Mechanical Engineering Research
Advancing mechanical engineering requires more than strong fundamentals. It requires innovation, collaboration, and a focus on solving real problems. At Auburn University, graduate students in Mechanical Engineering work closely with faculty who are engaged in research that addresses important challenges across industry, government, and academia.
Graduate study at Auburn combines rigorous coursework with hands-on research. M.S. and Ph.D. students develop strong technical expertise while gaining experience applying that knowledge to complex engineering problems. Faculty-led research groups create an environment where students are active contributors, building skills in analysis, design, experimentation, and emerging technologies.
Research in the department spans a broad range of areas, including Design and Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Materials, Dynamics and Controls, Thermal and Fluids, Biomechanics, Robotics and Automation, Solid Mechanics, Electronic Packaging, and Tribology. This breadth supports collaboration across disciplines and allows students to engage in work that reflects the evolving nature of mechanical engineering.
Auburn's Mechanical Engineering program continues to expand its research impact through sustained research activity and external support. Graduate students benefit from access to modern facilities, collaborative research teams, and opportunities to contribute to meaningful work. These experiences prepare graduates to move into leadership roles in engineering practice, research, and academia.
Explore the faculty and research groups below to learn more about current work and opportunities for graduate study.
Mechanical Engineering at a Glance
000Undergraduate students
000Graduate students
00Research laboratories
3Featured research centers
Additive Manufacturing
Nima Shamsaei · Additive and Advanced Manufacturing
Overview
Dr. Nima Shamsaei's research addresses the mechanical behavior of metallic materials, particularly the fatigue, fracture, and durability of components produced by additive manufacturing. It emphasizes linking process parameters and resulting micro- and defect-structures to performance and failure mechanisms under cyclic and extreme loading conditions. Through experimental characterization and mechanics-based modeling, Dr. Shamsaei's work advances the qualification, reliability, and safe implementation of additively manufactured metal parts in high-performance engineering applications, including aviation, defense, space, and medical fields.
Length
Active for over a decade
Direction
NCAME's research is directed toward the safe, reliable, and widespread implementation of additive manufacturing for critical structural applications. It aims to establish science-based qualification and design frameworks, such as NDE-based and model-assisted qualification, by understanding how processing, microstructure, and anomalies govern fatigue and fracture behavior. This direction supports the deployment of additively manufactured metal components in safety-critical industries such as aerospace, defense, space, and medical engineering. Dr. Shamsaei is also the director of the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) which was founded through partnerships with NASA, NIST, and ASTM International.
Sabit Adanur · Polymer processing
Overview
Dr. Adanur's research focuses on developing flexible structures such as fabrics using additive manufacturing. The goal is to simplify the tedious design and manufacturing processes of traditional textile structures and reduce cost. These structures have been used in many industrial applications such as papermaking, filtration, protection and safety, military and defense, electronics, medicine, civil engineering, and transportation, among others.
Length
Established in 2017
Direction
Continuing research is focused on advancing these additive manufacturing techniques toward commercialization, including scaling production, improving reliability, and enabling real-world deployment across multiple industries.
Shuai Shao · National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence
Overview
The National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) was founded in 2017 through a collaboration between Auburn University (AU) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leveraged by a signed AU/NASA Space Act Agreement. The Center is also a founding partner of the ASTM Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE). Led by Dr. Nima Shamsaei, Dr. Shuai Shao, and Dr. Reza Molaei, NCAME strives to be a transitioning mechanism from fundamental to applied research aligned with the need of industry. The Center also aims to lead and foster effective collaborations amongst industry, government, academia, non-profit organizations, and ASTM committees for ensuring a coordinated, global effort toward rapidly closing standards and workforce development gaps in additive manufacturing.
Length
Established in 2017.
Direction
NCAME strives to be a transitioning mechanism from fundamental to applied research aligned with the need of industry. The Center also aims to lead and foster effective collaborations amongst industry, government, academia, non-profit organizations, and ASTM committees for ensuring a coordinated, global effort toward rapidly closing standards and workforce development gaps in additive manufacturing.
Dynamics & Controls
Scott Martin · GPS and Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory
Overview
The GPS and Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory (GAVLAB), led by Dr. David Bevly and Dr. Scott Martin, is advancing the robust navigation and control of autonomous vehicles. Established in 2001, GAVLAB s mission revolves around integrating GPS with other vital on-board sensors to achieve highly accurate and reliable navigation solutions. Its three main research thrusts are: assured positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) and orbital estimation, robust control methods for autonomous vehicles, and vehicle dynamics and controls for a range of platforms including heavy trucks, passenger cars, off-road vehicles, and hypersonic vehicles. This includes crucial areas like sensor fusion, signal processing, online system identification, and adaptive control techniques.
