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Staple-like particles reveal new path to strong materials

alse6588 — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:18:17 +0000

Staple-like particles reveal new path to strong materials alse6588 Tue, 04/14/2026 - 11:18

Alexander Servantez

A tightly packed ball of office staples can be surprisingly strong.Try to pull it apart and the tangled metal resists like a solid object.

But with the right movement or vibration, that same bundle can quickly fall back into loose pieces.

A team of engineers and materials scientists in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at ̽��Ƶ are exploring how this uncanny combination of strength and flexibility could inspire a new class of materials built on interlocking particles. By mimicking the way staples lock together and release, the researchers believe these emerging materials can one day form structures that are strong, adaptable and even recyclable.

“We’ve been playing around with the idea of building blocks and geometry for many years, but we started looking at interlocking, entangled particles only recently,” said Professor Francois Barthelat, the leader of the Laboratory for Advanced Materials & Bioinspiration. “We are excited about the combination of properties we can get out of these systems and we believe this technology has the potential to go in many directions.”

Unraveling the research

A bird nest made out of interwoven sticks and fibers.

The work, recently published in the Journal of Applied Physics, focuses on what the researchers call “entanglement”—when multiple particles become intertwined with one another, creating a link.

It’s not a new concept. In fact, nature is filled with examples of objects or materials that tangle and interlock with each other to create strong structures. Think about that giant bird nest on the tree in your neighborhood made out of interwoven sticks and fibers, or the interplay of hard minerals and soft proteins in your bones.

But how can scientists recreate that kind of natural entanglement in manufactured materials? The researchers in Barthelat’s lab say the answer revolves around one key concept: particle shape.

“Let’s take sand as an example. Sand is smooth and convex-shaped, meaning it cannot interlock from grain to grain,” PhD student Youhan Sohn said. “However, we found that if we change the shape of a grain of sand, we can drastically affect its behavior and mechanical properties, including the particle’s ability to link with other particles.”

Once the group came to this realization, they began running Monte Carlo simulations, a type of computational analysis, to predict exactly how the particles interlock with each other. Their goal was to find the optimal geometry that delivered the maximum entanglement.

A video demonstrating a pickup test used to analyze particle entanglement.

After finding the optimal shape, the team performed pickup tests to see how the entangled particles actually behaved.

The tests showed that a “two-legged” particle—similar in shape to a staple—had the greatest potential for entanglement. But the researchers also discovered several unexpected advantages that made the design even more intriguing.

The first was its rare blend of tensile strength and toughness, a combination the researchers say conventional materials rarely achieve simultaneously.

“Our entangled granular material using the staple-like particle demonstrates both high strength and toughness at the same time,” said PhD student Saeed Pezeshki.

Next, was its unique ability to rapidly assemble—and just as quickly come apart.

By applying different vibrational patterns to the material, the team was able to change its level of entanglement on demand. A light vibration, for example, could be used to interlock and strengthen the particles, while a larger vibration could cause them to completely unravel.

“It’s a strange material because it’s obviously not a liquid. However, it’s also not quite solid. This opens new and intriguing engineering possibilities,” Barthelat said. “Handling a bundle of these entangled particles feels very remote and exotic.”

Professor Francois Barthelat at the Triple E Fair showcasing his team's research to help middle school students explore engineering.

PhD student Youhan Sohn guiding middle school students through a series of pickup tests to help them visualize particle entanglement.

PhD student Saeed Pezeshki demonstrating the mechanical behavior of staple-like particles for middle school students.

Reassembling the impact

A close look at a free-standing arch made of crown-leg staples.

One of those possibilities comes in the realm of sustainability. The group believes that one day, large buildings and structures like bridges can be designed using entangled materials, allowing them to be disassembled when no longer needed or even fully recycled.

Or maybe entangled materials can make their way into the world’s next great robotic systems, sort of like the ones you’ve seen in some of your favorite sci-fi movies.

“I was talking with other students who believe this technology can be used in swarm robotics— where small robots can entangle, do a task and then disentangle when they are done,” said Pezeshki.

“Yes, kind of like that liquid metal T-1000 in Terminator 2 who can change shape to slide under a door and then transform back to a human’s size on the other side,” added Barthelat. “It’s expensive and scaling up is a challenge, but it’s something that’s on everybody’s mind.”

A close-up photo showing two spiky burrs in nature.

For now, the group is focused on building out the next phase of their research. They are currently testing a new particle shape with added protruding “legs”—similar to those spiky plant burrs that stick relentlessly to your shoes when you step on them—which they believe can generate even stronger entanglement properties.

