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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTAL NEWSLETTER SPRING 2019
ME Newsletter
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DEO Message
Table of Contents
Do you see the breaking waves, droplets, or Mount Fuji in a deep learning generated Old Capitol image below with a neural style transfer from "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Japanese artist Hokusai? The fields of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) have advanced rapidly in recent years, enabling novel engineering applications and creative artworks. To prepare our students for this new landscape, we launched a new curriculum and elective focus area in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) along with a series of new courses in AI/ML/DL, control, robotics, and cooperative autonomous systems. The ultimate goal is to better integrate and further advance our undergraduate and graduate programs. The thrust research areas of this department, college, and university span from fluid dynamics, design optimization, and manufacturing & materials to medical image analysis, computer-aided diagnosis, and health science. Using the terminology of deep learning with the input data of the above RAS-themed courses and thrust areas, the variables in a latent space of an autoencoder might comprise medical images, computer vision, autonomy, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and among others. These variables represent the common traits and opportunities of this department. In this issue of the ME newsletter we highlight the stories of four faculty members whose research is supported by ONR, including a national award received by a full professor in recognition of his life-long achievements and the research projects awarded to three assistant professors. Their research is multi-disciplinary in nature and multi-dimensional (both cross-sectionally and longitudinally), encompassing design optimization in ship-hydrodynamics, smart material systems, control of underwater vehicles, and maneuver of amphibious vehicles. We are thankful to have such talented faculty and excited to see where their pursuits lead! We are also very grateful for the continued support our program receives on its endeavor.
3. ME is Preparing Students for the New Industrial Landscape 4. Fred Stern Receives 2018 David W. Taylor Medal 6. Lamuta's Material Systems Lab 10. Cichella's CAS Lab 12. Landlocked Iowa 14. New Advisory Board Member: Carol Woten 15. BAJA Student Org Updates
Ching-Long Lin, DEO
Follow ME on social media! ME-dept@uiowa.edu
Edward M. Mielnik and Samuel R. Harding Professor
Contributors: Maria Chusin, Tara Hoadley
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ME is Preparing Students for the New Industrial Landscape r e s p o n s e to t h e current wave of artificial intelligence (AI) and its enormous applications in industry, we have launched a new curriculum and introduced a new elective focus area (EFA), named Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), in Fall 2018. The technology, manufacturing system, robotics, and automation that underlie Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, are infinitely complex, and the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is the key building block. Therefore, ME Associate Professors Shaoping Xiao and Hongtao Ding, Lecturer Phil Deierling, and Chief Technology Officer Danny Tang have been working together to set up an IoT learning system, funded by the Innovations in Teaching with Technology Awards at the University of Iowa, to support the new curriculum and EFA. The RAS EFA is centered around teaching students about robotics, automation and autonomy in design and manufacturing. Inclusion of this EFA is extremely important to provide our students with the most up to date methods, technologies and problem-solving strategies used in modern industries. The IoT learning system is designed as a network of laboratories, initially including the Control, Robotics, and Automation (CAR) lab and the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) lab to help instructors and students to experiment, deploy and test IoT infrastructure. The CAR lab contains an industrial 6-axis robotic arm and a newly purchased mobile robot - a “collaborative” robotic arm fixed to an autonomous base vehicle - that can work alongside humans without a protective barrier. The AM lab is equipped with two ultrasonic welding machines. All of these robots and machines are currently considered advanced equipment in modern manufacturing and production, and they are excellent candidates to be modernized for Industry 4.0 through autonomous data communication and performance monitoring.
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The IoT learning system aims to provide students with the opportunity to become familiar with the Industry 4.0 fields of automation, robotics, programmable logic controllers, human machine interfaces, CNC programming, setup and operation, laser engraving, networking, variable frequency drives, material handling and troubleshooting, and other modern and emerging elements of manufacturing. It will also enable students to acquire Industrial IoT and other skills on a functioning production line that produces a product in conjunction with a standardized proven and state-of-the-art curriculum. Particularly, emerging technologies, including IoT and robotics, are utilized in student learning. The IoT learning system will enhance the ME undergraduate curriculum, especially in the following courses: “Modern Robotics and Automation” (ME:4140), “Artificial Intelligence in Engineering” (ME:4150), and “Manufacturing Processes, Simulations and Automation” (ME:4116). It serves as a platform for instructors to design comprehensive projects to enhance student learning in ME core and elective courses. The courses - ME:4140 especially - provide theoretical background of operational principles and, most importantly, offers hands-on laboratories to assimilate theory with application. We are excited about pushing forward with our curriculum to further explore and develop the future of Mechanical Engineering.
