Research Projects

The following are some sample research projects from each of the ME department's groups, conducted within various labs and centers. You will find more detail within each of the related group, lab and center sites (see the navigation to the left under the headings "Groups & Programs" and "Faculty & Research").

Biomechanical Engineering (BME) Program | View»

Musculoskeletal Modeling

The Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab has created a software package called SIMM (Software for Interactive Musculoskeletal Modeling) that enables users to develop, alter, and evaluate models of musculoskeletal structures. The software is general, so that models of many different structures can be created. SIMM is currently used in over 200 biomechanics laboratories around the world, providing a common framework for the development of a wide range of models to study human and animal movement. More �

Design Group | View»

"Self-Driving" Auto

The Dynamic Design Laboratory , overseen by Professor Chris Gerdes, is conducting research with the goal of incorporating collision avoidance into driver assistance systems. This project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, uses artificial potential fields to represent environmental hazards such as lane edges. A control force proportional to the slope of this artificial field is applied to the vehicle using steering and differential braking to aid the driver in avoiding collisions. More �

Flow Physics and Computational Engineering (FPCE) Group | View»

RANS-LES Computations of Turbomachinery Components

The video to the left is of a coupled Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Strokes Large Eddy Simulation (RANS-LES) of a turbine compressor and prediffuser created at the Center for Turbulence Research by principal investigators Drs. Jorg Schl�Eer - FPCE, Xiaohua Wu - CITS, Seung Hyun Kim - Post Doctoral Scholar, Juan Alonso - Aero/Astro and Heinz Pitsch - FPCE. Collaboration between researchers from multiple disciplines is typical of the kind of work done at this and other centers associated with Mechanical Engineering.
Center for Turbulence Research (CTR) �
Center for Integrated Turbulence Simulations (CITS) �

Mechanics and Computation Group | View»

Nanomaterials Engineering for Hydrogen Storage

ME's Mechanics and Computation Group is one of several groups participating in multi-disciplinary research in the Global Climate & Energy Project to develop optimized nanocomposite materials for high-density hydrogen reversible storage applications. Specifically, carbon nanotube-catalyst nanoparticle composite materials with well-controlled nanotube size will be developed, that are optimized to satisfy the target fundamental characteristics for hydrogen storage. More �
Global Climate & Energy Project �

Thermosciences Group | View»

G-CEP Seeks Ways to Confront Climate Change

Melting glaciers, rising seas, devastating storms and droughts -- these are just a few of the worst-case scenarios climate experts say might lie ahead unless something drastic is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. In an effort to find ways to avert climate change, Stanford researchers have joined forces with some of the world's biggest energy companies to create the Global Climate and Energy Project (G-CEP), in which researchers and faculty from ME's Thermoscience's Group play a key role. More �
Global Climate & Energy Project �