But no matter what project they are working on, the team says the most important thing about their work is maintaining the passion and excitement.

“We’re not quite sure where this is going to go, but we’re going to continue the fun,” Barthelat said. “Most people don’t think about making strong materials in this way out of something like staples, because they think it’s counterintuitive. Until they try breaking a bundle of staples in half and see that it’s impossible.

“We love to take a difficult project like this and dig in.”

A tightly packed ball of office staples can be surprisingly strong. Try to pull it apart and the tangled metal resists like a solid object. But with the right movement or vibration, that same bundle can quickly fall back into loose pieces. A team of engineers and materials scientists in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at ̽��Ƶ are exploring how this uncanny combination of strength and flexibility could inspire a new class of materials built on interlocking particles.

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̽��Ƶ mechanical engineering graduate program ranks top 15

alse6588 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:52:22 +0000

̽��Ƶ mechanical engineering graduate program ranks top 15 alse6588 Tue, 04/07/2026 - 09:52

The Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering graduate program at ̽��Ƶ was ranked 14th amongst public institutions for 2026-27, according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings. Up three spots from last year, the program continues to build on its growing national reputation.

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ME outreach program brings big engineering dreams to small rural towns

alse6588 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:30:17 +0000

ME outreach program brings big engineering dreams to small rural towns alse6588 Wed, 04/01/2026 - 13:30

Alexander Servantez

For many high school students in rural Colorado, engineering once felt distant—something that happened somewhere else, by someone else.

But over the past decade, an outreach program in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering has been working to change that reality.

The program, known as the Science and Engineering Inquiry Collaborative (SCENIC), connects ̽��Ƶ students with rural high schools to introduce hands-on engineering experiences into the classroom, turning local questions about air and soil quality into real-world research projects.

Today, the initiative serves 12 schools and nearly 700 high school students across rural Colorado each year. Its origins, however, were far more modest.

The early evolution

Launched in 2012 with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the program began as a research endeavor. At the time, there was only one graduate student working on the project. They were tasked with using an environmental air quality monitor, positioned at Paonia High School, to investigate the impacts of fracking.

A close look at an air quality monitor, otherwise known as a Y-pod, developed in the Hannigan lab.

But it wasn’t long before the monitors proved they could do more than just collect data—they could spark learning.

“One day, a teacher at the high school saw the monitor up on the roof and thought it would make for a good tool in the classroom,” said Daniel Knight, an associate research professor in mechanical engineering and SCENIC co-founder. “It’s a small monitor that could easily fit in the hands of students. We saw the potential and decided to develop a high-school curriculum using the monitor as a way to deliver engineering education.”

By summer 2013, the curriculum was ready and the monitoring device had been redesigned for classroom use. The following year, Knight and his small team were ready to scale the program, expanding their outreach to four rural high schools.

However, the group soon realized that sustaining rapid growth meant recruiting more college students to lead the high school classrooms. That’s when they decided to introduce a new course in mechanical engineering called Project Based Learning (PBL) in Rural Schools.

Developed alongside professor and fellow SCENIC co-founder Michael Hannigan, the year-long class takes a two-pronged approach. During the first semester, college students learn to master the monitoring technology and become confident classroom leaders. In the second semester, they travel to their assigned rural high schools and help teachers implement the engineering curriculum.

“We piloted the course for the first time in the 2015-2016 school year with just eight students and it really worked,” Knight said. “From there, we were fortunate enough to attract more funding, allowing us to add more students and schools. We even brought ̽��Ƶ’s School of Education onboard to help monitor the program and identify ways we can improve our outreach efforts going forward.”

A broader impact

Now, nearly 30 undergraduate and graduate students enroll in the class each year, guiding rural high schoolers through projects that range from testing indoor air quality to analyzing soil conditions on local farms.

A group of students at Northfork High School in Hotchkiss, Colorado running a soil burning activity to determine the impact of fire on soil quality.

It’s a unique opportunity for rural high school students to turn their own towns into living laboratories. But Knight says it’s also an opportunity for the university to reach students who might otherwise never see themselves in engineering.

“Engineering and science education is very limited in these rural places,” said Knight. “Our goal is to bring a more interesting, project-based approach to their classrooms. That way we can get the word out about engineering and even just about attending college.”

Knight believes that establishing a more robust engineering identity in rural Colorado could benefit local communities, as well.

Rady Mechanical Engineering is already building that pipeline through partnerships with Western Slope universities that help rural students earn engineering degrees. Maybe one day, rural high schoolers inspired by the department’s outreach can return to their hometowns as engineers, bringing new ideas and solutions to their communities.