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FRED STERN RECEIVES
2018 DAVID W. TAYLOR MEDAL
M ec h a n i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g P ro f e s s o r and researcher at IIHR -
Hydroscience & Engineering, Fred Stern received the 2018 David W. Taylor Medal for Notable Achievement in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, presented at the recent annual meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in Providence, Rhode Island this past October. The award was first established in 1936 in honor of the American naval architect and engineer, David W. Taylor who served in the United States Navy during World War I. His title was Chief Constructor of the Navy and he is credited with constructing the first ever towing tank in the US. The Taylor Medal honor goes to an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of ship hydrodynamics and naval architecture. Professor Stern graduated from the University of Michigan in 1975 and subsequently received his PhD in 1980. He then worked as a research naval architect for Science Applications International Corporation in Annapolis, Maryland. Since 1983, he has been a professor at the University of Iowa. Stern has more than 35 years of experience teaching fluid mechanics and conducting sophisticated research in ship hydrodynamics and has supervised 25 MS and 27 PhD student theses. Stern gratefully acknowledges the support of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for his work.
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“T h i s awa r d i s pa rt i c u l a r ly meaningful to me because so many of my esteemed colleagues have received in the past,” Stern says. “I am truly humbled to be in such distinguished company.” Stern’s expertise in experimental and computational ship hydrodynamics is world-renowned, particularly his integrated approach to research in which simulations provide guidance, experiments provide validation data, and simulations fill in sparse data. IIHR’s research facilities, including a state-of-the-art towing tank and wave basin, provide data for physics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation, including test cases for CFD workshops and NATO Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) working groups.
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CFDS h i p -I owa URANS/DES (developed by Stern and his
team) is known as one of the world’s best CFD codes for ship hydrodynamics. It has many functionalities, including nextgeneration high-fidelity/resolution V6, which enables twophase sharp-interface; as well as direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) using billions of grid points. Stern’s research also includes the development of verification and validation (V&V) and uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods, fundamental physics and ship performance, deterministic/stochastic shape/multidisciplinary optimization, and fluid structure interaction, as described in his hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. Stern served as chair/member of the International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC) and its CFD workshop committees, as well as the NATO AVT working group. He has collaborated with colleagues around the world; and he is an ASME fellow and a member of SNAME and the American Society for Engineering Education. Stern holds the George D Ashton Professor of Hydroscience and Engineering at the UI and has received many honors, including UI Faculty Scholar (1993-96); UI Faculty Research Excellence (2012); Weinblum Lecturer (2012-13); and NATO STO AVT panel excellence
These photos feature David W. Taylor himself and an image of the research facility when it was completed in 1938.
"The academic environment of learning, teaching and mentoring graduate students and postdocs and collaborations with research scientists and colleagues is the backbone of scholarship and my success is on the backs of my many M .S . and Ph. D. students and c o l l e a g u e s ." - Fr e d S t e r n
Stern's Doctoral Student Wins Award Silvia Volpi, a recent ME PhD graduate and former research assistant for IIHR, working specifically with Professor Stern. After her graduation, she returned to her home country of Italy and works for Bridgestone Europe as a Research and Development Engineer. This Spring, she received the Graduate Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award. This award is only occasionally given out and recognizes exceptionally meritorious graduate student scholarship. Volpi’s thesis, "High-fidelity Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a 3D Composite Material Hydrofoil," explored multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) using multi-criterion adaptive sampling (MCAS) naval architecture. The research presented aims at building a global derivative-free optimization tool able to employ high-fidelity/expensive black-box solvers for the analysis of the disciplines. “The significance and quality of Dr. Volpi’s work cannot be over stated”, according to her thesis advisor Prof. Stern. “The body in toto and each part represent highly original research that is an unusually significant contribution to naval, marine and aero engineering. It is without question that Dr. Volpi’s contributions are a milestone achievement towards their full realization.” ME Newsletter
