MIT Mechanical Engineering

MechE Senior Lilia Ould-Hammou (top row, right) and alum Bryan Sperry ’23 (bottom row, left) are among the ten MIT affiliates — including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni — who have accepted Fulbright grants to work on research projects abroad in 2026-27.

Ould-Hammou is studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in controls, robotics, and instrumentation. As a recipient of the Fulbright U.S.-Korea Presidential STEM Initiative Award, she will conduct research at Seoul National University’s Wearable Robotics Laboratory. Her work will involve advancing adaptive exosuit control for balance recovery.

Sperry graduated from MIT with dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering, focusing on renewable energy systems. As a Fulbright Brazil grantee, he will study pathways to improve climate resilience and energy equity in urban power grids alongside the Cenergia Lab at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

https://meche.mit.edu/news-media/ten-mit-accept-2026-fulbright-awards

With a swipe of a magnet, microscopic “magno-bots” perform complex maneuvers. A fabrication technique developed by Associate Professor Carlos Portela, graduate students Rachel Sun and Andrew Chen, and collaborators at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the University of Cincinnati can produce soft, microscopic structures with magnetically activated moving parts. Their new type of soft magnetic hydrogel could be the basis for microscopic, magnetically responsive robots and materials.

https://meche.mit.edu/news-media/swipe-magnet-microscopic-“magno-bots”-perform-complex-maneuvers

MechE Senior Brunch is a tradition held each year to honor graduating seniors. Students, family, friends, faculty, staff and others gather to celebrate and recognize students' accomplishments. Congratulations to all of our graduates! 📸: Tony Pulsone

Scenes from yesterday's School of Engineering & Schwarzman College of Computing advanced degree ceremony. Congratulations to our advanced degree recipients, and to all of this year's graduates! 📸s: Tony Pulsone

Celebrations continue today with the OneMIT Commencement ceremony. Lisa Su ’90, SM ’91, PhD ’94, chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, will deliver the address.

Meet the MechE students graduating with their master’s or doctoral degrees in 2026: https://youtu.be/Fk_F-l_P11I?si=SQ1zJeEhS6fVgBfK

MIT’s Commencement celebrations begin today! To help members of the Class of 2026 start their post-Tech journeys, the MIT Alumni Association has gleaned tips from some of the 150,000 alumni living and working across the globe. Story via MIT Slice: https://alum.mit.edu/slice/graduates-lessons-mit-alumni-2026-edition.

📸: Gretchen Ertl

Professor Gareth McKinley ’91 is one of six MIT faculty members and 10 additional MIT alumni elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for 2026. This year's class comprises 120 members and 25 international members, each selected for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Membership in the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive in their career. The other MIT faculty members elected are Bengt Holmström, Michale Fee, Keith Nelson, Fan Wang, and Catherine Wolfram ’96.

https://meche.mit.edu/news-media/mit-affiliates-elected-national-academy-sciences-2026

For the culminating event of 2.007 (Design and Manufacturing I), students build robots that compete head-to-head to earn the highest score by completing tasks on a game board. This year's theme, “F007: Design to Survive,” was inspired by the world of high-speed motorsport! To earn points, robots sped around the track, performed tire changes, collected flags, raised trophies, and more. Watch a playback of the competition finals via the link below. 🏎️ 🏁

https://web.mit.edu/webcast/2.007/

📸: Tony Pulsone, MIT MechE

Last week, our community gathered to celebrate MechE student award recipients. Awards are given to undergraduate and graduate students for outstanding achievements in academics, research, teaching, mentorship, and more.

To conclude the ceremony, Ilan Moyer, ‘08, SM ‘13, PhD ’26 and Professor Maria Yang, MIT's Vice Provost for Faculty, engaged in a conversation about Moyer's time at MIT and his experience as an entrepreneur. His research focuses on re-imagining the design of digital fabrication and manufacturing systems from the perspective of “usable-by-all” to foster greater innovation and productivity across society.

Congratulations to all of this year's recipients!

Watch a playback of the ceremony webcast at: https://web.mit.edu/webcast/meche/s26/

📸s: Tony Pulsone, MIT MechE

Someday soon, AI-enabled humanoid robots will be found in homes, helping with daily chores and revolutionizing life by reducing the burden of housework. Students in 2.12/2.120 (Introduction to Robotics) developed home robots for their final project competition that can intelligently interact with the physical environment to take on tasks like preparing meals, delivering them to and from the dinner table, and loading a dishwasher.

The winner, Team Fork, developed a dual arm and mobile robot system capable of performing dexterous manipulation and navigation in a kitchen. Their technologies include things like force-guided manipulation for opening the door of a microwave, a clever gripper design for reliably grasping dishes and cups despite positioning error, and autonomous navigation.

📸: Tony Pulsone, MIT MechE

A new storytelling project titled "Curiosity on a Mission" champions the long-horizon science that powers American innovation. The MIT effort highlights how basic research sparks enormous advances in medicine, technology, national security, and economic growth.

3Q: Why science is curiosity on a mission This week, MIT launches a new initiative — titled “Science Is Curiosity on a Mission” — to make the case for the long-horizon, curiosity-driven science that has powered generations of American innovation.