Length
Established in 2001
Direction
The GAVLAB continues to develop cutting edge guidance navigation and control systems for emerging platforms like small unmanned aerial vehicles and hypersonic vehicles.
Dan Marghitu · Dynamics
Overview
Dr. Marghitu's research focuses on impact dynamics in mechanical systems, with applications to robotic systems and nonlinear dynamics. By examining collisions, intermittent contact, and sudden state transitions, the work advances both the modeling and control of robots in real-world settings, while deepening the theoretical understanding of nonlinear systems.
Length
Active for over two decades
Direction
Continuing research extends impact dynamics theory to the design and analysis of advanced mechanisms and robotic systems, with an emphasis on improving performance, robustness, and control in applications involving intermittent contact.
George Flowers · Dynamics and Controls
Overview
Dr. Flowers' research is focused on the area of dynamics, vibration, and control. Recent work has been concerned with electronic packaging for harsh environments, with a specific focus on vibration, mechanical shock, and thermal effects. An area of special interest is degradation effects in electrical connectors, including fretting corrosion and the effects of aging on connector performance.
Length
Established in 1990. The work on harsh environments has been active for over 25 years.
Direction
Areas of future interest include the effects of aging on metal platings made from various materials on the mechanical performance of electronic packaging, influence of design factors on long-term connector performance, analysis and mitigation of connector degradation mechanisms for power and high frequency signal applications.
Brendon Allen · Controls, Autonomy, and Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory (CARE Lab)
Overview
The CARE Lab develops next-generation control and learning algorithms for complex, uncertain dynamical systems, with a strong emphasis on applications that directly impact people such as rehabilitation robotics and human-centered autonomy. The lab develops control frameworks that operate reliably on real hardware where sensing is imperfect (measurement noise, unmeasurable signals, model uncertainty), dynamics change over time (especially for human-in-the-loop systems), and practical effects like delays, disturbances, limited computational power, actuator saturation, and/or communication limitations are unavoidable. Each control design involves the development of rigorous mathematical proofs of stability and feasibility that theoretically validate the control framework, and the implementation of the controller in a real system to experimentally evaluate that controller's real-world performance.
Length
Established in 2021
Direction
The CARE Lab's current and future research interests encompass the fields of control theory, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) with a focus in applications such as human-robot collaboration; rehabilitation engineering; guidance, navigation, and control (GNC); networked control systems; and autonomous systems. The lab's current research consists of three core research topics: 1) developing nonlinear controllers and therapies to improve the rehabilitation of individuals with movement disorders, 2) developing intelligent control structures for autonomous and networked control systems such as autonomous robots and multiagent systems, and 3) integrating advancements in AI with Lyapunov stability theory to generate guarantees on system performance.
Song-Yul (Ben) Choe · Automotive Powertrain/ Lithium Ion Battery and PEM Fuel Cells and Advanced Controls
Overview
Dr. Choe's research focuses on physics based modeling, experimental and theoretical analysis of electrochemical, thermal and mechanical behavior in conjunction with degradation and advanced controls to estimate parameters and states of operating batteries.
Length
Established in 2003
Direction
Commercialization of ultra fast charging protocol, highly efficient design of thermal management systems by measurement of heat sources using invented multifunctional calorimeters and prediction of internal short circuit to prevent thermal runaway. Auburn University already has several patents on the protocols for ultra fast and safe charging based on physics based models. Invented multifunctional calorimeters allows to collect highly accurate experimental data that can be used for development of efficient and reliable energy products.
Thermal and Fluids
Jeyhoon Khodadadi · Transport Phenomena in Processing
Overview
Dr. Khodadadi's ongoing research concerns thermal energy storage in energy-intensive processing utilizing phase change materials over a wide melting temperature range. His past research was focused on transport phenomena in materials processing covering mathematical and physical modeling of tundish flows, mold of continuous casters, thermophysical property determination and phase change under microgravity.
Length
Active for 2 decades
Direction
Continuing research explores expanded applications of thermal energy storage systems for waste heat recovery, aiming to improve energy efficiency and sustainability across industrial processes.