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LAMUTA'S MATERIAL SYSTEMS LAB “The possibilit y of improving the quality of life of people is the driving force of my r e s e a r c h a c t i v i t y. S m a r t and multifunctional material systems have a transformative i m p a c t o n s o c i e t y, i n t e r m s o f e n e r g y e f f i c i e n c y, r e l i a b i l i t y, d u r a b i l i t y, s a f e t y, a n d h u m a n h e a l t h ." A s s i s ta n t P ro f e s s o r C at e r i n a L a m u ta joined the University
of Iowa at the beginning of this academic year. Her research focuses on the design, manufacturing, and characterization of smart and multifunctional material systems (SMMS). This includes bio-inspired artificial muscles and color-change materials, piezoelectric materials, and graphene-based nanocomposites. In particular, Lamuta’s research activity involves multiscale characterization, from the nano to the macro scale, and a wide range of disciplines, ranging from physics, chemistry, and material science, to mechanics and robotics. 6
Currently, Lamuta’s research is focused on artificial muscles. Her group recently developed a new type of twisted and coiled artificial muscles from carbon fibers and silicone rubber. These novel muscles can be actuated by heating, joule heating, or chemical swelling, lift up to 12600 times their own weight, support up to 60 MPa of mechanical stress, provide tensile strokes up to 60%, and a specific work up to 758 J kg−1 (the latter is more than 18 times higher than that of natural muscles). These lightweight muscles require only 0.172 V/cm of electrical input to be electrically actuated and can substitute the traditional and heavy electromagnetic actuators in applications where low weight, fine motion and high contractile work are required. Lamuta collaborates with colleagues at the University of Iowa, University of Illinois, and Georgia Tech to develop assistive robotic devices using these promising artificial muscles. She is also working on the development of texture and shape morphing structures using twisted and coiled artificial muscles. This project is funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and takes inspiration from the texture modulation performed by cephalopods by means of dermal erector muscles called papillae. The team’s goal is to emulate the performance of cephalopods’ papillae using artificial muscles and develop smart skins capable of on-demand dynamic texture and shape morphing. This technology will be attractive for several applications, ranging from haptic feedback devices (such as visual 3D displays or Braille displays) to fouling resistant surfaces and drag control of underwater vehicles. Spring 2019
r e s e a rc h l a b , the Smart Multifunctional Material Systems (SMMS) Lab is located at the Iowa Advanced Technologies Laboratory (IATL) building. It contains equipment for material manufacturing and testing at different length scales. In particular, it is equipped with: chemical benches, fume hoods, microbalances, hot and stirring plates, desiccators, optical tables, a spin coater, a vacuum oven, an optical microscope, a laser cutter, an electrodynamic testing system, a triboindenter. Specifically, the triboindenter is a very powerful tool for the experimental characterization of materials at the nano and micro scale. Thanks to the real-time monitoring of the indenter tip force and penetration depth, several mechanical properties can be measured, such as stiffness, hardness, and fracture toughness. Moreover, the oscillation of the indenter tip at high frequencies allows to measure viscoelastic and fatigue properties, as well as perform scanning probe microscopy.
L a m u ta ’ s
b e l i e v e s t h at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Iowa offers unique opportunities to conduct collaborative, interdisciplinary, and cutting-edge research. In particular, the presence of a prestigious medical school paves the way for innovative engineering applications in the medical field. She says, “I find my current collaboration with physicians from the UIowa College of Public Health one of the most stimulating and productive experiences of my career as a researcher. Moreover, the kindness of staff and faculty, combined with the friendly atmosphere that you can find in every corner of Iowa City, make the University of Iowa a unique place where to work.”
L a m u ta
Graduate student researcher Parth Kotak and visiting scholar Valentina Giovinco manufacturing carbon fibers/silicone rubber twisted and coiled artificial muscles. In the image, the artificial muscle lift half a gallon of water more than 1 inch with an applied voltage of only 0.2 V/cm.
Lamuta and her team use a specialized piece of equipment called a triboindenter to test specific mechanical properties of the materials they use at the nano and micro scale. The above graph shows an imprint and plot of a materials test.
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This This photo photo was was taken taken atat the the Platte Platte River River in in Nebraska Nebraska during during the the migration migration season season ofof sandhill sandhill cranes. cranes. Each Each Spring, Spring, these these spectacular spectacular birds birds converge converge in in the the Great Great Plains Plains toto rest rest and and refuel refuel during during migration. migration. A gorgeous A gorgeous sight sight toto behold! behold!
