Research led by Keya Ghonasgi could soon change how stroke patients recover. Keya Ghonasgi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is leading a new Rice Brain Institute collaboration alongside Simon Fischer-Baum, associate professor of psychological sciences, with clinical support from Dr. Sheng Li, MD, PhD of UTHealth Houston. Together, they are using a bilateral wearable exoskeleton to test a more active approach to rehabilitation. Instead of passively moving an affected limb, this mirror-mode technology lets a patient's dominant arm guide their affected limb, mapping movement from one arm to the other at the joint level to actively engage the brain and muscles. Recently awarded a Founders Award for Neurotrauma Research from the TIRR Foundation, the pilot study will recruit 10 people in the chronic phase of stroke recovery as a first step toward larger clinical trials that could reshape recovery for stroke survivors. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gG2XWVJm
Rice University Mechanical Engineering
Higher Education
Houston, Texas 1,337 followers
Building the future through Mechanical Innovation
About us
We seek to combine high educational standards with research distinction and service to the community. Our diverse faculty and students are at the forefront of making tomorrow’s technologies a reality.
- Website
-
https://mech.rice.edu
External link for Rice University Mechanical Engineering
- Industry
- Higher Education
- Company size
- 1,001-5,000 employees
- Headquarters
- Houston, Texas
- Type
- Educational
Employees at Rice University Mechanical Engineering
View 16 employees at Rice University Mechanical Engineering
or
Locations
-
Get directions
6100 Main St MSC 321
Houston, Texas 77005, US
Updates
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
Congrats to Hung-Yu Lin of the PI Lab on winning the "Silver" award for her oral presentation, and also to all the other winners, including Emilia Mann of the texlab at Rice University, also in Rice University Mechanical Engineering!
Congratulations to the winners of the 40th annual Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice University Summer Research Colloquium. UNDERGRADUATE POSTER: 🥉Bronze: Jesse Lufafa, Kono Group 🥈Silver: Clayton Waski, Nagarajaiah Group 🥇Gold: Katherine Voong, Hansen Group GRADUATE POSTER: 🥉Bronze: Giuliano Zaffaroni, Taraballi Group, Houston Methodist 🥈Silver: Claudia Agriesti, Taraballi Group, Houston Methodist 🥇Gold: Jiezi Zhang, Tao Group 💎Platinum: Aosheen Anand, Pasquali Group PEOPLES CHOICE: Undergrad: Chima Obodoechi, Aditya Puppala, Zirong Wang, Rohini Dasgupta, and Srilaasya Thadiboyina, Adams Group Grad: Divyam Bansal, Halas Lab ORAL PRESENTATIONS: 🥉Bronze: Aryan Chugh, Haeyeon Lee Group 🥈Silver: Hung-Yu "Iris" Lin, Preston Group 🥇Gold: Andres Sanchez, Halas Group 💎Platinum: Emilia Mann, Vanessa Sanchez Group A special thank you to our sponsors and consular partners — Lots of Italy in Houston, the Consulate General of Italy in Houston, the Science and Technology Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston, COMSOL, Inc., TOPTICA Photonics, Light Conversion, Clarkson Aerospace Corp. and DexMat — for their support of this year’s colloquium. 📸 Photos by: Alan Covarrubias
-
-
-
-
-
+5
-
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
This summer, the PI Lab hosted four undergraduate researchers participating in full-time sponsored summer research programs. Lisseth Escobar participated in the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded ENGMED REU, Alan Davila and Lula Lo joined us through the Rice Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry's SURF program, and Prathune joined the lab through the NTU–Rice Summer Research Exchange Programme coordinated by the Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice University. They were mentored by PI Lab members Sofia Urbina, Valeria Sanchez, Amanda Johnson, and Nicholas Kraemer, respectively. Over the course of the summer, these undergraduate researchers contributed to projects spanning wearable technologies, microfluidics, and robotic systems, culminating in presentations of their results at the end of their respective programs. We are grateful to the programs and sponsors that made these research experiences possible, and we congratulate Lisseth, Alan, Lula, and Prathune on a productive summer of research!
