2022 MAE Newsletter: Director's Note
Hello Sibley School Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well.
It’s been another exciting year for the Sibley School. I’m happy to report that we were able to host our first full in-person MAE graduation this year since 2019. It was great to see all the parents, faculty and future alumni all together again in Bailey Hall (which we almost filled up). Our newly formed Sibley Advisory Council held their first on-campus meeting in April. We were also happy to celebrate Reunion ‘22 fully in person – featuring a reunion speech by our friend Bill Nye ’77 at his 45th anniversary. Hopefully you will be able to join us on campus someday soon. Also be sure to check out our update on Bill Nye in this issue.
I think what I’m perhaps most excited to let you know about this year is of a very special anniversary we have coming up! The 2023-24 academic year will be Cornell’s 150th anniversary of awarding degrees in Mechanical Engineering. To recognize this important milestone we’ll be holding several events that year as part of our “MAE 150” celebration. To kick things off we have a special feature in the magazine this year by Professor Frank Moon profiling some of the Sibley School’s prominent but less known alumni. Find out about Cornell’s first astronaut, the founder of one of the largest aerospace companies in the world, and the inventor of the gyrocompass. To learn more, check out Professor Moon’s History of the Sibley College and School.
We have several exciting updates for you this year. First, we will update you on a new program we launched called FLAME – Future Leaders in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The FLAME program supports students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in mechanical or aerospace Ph.D. programs to come to Cornell for a unique multi-lab summer research experience just before their senior year. The program continues after the summer to provide mentoring and support as the cohort continues to explore the potential of pursuing a Ph.D. I’m happy to announce that we graduated our first FLAME cohort this summer. Second, we’re going to take you “Inside the Forklift Studio” featuring our new instructional lab partnership with Toyota Materials Handling. This is an exceptionally exciting new direction in undergraduate experiential learning based around studios that are designed to provide more of a systems level learning experience.
This has been a truly banner year for innovation in the Sibley School. In our research news highlights section you can get a sense of the important work we are doing in the department from developing methods of improving cancer detection in Sub-Saharan Africa to improving underwater imaging for the Navy, to understanding the impact of smart thermostats on electricity grids. One particularly unique accomplishment this year was the launch of the Pathfinder for Autonomous Navigation CubeSats into space. These satellites will demonstrate the ability to autonomously navigate and doc together from a distance of 30 meters. This could have significant implications for enabling autonomous in-orbit spacecraft construction or refueling and repairing exiting spacecraft.
In our alumni spotlight, this year we profile Sibley School alum Michelle Stevens ’97, learning about her career from Cornell to leadership at Sandia National Labs. We also introduce you to Will Bruey ’11, M.Eng. ’12, and Wendy Shimata ’09 of space manufacturing startup company Varda Space Industries. Varda is a very exciting company looking at how we can manufacture some products more efficiently in gravity-free space than on Earth. Both Will and Wendy got their start in the industry working for Professor Mason Peck in the Space Systems Design Studio.
Finally this year we will also be welcoming two new, very exciting, faculty to the school. Professor Fabien Royer will join us in January 2023 and conduct research in the development of unique structures in space that can allow the creation of new spacecraft architecture and missions. One aspect of his work tries to determine what the ultimate limits are on extremely thin membranes as they unfurl to create very large space structures. Professor Cara Nunez joins the faculty in July 2023 and will conduct research in robotics, specifically focusing on haptics and developing a sense of touch for robots. Cara’s work has very broad appeal in several areas but is particularly promising in healthcare, potentially enabling improved at-home care, prosthetics and rehabilitation treatments. We’re very excited to welcome Fabien and Cara.
Thanks as always for your engagement with the Sibley School! I hope you enjoy the update.
Best regards,
David Erickson
SC Thomas Sze Director and Sibley College Professor
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering