Seniors, Junior, Sophomores having a blast destroying freshman’s’ design project while enjoying burgers, hot dogs, and beverages.

The MESS is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications to join! Applications are due by May 1st.
https://delaware.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bNNRtEom4iCHVL7

The MESS helped the Department give tours and answer questions from prospective students during UD’s annual Decision Days. Approximately 40 families spent 1.5 hours touring Spencer Lab and getting questions answered from professors and current students. The event was a great success, and we look forward to doing it again next week!

MESS members called Class of 2017 freshmen recruits this week to encourage them to come to UD’s Mechanical Engineering program. MESS members Kate Ordemann, Eli Gorman, Jen Moye, Anna D’Alessio, and Mike Marando along with Prof. Buckley called almost 90 students to tell them why they should come to UD-ME. Good news is a lot of these recruits are coming! Thanks to all MESS members who helped with this campaign.

Earlier this month, MESS members Eli and Jess did the Mechanical Engineering presentation for Engineering 101 (hosted by the engineering sorority, Alpha Omega Epsilon). The event was for local high school girls that have an interest in STEM. Eli and Jess talked to the students about Mechanical Engineering and how it can be applied to many different areas–including biomedical, robotics and controls, aerospace, green energy, and materials. They showed a video for each topic and conducted a hands-on activity to demonstrate the difference between treated and untreated Kevlar.

The MESS recently visited two of Mr. Griswold’s 10th grade classes at Cape Henlopen High School, where our members conducted bridge design competitions with the students. Be sure to check out the pictures, these high schoolers definitely look like budding engineers!

This past Thursday, the MESS Sounds & Vibrations outreach team visited Selbyville Middle School in Selbyville, DE. The MESS presented to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders there. Check out the pictures!

While some students may consider winter session a time to relax and watch endless amount of TV, the MESS team members were studying or volunteering throughout the world or spent their time creating cutting-edge hands-on demonstrations.

Dhara Amin traveled to Guatemala to monitor the bridge that UD’s Engineers without Borders had built a few years previously. Dhara and her team were very excited to learn that this past year the bridge had survived a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.

Devin Appel, Ben Henry, Mike Pfeiffer, Doug Stewart, and Laura van der Post had the unique opportunity to travel to New Zealand on an engineering study abroad trip. While there, Devin, Ben, and Mike had the opportunity to go bungee jumping. They were able to apply what they have learned in classes to what happens in the bungee cord when someone jumps. Here’s a picture of Devin in action!

Anna D’Alessio traveled to Israel on an alternative break trip and did community service projects in community in the desert. Anna is pictured below picking oranges for a food shelter.

Eli Gorman and Jess Penman spent their winter session taking classes. For Jess’ photography class, they worked together with a few friends to create a really cool Rube Goldberg machine. Check it out here: http://vimeo.com/58620741

Joel Monza designed, wrote, and built a laboratory experiment involving demonstration of electric muscle stimulation for an upper level biomedical engineering class taught by one of the MESS mentors, Dr. Buckley. Joel had a great time practicing the electric muscle stimulation on volunteers!

Anthony Rossi worked for Dr. Buckley creating a replica of a 4-person, sweep-style crew boat (similar to the ones used by UD’s rowing team). The Mechanical Engineering juniors will be using this “land-boat” in Machine Design II to test prototypes before fitting them on an actual boat. (The juniors are currently working on a project to make crew boats adaptable for those with disabilities.) Here’s a picture of the land-boat:

Vincent Stuhltrager spent his winter session creating a module for The Perry Initiative, a nonprofit that works to get girls interested in orthopaedic surgery and engineering. He came up with an “arthroscopic surgery simulator”, a silicone dome that has a “skin feel” to it and acts as a barrier between a surgeon and the body part that is being operated on. Snake cameras, as well as tools, can be inserted through holes molded into this dome, allowing one to do a mock arthroscopic surgery.

On December 10th, Dr. Buckley and the University of Delaware’s Mechanical Engineering Student Squad (MESS) visited Dr. Fleetwood’s Anatomy class at the Charter School of Wilmington to introduce students to exciting careers in engineering and medicine using Perry Initiative curriculum. Students heard from Dr. Buckley about her career path and research in Orthopaedic Biomechanics, and then they got to experience orthopaedics for themselves by assembling an external fixator on a model of the lower leg, designing an intermedullary nail, and more!

The MESS completed an outreach “double header” this past Friday with outreach programs at Conrad Schools of Science and William Penn High School.

The Biomechanics Team of Laura van der Post and Mike Pfeiffer led an outreach program for sophomores at Conrad Schools of Science in Wilmington, DE, in the morning. Students learned how the geometry of the human body affects body motion.

In the afternoon, the Composites Team of Joel Monza and Andrew Caulfield introduced upperclassmen in Introductory Engineering at William Penn High School to the exciting field of composites. Students manufactured and tested their own composite structures. Congrats to the Composites Team for a successful first outreach program!