-
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
This summer I challenged myself to read 100 papers by Rice University faculty. Reading papers from disciplines across the university has been a wonderful way to appreciate the creativity and expertise of my colleagues and their students. I learned about yak herders in Tibet, salaries of non-profit hospital CEOs, the diets of settlers at Spanish Missions in Texas, the properties of lipid droplets in plant cells and much more. In the hope that you will take a few minutes to learn something new, I’ll be sharing brief summaries of 10 papers that piqued my curiosity across the next five weeks, starting with: 1. Long-term bases on the moon and eventually on Mars will need to produce supplies from materials available on site. C. Fred Higgs III is developing approaches that will allow 3D printing with lunar or Martian regolith (10.1016/j.powtec.2026.122480). https://lnkd.in/ga-pnk7t 2. Chagas disease affects millions of people in Central and South America but is difficult to detect before symptoms occur. Peter Lillehoj and his colleagues have developed assays that can efficiently detect Chagas disease antibodies, opening new possibilities for treatments (10.1093/infdis/jiaf123). https://lnkd.in/gCXtwjGH
-
-
Rice Mechanical Engineering was well represented at the 40th Annual Smalley-Curl Institute Summer Research Colloquium. Congratulations to MECH students Emilia Mann and Hung-Yu Lin, who earned 1st and 3rd place, respectively, in the oral presentations. We are proud of Emilia, Iris, and all of our students and researchers who participated in this year’s colloquium. Thank you to the Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice University for organizing the event and to its sponsors—including Lots of Italy in Houston, the Consulate General of Italy in Houston, the Science and Technology Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston, COMSOL, TOPTICA Photonics, Light Conversion, Clarkson Aerospace Corp. and DexMat—for their support of Rice University research and student scholarship. #RiceMECH #RiceEngineering #RiceUniversity #MechanicalEngineering Vanessa Sanchez Geoff Wehmeyer Daniel J. Preston texlab at Rice University PI Lab Jiun-Hung Yi Monisha Vijay Kumar Rice University School of Engineering and Computing
-
-
Join us for a MECH Special Summer Seminar featuring Dr. Zheng O'Neill, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Deputy Director of the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University, presenting "Toward Energy-Efficient and Flexible Buildings: Modeling, HVAC Innovation and Intelligent Operation." Dr. O'Neill will provide an overview of building science research from the Building Energy and HVAC&R Research Group at Texas A&M, covering data analytics and dynamic modeling, enabling technologies such as heat pumps and dehumidification systems, network-embedded sensor and control systems and intelligent building operation strategies for greater energy efficiency, flexibility and resilience. She will introduce the group's experimental infrastructure and laboratory-scale testbed before sharing recent results on energy flexibility from heat pump systems, including demand response and grid-interactive efficient building applications. Dr. O'Neill is a Fellow of ASHRAE and IBPSA. 📅 Wednesday, August 12, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT 📍 MEB 128, Rice University https://lnkd.in/eYt3JhKf
-
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
A simple change to surgical tools could enable safer swallowing after surgery. Rice University Mechanical Engineering researchers and Baylor College of Medicine neurosurgeons have identified simple changes to surgical tools that could reduce strain on the esophagus, lowering the risk of swallowing difficulties after neck surgery. Chihtong Lee in Raudel Avila's lab is the lead author on this study, which gives valuable insight to surgeons and device designers about surgical tools that could lead to better patient outcomes. https://bit.ly/3UbFJfx
-
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
🎓 Rice Engineering and Computing graduate students are invited to an afternoon designed to help you connect, grow, and get plugged into grad life. What to expect: ✅ Meet new people across departments ✅ Enjoy food & drinks ✅ Join a graduate student group ✅ Explore university resources ✅ Discover programming tailored to engineering & computing grad students 📅 August 24, 2026 🕓 4:00–6:00 PM 📍 OES, 5th Floor RSVP today! https://bit.ly/4vZCGoL
-
-
Rice University Mechanical Engineering reposted this
Our Rice University Mechanical Engineering students enrich their education durung summer experiences that feature hands-on design projects with real societal impact. Great work, Lillian Secord! We love the ways you #MECHithappen! Thank you Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen - Rice University for providing opportunities like these for our students!
Imagine you're underground. It's dark, it's hot, and it's humid. You reach for your flashlight to see what's in front of you -- and several scalding hot pipes obstruct your path forward. You start thinking: maybe if I step over the first while simultaneously ducking under the second -- stop. Would you want to be in this situation? This was how I kicked off our Showcase presentation for team Tunnel Vision yesterday. But it's not just a scenario -- it's the reality for Rice's facilities personnel. Rice has 3 miles of underground tunnels housing chilled water lines and high-pressure steam mains. Once a week, facility personnel spend 3-4 hours inspecting them for issues such as steam leaks and flooding, risking burns from exposed pipes the entire time. My group's solution: an autonomous rover on a cable system, so personnel can inspect the tunnels from the safety of their office. I built the HTML/CSS/JavaScript dashboard for analyzing video and sensor data, but most of my time was spent designing and iterating on the rover chassis. Coming in, I had limited metalworking experience. I'm leaving confident on plasma and waterjet cutters, manual and CNC press brakes, and riveting. I also learned the hard way that 1/8in aluminum is too thick to bend, and had to research better-suited alternatives. The result: a chassis housing our electronics, suspended on the cable system. Far from perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent covered in sweat, grease, and metal sawdust. Beyond hands-on fabrication skills, I'm taking away something much larger: the discipline of conceptual design -- thinking through every angle of a device before ever touching the tools. Much thanks to my teammates, Sandra Natasha, Stephanie Casio, and Ryan Pope, as well as our mentors, Deirdre Hunter, Alice Owens, and the entire Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen - Rice University.
-
-
A new study on the mechanics of surgical retractors could pave the way for safer neck surgeries and fewer swallowing complications for patients. A team led by Raudel Avila of Rice University Mechanical Engineering, with graduate student Chihtong Lee "Lily" Lee as lead author and neurosurgeons Alexander Ropper and Alex Flores of Baylor College of Medicine, quantified how retractor design affects pressure on the esophagus during anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, one of the most common neck procedures. Using a silicone model of the esophagus paired with computer simulations, the team found that wider retractor blades reduced stress beneath the blade by as much as 82%, and that a soft polymer sleeve lowered peak stress further. The findings give surgeons and device designers measurable criteria for comparing tool designs before clinical testing, mechanically simple changes that could reduce a frequent complication without altering the surgical workflow. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eSuwqF2X
-
