Michigan State University researchers Evangelyn Alocilja, Richard Lunt and André Bachmann have been named Senior Members by the National Academy of Inventors. This year’s class of NAI Senior Members is the largest to date and hails from 60 NAI member institutions across the nation. Collectively, they are named inventors for more than 1,000 U.S. patents, with 344 of those being licensed technologies and commercialized products.

Most people are familiar with graphite, the dark silver-colored crystalline form of carbon commonly used in pencil lead. In fact, graphite derives its name from its usage (graphein is “to write” in Greek).

As a building material, bamboo is pretty amazing. Even though it's technically a grass, bamboo's reeds can be tougher than timber. It also grows fast, helping make it more sustainable than lumber.

Nine faculty and staff members will have retired between August 2019 and August 2020 from the MSU College of Engineering. Two of the retiring Spartans totaled 58 years of service to the Composite Materials and Structures Center. Engineering Dean Leo Kempel thanked each of retirees for their contributions.

Bryan Smith, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and a team of scientists have created a "Trojan Horse" nanoparticle that can be directed to eat debris, reducing and stabilizing plaque. The discovery could be a potential treatment for atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death in the United States.

When Michigan State University's Nick Ward fractured his left hand in February, the basketball team's title hopes faded slightly. The 6'8", 245-pound center has been a key player for the top-ranked Spartans, averaging 14 points and more than six rebounds a game. So to help speed Ward's return to the team, Nick Richey, MSU men's basketball athletic trainer, reached out to MSU's College of Engineering.

The MSUMobility exhibit at the 2019 North American International Auto Show AutoMobili-D demonstrated how MSU is transforming its 5,200-acre campus into a connected ecosystem for new mobility solutions. MSU and the University of Michigan shared a booth in Detroit's Cobo Center from Jan. 14-17.

The Road to Lightweighting features Ray Boeman, professor of composite materials and manufacturing and associate director for IACMI, and University Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Lawrence Drzal, talking about carbon fibers.

Lawrence Drzal of Michigan State University has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Class of 2018. Drzal is a University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science and the director of the MSU Composite Materials and Structures Center.

Several important college leadership positions were established in 2018 -Yue Qi was chosen as Associate Dean for Inclusion and Diversity; Theo Caldwell was named Assistant Dean for Student Inclusion and Diversity; and Katy Colbry was appointed Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Services.

One is conducting materials science research at the DuPont Experimental Station in Delawareanother has returned to his IACMI internship in Detroit; two others are working in Michigan State University's advanced composite materials research labs in East Lansing.

MSU's Innovation Center hosted the annual Innovation Celebration April 19, highlighting ground-breaking technology from MSU labs and startup companies from across campus. The MSU Innovation of the Year Award was presented to Donald Morelli, chair and professor of chemical engineering and materials science, for his work in thermoelectric technology.

The 2018 MSU Innovation Celebration highlighted groundbreaking technology from labs and startup companies from across Michigan State University during ceremonies April 18 in the Huntington Club in Spartan Stadium.

Michigan State University co-hosted Road 2 Composites, an automotive and transportation workshop focused on scale-up, lightweighting, and high volume composites, May 16-17 in the Composite Vehicle Research Center (CVRC).

Jiayu Zhou, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, will use a $551,600 NSF CAREER Award to research large-scale machine learning on big data. He is the 14th Spartan Engineer to be awarded the prestigious recognition since 2010.

A monthly look at what is being written about the MSU Engineering community

If you haven't seen the video created to attract Amazon's HQ2 to Detroit/Michigan, take a look: #MoveTheWorld. MSU has quick cuts at these time marks in the 3:35 video

Michigan State hosted local students, dignitaries and researchers this morning for the official ribbon cutting and tours launching the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, in Detroit's Corktown.

May's media highlights for the Michigan State University College of Engineering include the naming of a new department head, and ongoing national coverage on biometrics expert Anil Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering.