Susan Su is an MIT senior majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in bioengineering and global development. She finds inspiration in the creativity at work in both makerspaces and the theater, where she works in technical and design roles.

In MIT class 2.74 (Bio-Inspired Robotics), students learn about the complexity behind simple, everyday movements before experimenting with mechanical models and building biomimetic robots.

Student designs for MIT course 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes) were demoed in front of a live audience. Prototypes included a sea turtle incubator, wheelchair speed control, self-cleaning firehose system, and more.

MIT Associate Professor Jeehwan Kim aims to push electronics past silicon, whose performance faces limits as more computing power is packed into ever-smaller devices. His group is exploring materials, devices, and systems that could take over where silicon leaves off.

MIT graduate student Adi Mehrotra '22 is working on sustainable solutions in vehicle design, including a hydrogen-powered motorcycle.

MIT Professor Markus Buehler received 2025 Washington Award for groundbreaking accomplishments in computational modeling and mechanics of biological materials, and his contributions to engineering education and leadership in academia.

MIT Associate Professor Ming Guo studies cells' physical properties and what they reveal about growth. He and his students are developing tools to carefully poke and prod cells, and observe how their physical form influences the growth of a tissue, organism, or disease such as cancer.

MIT engineers designed modular, spring-like devices to maximize the work of live muscle fibers so they can be harnessed to power biohybrid robots. The work was led by Assistant Professor Ritu Raman.

MIT researchers produced high-speed videos that show exactly what happens when a droplet splashes into a pool. The findings may help researchers predict how rainfall and irrigation systems spread particles and pathogens into the air.

MIT engineers developed a soft, robotic, and implantable ventilator that is designed to augment the diaphragm's natural contractions. The proof-of-concept design aims to one day boost the diaphragm's life-sustaining function and improve lung capacity for people with diaphragm dysfunction.

The future of mechanical metamaterials demands interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, say researchers from MIT's Portela Lab.

MIT engineers developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple, coordinated directions. These tissues could be useful for building "biohybrid" robots powered by soft, artificially grown muscle fibers.

Leslie Regan leaves a legacy of care and compassion for generations of graduate alumni over nearly 50 years at MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Scientists discovered genes in the tuberculosis bacterium that becomes essential for the pathogen's survival when it's exposed to air through coughing. These genes could be targets for new therapies that simultaneously treat infection and prevent transmission.

An MIT team developed a more accurate formula to calculate how much sediment a fluid can push across a granular bed, which could help engineers manage river restoration and coastal erosion. The key to the new formula comes down to the shape of the sediment grains.

An MIT study finds chiral structures, with mirror-image configurations, can emerge from nonchiral systems, suggesting new ways to engineer these materials.

LIRAS is a new technique that offers a safe, reliable, and high-throughput way to dynamically characterize microscale metamaterials. The method could speed the development of acoustic lenses, impact-resistant films, and other futuristic materials.

MIT engineers fabricated 2D materials that could lead to next-generation transistors and electronic films.

A small ultrasound sticker, worn on the skin, can monitor the stiffness of organs deep inside the body. The MIT-developed sensor could detect signs of disease such as liver and kidney failure, and the progression of solid tumors.

A new solar desalination system takes in saltwater and heats it with natural sunlight. The system flushes out accumulated salt, so replacement parts aren't needed often, meaning the system could potentially produce drinking water that is cheaper than tap water.