Or maybe they return to the program, this time as mentors, guiding students at the same rural high school that first sparked their interest in engineering.

“We offer our partnership program students the opportunity to take a remote section of the PBL course, and sometimes students we once mentored in high school come back as college students to take it,” Knight said. “When they are trained and ready to go, we like to send them back to the high schools they came from to mentor the next generation of students. It’s really rewarding to see that full circle moment come to fruition.”

With the program’s NSF award funding set to expire this year, Knight and his team are preparing a new grant proposal to try and keep their outreach alive. But they say maintaining the status quo isn’t enough—they want the program to strengthen and evolve.

“For years, the program has been mainly centered around air and soil science. However, we are also working to add another avenue of inquiry focused on wildfires,” said Knight. “It’s a topic that is extremely important in our state, especially in rural and mountainous areas of Colorado. We hope that adding wildfire questions into our curriculum gives high school students another meaningful way to engage with engineering and real-world problem solving.”

Associate Research Professor Daniel Knight and Professor Michael Hannigan are leading an outreach program that connects ̽��Ƶ students with rural high schools to introduce hands-on engineering experiences in the classroom. The initiative, known as the Science and Engineering Inquiry Collaborative (SCENIC), serves 12 schools and nearly 700 high school students across rural Colorado each year, turning local questions about air and soil quality into real-world research projects.

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Welker receives Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Award

alse6588 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:19:33 +0000

Welker receives Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Award alse6588 Mon, 03/30/2026 - 15:19

The ̽��Ƶ Graduate School has announced that Assistant Professor Cara Welker has earned one of this year's Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Awards. The award honors faculty members for their outstanding contributions either to mentoring individual graduate students, improving the overall climate of graduate education within their program, or improving the graduate program itself.

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PhD student wins prestigious physics contest with endless avalanche experiment

alse6588 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:10:17 +0000

PhD student wins prestigious physics contest with endless avalanche experiment alse6588 Mon, 03/30/2026 - 14:10

PhD student Rylan Hodgson recently created a video that won the American Physical Society's (APS) 2026 Gallery of Soft Matter contest at the APS Global Physics Summit. The video demonstrates a unique view of the dynamics of granular flow with a rolling drum experiment that could one day be used to reveal key information about the mechanics and behavior of avalanches.

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ME senior project turns waste heat into clean energy savings

alse6588 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:17:34 +0000

ME senior project turns waste heat into clean energy savings alse6588 Wed, 03/25/2026 - 13:17

Alexander Servantez

From craft breweries to steel manufacturing plants, many industrial facilities rely on cryogenic gases for processes such as cooling, materials testing or energy transport.

But before those gases can be used, they must be vaporized with electricity-intensive equipment that can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars each year.

A team of seniors in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering are working on a new solution. For their senior capstone project, the group is developing a heat-exchange device that captures waste heat circulating through refrigeration systems.

The project could help facilities drastically reduce energy consumption and operating costs, providing them with a sustainable new alternative.

“Think of a local business with a small facility like Avery Brewing. We found that they spend over $20,000 a year just to heat those cryogenic gases electrically,” said test and systems engineer Zachary Weiner. “Our device would cut that cost completely and recovering waste heat makes for a great green energy alternative.”

Members of the team chatting with local brewing industry professionals during a research visit.

However, the idea didn’t come together overnight. As part of the Senior Design program’s Engineering for Social Innovation (ESI) track, the team was responsible for developing their own project from scratch without being assigned to industry-sponsored prompts.

After extensive research, the team decided to explore waste heat recovery in the brewing industry. It wasn’t until they visited some local breweries and distilleries that the project truly came into focus.

“All the engineers we met with on our visits were so interested in our early concept and that’s what really inspired us,” said manufacturing engineer Ian Mcleod. “Some of these small and mid-sized businesses are trying to cut costs and be more sustainable so they can prevent them from closing down. Our passion in this project is about helping them save energy and remain open.”

The problem is simple: cryogenic gases are liquefied and stored at extremely low temperatures to maximize storage and enable easier transportation. In order to be used in industrial facilities, though, they must be vaporized into gas.

To do this, most places today use an energy-intensive electric pressure builder that draws directly from the power grid. But the group’s new heat-exchange device is different.

Instead of using electricity, the device takes in a hot, refrigerant liquid called glycol. In breweries, glycol is already being chilled and circulated through cooling systems to keep tanks and other equipment at safe temperatures.