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CICHELLA'S CAS LAB A s s i s ta n t P ro f e s s o r V e n a n z i o C i c h e l l a ’ s newly created
Cooperative Autonomous Systems (CAS) lab is producing compelling research! The lab itself is a 1,000 square foot laboratory equipped with a state of the art motion capture system which provides real-time data of the positions, angles, and velocity of the drones the researchers fly through the lab. The 10 ground robots and 40 drones are used to test motion planning, trajectory tracking, coordination control, and collision avoidance algorithms. Cichella joined the University at the beginning of this academic year and affiliated with the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) as well. His research interests lie at the intersection between robotics, control theory, and autonomous systems. Specifically, he is interested in developing and implementing solutions to nonlinear control and optimal control problems, that enable autonomous systems to execute complex tasks in real-world environments safely and reliably. Cichella explains that, worldwide, there has been growing interest in the development of algorithms that enable heterogeneous autonomous vehicles, including space, aerial, ground, and marine vehicles, to execute missions in a cooperative fashion. The use of a cooperative group of vehicles, rather than a single heavily equipped vehicle, provides robustness to system failures, increases system overall reliability, and improves mission efficiency. However, despite significant progress in cooperative control, several problems remain to be addressed to enable safe and robust execution of multiple vehicle missions in the presence of vehicles failures, communication faults, complex environment and vehicle dynamics. co l l a b o r at i o n w i t h the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign (UIUC), the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS, Monterey, CA), and the Instituto Superior TĂŠcnico (IST, Lisbon, Portugal), Cichella works on the development,
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implementation, and testing of control strategies that address these challenges. In particular, his research focuses on optimal trajectory generation, coordination, path following, vision-based tracking, collision avoidance, and inner-loop control. Recently, Cichella received funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to collaboratively work with Professor Pablo Carrica on the inner-loop control problem for underwater vehicles that have to execute complex maneuvers at low speed and near surface. Control algorithms will be designed and developed by combining efforts in approximation theory and direct methods for optimal control, as well as robust and adaptive control theory. The solutions will be tested using the code REX, developed at The University of Iowa, which offers a unique platform to perform advanced evaluation of the controller’s performance, by resolving the physics of the hydrodynamics and body motions of the underwater vehicles under investigation while accurately implementing the proposed control architecture. The findings are expected to make contribution to the state-of-art of cooperative autonomous systems across multiple domains, including autonomous search and rescue, national security, smart transportation systems, and assistive and exploration robots.
a p p l i c at i o n C i c h e l l a is particularly interested in is the use of multiple autonomous aerial vehicles for Earth observation. Our understanding of natural hazards and environmental risks on society, e.g. global warming, rising sea levels, and pollution, is currently limited by our ability to observe the planet. Earth monitoring and observation is performed by remote sensing through satellites, fixed ground stations and floating ocean sensors, and in-situ measurements from sensors mounted on-board aircraft. The use of these sensing technologies for remote and insitu observations has broadened our understanding of the Earth system across a wide range of disciplines, including atmospheric sciences, ecology, hydrology, and geology. However, we are still severely constrained in our ability to model and predict environmental changes due to a lack of insitu persistent and long-term observations. The development of a “deploy-and-forget� large swarm of autonomous aerial vehicles, that can collect measurements over long periods of time, could potentially lead to a second revolution in Earth system modeling and prediction, enabling us to anticipate and mitigate sustainability challenges with unprecedented fidelity.
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LEFT: Graduate student Calvin Kielas-Jensen has been working hard on optimal trajectory generation for multiple autonomous vehicles, specifically using Bernstein polynomials. Essentially, he is trying to determine safe paths for multiple robots to move simultaneously in a computationally efficient manner. Applications of this research include everything from drone light shows to safe aerospace path planning. BELOW: Undergraduate researcher Camilla Tabasso has been working to configure ground robots to move autonomously by using ROS (robotics operating system).
