Although from Georgetown, Ky., Scott Ashcraft planned to leave the state to attend college…that is, until he discovered the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) laboratory housed in UK’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “The more I looked at UK’s involvement in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the national Design, Build, Fly competition and the [...]

As Dr. Fazleena Badurdeen reflects on UK’s Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing, she notes that focusing on sustainability is a recent phenomenon. “Previously, the main emphasis in manufacturing was making sure the economics were good: increasing profits and cutting costs. The primary stakeholders were customers, management and employees,” she says. “But now, when you look at [...]

In the iconic Star Trek franchise, medical personnel often utilized a small hand-held device to “scan” crew members for potential illnesses, infections and other maladies. By aiming the device at the individual and working from head to toe, the practitioners often knew exactly what was wrong with the patient within a few seconds. But those [...]

For Mark Miller, life as a mechanical engineering student has been rigorous, demanding, time-consuming and personally stretching—primarily outside of the classroom. “I was on the Design/Build/Fly team, the Solar Car Team and I was in the Dean’s Engineering Leadership Class. I pretty much said good-bye to my social life,” Mark says with a grin. While [...]

“Because of the independence and leadership experience I’ve gained during my time in the program, I now feel like I can handle whatever challenge is set before me.” When Rachael Anderson talks about her new job as a test engineer for diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Incorporated, she cites her time pursuing an undergraduate degree in [...]

Just as some civil engineers trace their vocation to childhood dreams of building bridges and more than a few chemical engineers fondly recall their first chemistry set, graduating senior Kristen Davis can also point to early childhood experiences which led her to pursue mechanical engineering degree: puttering around the garage with her father. “As a [...]

“What goes up must come down” is a well-known axiom of physics which describes the law of gravity. However, when it comes to the task of designing probes and other spacecraft which can withstand re-entry into the Earth’s (or any planet’s) atmosphere, “what goes up must come down” becomes more a question of “What shape [...]

For Dr. Jesse Hoagg, coming to the University of Kentucky after three years in the business world is a homecoming of sorts. That is not to say Dr. Hoagg is a native Kentuckian; rather, joining UK’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor signals a return to two of Dr. Hoagg’s passions: teaching and [...]

If you were introduced to one of NASA’s aerospace engineers, what assumptions might you make? Near-genius who romped through advanced calculus? Someone who daydreams about physics? A rare individual who designs complex structures with the ease of a child building a sand castle? If so, you haven’t met Austin Lovan. “I’m different than a lot [...]