Test and systems engineer Zachary Weiner working on the senior design project in the Idea Forge.

By using glycol, the team says the device can repurpose its existing heat rather than relying on new energy from the grid.

“We are essentially saving energy that would be taken out anyway through the glycol cooling process,” said project manager Gavriel Fox.

The group is currently working on a test article for their heat exchanger model. They plan to showcase the small-scale design and validate their simulations at this year’s Engineering Expo event in April.

But Engineering Expo is only part of the journey. The team will also be competing in the New Venture Challenge (NVC), where they will refine their business model and pitch the technology as a scalable solution for multiple industries.

“Our device is relevant wherever there is bulk gas that needs cooling. It can be oxygen in hospitals, nitrogen in oil and gas industries or even argon in commercial steel facilities,” said logistics manager Asaiah Gifford. “We see breweries as our market entry space. If the device works in breweries, then we know we can expand from there to much larger industries.”

If selected to compete at the NVC finals in April, the group will have capped off a year-long project with an exciting finish. And while the process has been stressful, the team says the experience has been equally rewarding.

“We have a great team and this project has pushed us to become independent thinkers with agency,” said Fox. “We’ve even become better engineers with a strong foundation of business knowledge.”

Join us at Engineering Expo 2026!

Everything ̽��Ƶ engineering students learn culminates in capstone design projects, presented at the annual Engineering Projects Expo. Explore amazing new inventions and technologies created by our next-generation of engineers!

Who: K-12 students, prospective CU Engineers, and community members are all encouraged to attend.

When: Friday, April 17 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Where: Ford Practice Facility, 2150 Colorado Ave., Boulder, CO

Parking: Available in Lot 436 and the Regent Parking Garage for $5.

Many industrial facilities rely on cryogenic gases for processes such as cooling, materials testing or energy transport. But before those gases can be used, they must be vaporized with electricity-intensive equipment that can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars each year. A team of seniors are working to address that problem by developing a heat-exchange device for their senior capstone project that captures waste heat circulating through refrigeration systems.

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From left to right: Ian Mcleod, Gavriel Fox, Jasmine Bieniek, Keiron Hannula, Asaiah Gifford and Zachary Weiner

ME undergraduate designs custom sauna for athlete recovery

alse6588 — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 22:22:49 +0000

ME undergraduate designs custom sauna for athlete recovery alse6588 Tue, 03/03/2026 - 15:22

Student-athlete James Overberg has designed and developed a custom sauna that is crucial for helping endurance athletes recover from intense exercise. The new technology is now a permanent part of the Endurance Lab located in the Ford Indoor Practice Facility where it will assist Colorado student-athletes for years to come.

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Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine

alse6588 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:09:04 +0000

Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine alse6588 Fri, 02/27/2026 - 13:09

Professor Alaa Ahmed is leading a study that highlights the central role that dopamine, a brain chemical associated with reward, seems to play in making people move faster when they want something. The findings could one day help scientists understand and even diagnose a range of human medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and depression.

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What causes snow slopes to collapse? Vriend explains, with tips for surviving

alse6588 — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:48:14 +0000

What causes snow slopes to collapse? Vriend explains, with tips for surviving alse6588 Thu, 02/19/2026 - 13:48

Avalanche deaths are rare inside the boundaries of ski resorts, but the risk rises in the backcountry. Thirty backcountry avalanche deaths were reported in the U.S. during the 2022-23 season, 16 the following year, and 22 in 2024-25. In this article published by The Conversation, Associate Professor Nathalie Vriend explains what happens in an avalanche and techniques for surviving one.

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Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives

alse6588 — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:44:38 +0000

Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives alse6588 Fri, 02/13/2026 - 10:44

A first-of-its-kind study, led by Professor Daven Henze and collaborators at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, assesses how health benefits of aggressive climate policy travel across international borders. The researchers say that ambitious climate action to improve global air quality could save up to 1.32 million lives per year by 2040.

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Homepage News

Staple-like particles reveal new path to strong materials

Unraveling the research

Reassembling the impact

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̽����Ƶ mechanical engineering graduate program ranks top 15

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ME outreach program brings big engineering dreams to small rural towns

The early evolution

A broader impact

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Welker receives Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Award

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PhD student wins prestigious physics contest with endless avalanche experiment

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ME senior project turns waste heat into clean energy savings

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ME undergraduate designs custom sauna for athlete recovery

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Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine

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What causes snow slopes to collapse? Vriend explains, with tips for surviving

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Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives

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̽��Ƶ mechanical engineering graduate program ranks top 15