program in the Fall of 2022, which was generously funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Since its launch, the program has been a huge success, with ten undergraduate and eight PhD students enrolled in the AIMS certificate program by the end of the Fall semester. Notably, among these students are two nonME undergraduates, and three ME undergraduates who have already completed the AIMS certificate. In this newsletter, we are excited to share some great news and updates from our department. Firstly, we would like to celebrate the accomplishments of our assistant professors - Casey Harwood, Caterina Lamuta, and Venanzio Cichella - who have been recognized for their hard work and dedication with prestigious awards such as the NSF CAREER Award, ONR YIP Award, and Amazon Research Award, respectively. We will also feature the latest research conducted by our esteemed associate and full professors in AI-related water management and post-COVID-19 medical imaging. Additionally, we have included interviews with three talented undergraduate students from our AIMS certificate program, who will share their unique perspectives and experiences.

Lastly, we wanted to share some heartwarming news with you all. Last December, we had our first departmental winter party since the pandemic began. The festivities were highlighted by a fantastic performance from a band made up of our very own students and faculty. We even took a group photo to commemorate the occasion, which you can find on the last page of this newsletter. Seeing the smiles and happiness of everyone in that picture truly represents the bright future of our department. We appreciate your continued support and hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy during these challenging times.

Engineered structures and the fluids that surround them are constantly interacting. The flapping of a flag or the humming of power lines in a strong breeze are near-daily reminders of these mutual interactions. The interactions also produce important effects on bridges, aircraft wings, and ship hulls. At worst, it can lead to catastrophic infrastructure failures, such as the infamous collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in 1940. These structures also impact the flow of fluids around them, and if properly controlled could lead to safety and performance improvements.

This dynamic known as the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is at the heart of research of Casey Harwood, University of Iowa assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and the focus of Harwood’s new National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. "Fluid-structure interactions are everywhere, affecting transportation and infrastructure that the world relies on," Harwood said. "Despite that, the engineering community lacks rigorous methods to study and understand these interactions. “Engineers are skilled at designing around the potential hazards of FSI, Harwood said, but he sees value in understanding these interactions. "I want to flip the concept on its head – take FSI from something to be avoided and turn it into a well-understood and well-controlled aspect of day-to-day design," Harwood said. "Doing so can open up new avenues for improving the fuel efficiency and the safety of transportation by air, land, and sea." Harwood views the NSF CAREER award as a statement that scientists and engineers recognize the importance of FSI research and education. The CAREER grant is among NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-