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LANDLOCKED IOWA:
A Surprising Hub of Amphibious Vehicle Research Written by: Tricia Brown, IIHR
“ We have experimental and computational hydrodynamics under one roof, with the resources to make both of those programs successful. I t ’s hard to f ind the r ight combination of expertise
a m a j o r o b s tac l e that amphibious-vehicle builders face is that the machines are largely unproven in the chaotic surf zones that develop near beaches.“We need agile vehicles that are capable of transitioning between land and sea to do their jobs, whether the job is to rescue a stranded surfer or to conduct surveys of the seafloor,” Harwood says. “That means crossing the surf zone, and doing it safely. But we need better science to tell us what’s actually happening in this critical region near the beach.”
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fa l l , H a rwo o d co n d u c t e d experiments with the vehicle at the Coralville Reservoir and the Ohmsett National Oil c o u n t r y.” Spill Response Test Facility in New Jersey, where he and his team focused on the behavior of small vessels in conditions ranging from calm water to ocean-like swells. The Quadski was outfitted with custom sensors and operated remotely. W h e n C a s e y H a rwo o d accepted a position as assistant “We were lucky to test at Ohmsett,” says Harwood. “It’s a big professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa, laboratory. We could dial in the wave conditions we wanted he did so knowing that he would be conducting research while the Quadski recorded all of the important data.” at one of the premier institutions in his chosen specialty: That ability to control the test conditions is invaluable, hydrodynamics. The UI’s renown also helped him land his but it’s also the biggest challenge as Harwood’s team shifts current research project, one that’s so specific that only a few its focus to the surf zone, which is difficult to study in the locations in the country are uniquely positioned to support it. field because nature dictates the conditions and the waves Harwood, who also is a researcher at the UI’s IIHR— the test vehicle battles are difficult to measure and reproduce. Hydroscience & Engineering, is studying an amphibious The solution? Take the experiments into the lab. The next vehicle, a Gibbs Quadski, to better understand how the step will be to build a small-scale model of the vehicle and machine will perform in coastal waves. Such vehicles, which continue testing it this summer at the UI’s Wave Basin, can maneuver in water and on land, have many potential uses, located on the Oakdale campus. Harwood’s experiments will from search and rescue to first-responder transport, surveying, provide data for high-resolution computational modeling and scientific applications. of the surf zone hydrodynamics being conducted by ME
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Professor Pablo Carrica. Hiroyuki Sugiyama, ME Associate Professor, is working on simulating the vehicle when it’s operating on land. s eco n d pa rt o f Harwood’s research focuses on the physics of the waves. His objective is to create a first-of-itskind data set describing waves that go from deep water onto a beach and break. The measurements will help researchers understand the physics involved and act as a benchmark for validating simulations. The simulations, in turn, may open the door to more complicated research.“The science community in general has a pretty good idea of what happens when a wave hits the beach, but it’s really hard to simulate,” Harwood says. “You can describe it in general terms, but we lack specific data to point to.” Harwood came to the UI in January 2017 after completing a PhD at the University of Michigan. He says he is happy to have found a position at the UI in his chosen field— experimental naval hydrodynamics—but he doesn’t deny the irony of coming to landlocked Iowa to conduct his research. Still, he says, the UI is better equipped for hydrodynamics research than most coastal universities. The IIHR Wave Basin is one of the newest in the country for naval hydrodynamics research. IIHR’s towing tank, located in the basement of the Stanley Hydraulics Lab, is also one of the nation’s most advanced facilities for ship hydrodynamics research. “This project is one of an ‘ecosystem’ of related research,” Harwood says. “My colleagues perform the simulations, while my lab performs the experiments—it’s very collaborative. We have experimental and computational hydrodynamics under one roof, with the resources to make both of those programs successful. It’s hard to find the right combination of expertise anywhere else in the country.”
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fac t , H a rwo o d ’ s amphibious vehicle work is a departure from the path he was on in graduate school at Michigan, where he studied hydrofoils like those used in the Americas Cup races.“This is a new topic of research, and that’s really exciting,” he says. “If I had gone anywhere else, this research would have been out of reach. I wouldn’t have had access to the capabilities and facilities. I would have had to build things from scratch that Iowa already has in place.”
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ABOVE: The Gibbs Quadski amphibious vehicle being set up at the Ohmsett National Oil Spill Response Test Facility in New Jersey. These experiments were carried out during the Summer of 2018 and allowed the team to create controled surfzone conditions to gather data. BELOW: Prof. Harwood and his graduate student Andrew Arnold setting up and testing the Gibbs Quadski at the Coralville Reservoir.
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NEW ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: Carol Woten “ Working in an automation environment is always exciting. We tackle new ideas and new processes on a daily basis. We are always looking for ward to make sure we are helping our customers gain productivity with the best new a l t e r n a t i v e s .” a r e e xc i t e d to i n t ro d u c e our newest ME advisory board member, Carol Woten! She has a MBA from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business and a degree in Non-Destructive Testing. She is the Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at Genesis Systems Group, a company that specializes in factory automation. Woten was drawn to engineering because of her affinity for math and science. She says that much of manufacturing today uses automation. Automation helps provide manufactured items at a reasonable price to the masses. Automation provides the ability to design and manufacture products that could not be accomplished manually. At Genesis, their customer base falls into many markets including agriculture, aviation and space, transportation and discretionary spending goods. For goods that are manufacturable by manual process, there are not enough people capable or willing to go into the manufacturing trades. Thus, Woten suggests that robotics and automation are necessary to increase GDP and provide cost effectiveness to everyday items.
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a l s o lov e s a fa s t pac e d work environment, claiming that she gets bored relatively easily and the speed of technology along with urgency of Genesis’ customers and the market fits perfectly into her personality. “Give me a challenge and a deadline and I am in my element. [At Genesis] our tag line is 'Productivity. Win the Race!' That really means by designing, engineering, manufacturing and supporting the world’s most productive robotic automation we enable economic expansion, enhance living standards and maximize human productivity. We utilize a lot of virtual tools. The biggest thing with applying robotics is making sure all the upstream pieces and processes are ready for automation. There are a number of virtual tools that help with that analysis. Variation Simulation Analysis, Weld Distortion Analysis, Offline Programming, and other Computer Aided Engineering technologies are commonly used now. As we move into the future, there will be even more. Virtual Reality and Augmented
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Reality play a big role in the future of automation. Automated Guided Vehicles have been used in warehousing for a while, but they are gaining a lot more traction in general manufacturing. Collaborative robotics will also play a bigger role in the future. It is important to be nimble and flexible with regard to automation. My advice is to be an open minded problem solver. In other words, be an Engineer!” a s k e d i f s h e has any advice for engineering students today, Woten replied “'Be open!' There is often more than one way to solve a problem. Take an Economics class or two. Understand the ROI for manufacturing and take the time to listen. Too often I see people go to a customer with a solution before they truly understand the situation. If you listen closely, the customer will let you know their pain points. It likely isn’t what they tell you at first." Recalling her experience as a woman in the manufacturing field, she explained that when she first started, there were still a number of stereotypes for women and that the respect was not really there. However, she didn’t let it bother her then and feels thankful that the world is different today. That doesn’t mean that everything is equal and fair for women in Engineering and other technical fields, but it is much closer. She goes on to say that she has never felt as if her gender held her back at Genesis. Her specific advice for women in engineering is to know your worth and don’t ever feel as if you need to defer your opinions or judgment because you are a woman.
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BAJA Student Org Updates The weekend of February 16th Iowa Baja brought home the hardware, winning two trophies at the Winter BAJA race hosted by Michigan Tech. After winning first place in the race, and the Nexteer High Performance award Iowa Baja is ready to take on nationals. This year the National Competition will take place in Gorman, California over May 16th-19th. The team has just put the finishing touches on the frame for the car and have finalized the designs for all of the other components (steering, suspension, brakes, etc.). Over the next few weeks Car 51 will transform from a bunch of parts into a functioning off-road vehicle. The process continues to teach future engineers the skills they need for successful careers. Learn more by checking them out on Facebook and Instagram: @IowaBaja.
Mitch Evens welding parts of the final pieces of the frame together for the 2019 Nationals car.
The team posing with Herky the Hawk at Carver Hawkeye Arena after a successful PR event.
Vice President Kayla Denson inspecting the chassis of new car 51 with Dan Mueller to ensure everything is accounted for in the cost report.
Car 88: Flying off a jump at the February Michigan Tech Race where Iowa Baja took 1st place in the race as well as receiving the Nexteer Automotive High Performance award for fastest dynamic event.
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Mechanical Engineering The University of Iowa 103 South Capitol Street 3131 Seamans Center of the Engineering Arts and Sciences Iowa City, IA 52242
Kevin Wabick, a graduate student with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, presents dye visualization on experiemental models during the Engineering Fluids Laboratories Open house in January.