Mehmet Arik · Electronics Thermal Management
Overview
ARTgroup, led by Dr. Mehmet Arik, focuses on exploring the fundamentals and implementation of heat transfer techniques, cooling of electronics, and thermal management of photonics systems. ARTgroup members are currently involved in working on electronics thermal management, microfluidics jets, boiling and condensation heat transfer, frost formation, and opto-thermal characteristics of photonics systems. With over 25 years of academic and industrial experience, the application areas that ARTgroup has experience in are energy systems, medical systems, industrial electronics, photonics systems, and defense technologies. Their research involves both theoretical model development and experimental validation of state-of-the-art technology problems. ARTgroup has a number of current global collaborators and are open to new opportunities to develop best-in-class technologies.
Length
15 years (4 years in Auburn and 11 years in Ozyegin University)
Direction
Future directions for ARTgroup include developing novel cooling technologies for artificial intelligence based electronics, defense electronics, energy systems and medical systems.
Lorenzo Cremaschi · Thermal Systems and Building Energy Efficiency
Overview
Dr. Cremaschi's research interest areas are Thermal Systems, Energy Efficiency, Heat and Mass Transfer Processes in Buildings and Transportation Systems, Refrigerants, Thermodynamics, Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Waste Heat Recovery. Current research is being done on Water Harvesting, Desalination, and Purification, Air Dehumidification Process, Natural Refrigerants, Climate-control transportation systems for biomedical applications, Drying process for pulp and paper, Nanolubricants, Frost and Defrost, Heat Pumps, and Micro-Channels Heat Exchangers.
Length
Established in 2016
Direction
Continuing research focuses on the exploration of novel thermal and energy processes, along with scaling promising technologies from the laboratory to practical applications through performance evaluation and feasibility studies.
Nicholas Tsolas · Advanced Energy and Thermal Research Laboratory (AETHERLab)
Overview
The AETHERLab research program spans from fundamental to applied initiatives, while employing an extensive portfolio of advanced experimental and numerical techniques to accelerate innovation and achieve project objectives. The laboratory s overarching focus is predominantly centered around (i) elucidating fundamental and practical insights that advance next-generation combustion architectures for propulsion and energy applications and (ii) leveraging advanced manufacturing and simulation tools to design, fabricate and characterize new high-performance thermal management technologies.
Length
Established in 2020
Direction
Future initiatives of the AETHERLab include: Demonstrating non-equilibrium plasma ignition strategies for practical device integration under harsh and near-limit operating conditions to improve the operability and performance of UAVs, hypersonic, and propellant-based propulsion systems. Employing new high-fidelity experimental diagnostics and developing new computational tools to elucidate a fundamental understanding of plasma chemical interactions governing the basic combustion phenomena of future fuels and energetics. Applying topology optimization algorithms to achieve new non-conformal geometries to enhance the thermal hydraulic performance of high heat-load thermal devices.
Song-Yul (Ben) Choe · Automotive Powertrain/ Lithium Ion Battery and PEM Fuel Cells and Advanced Controls
Overview
Dr. Choe's research focuses on physics based modeling, experimental and theoretical analysis of electrochemical, thermal and mechanical behavior in conjunction with degradation and advanced controls to estimate parameters and states of operating batteries.
Length
Established in 2003
Direction
Commercialization of ultra fast charging protocol, highly efficient design of thermal management systems by measurement of heat sources using invented multifunctional calorimeters and prediction of internal short circuit to prevent thermal runaway. Auburn University already has several patents on the protocols for ultra fast and safe charging based on physics based models. Invented multifunctional calorimeters allows to collect highly accurate experimental data that can be used for development of efficient and reliable energy products.
Biomechanics
Michael Zabala · Auburn University Biomechanical Engineering Lab
Overview
The AUBE Lab, led by Dr. Michael Zabala, conducts interdisciplinary research focused on understanding human movement, improving physical performance, and reducing musculoskeletal injury risk. The lab integrates experimental biomechanics, wearable sensing, computational modeling, and human subject testing to study gait, joint mechanics, neuromuscular control, and the design and evaluation of orthotic, prosthetic, and exoskeleton systems. This work supports applications in injury prevention, rehabilitation, assistive technologies, and performance optimization for civilian, athletic, and military populations.
Length
Established in 2016
Direction
The future of AUBE lab's research will emphasize markerless motion capture and field-deployable biomechanical solutions that extend beyond traditional laboratory constraints. Increased use of aritificial intelligence and machine learning will enable improved understanding and prediction of human movement, directly supporting adaptive and predictive control strategies for both active and passive exoskeletons. In parallel, continued advances in 3D scanning and additive manufacturing will enable scalable, customizable wearable solutions for a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries and movement disorders.
Robotics & Automation
Chad Rose · Wearable and Bio-Robotics Lab
Overview
WeBR Lab research thrusts led by Dr. Chad Rose are broadly in the design of robots, interaction control algorithms, and haptic interfaces to rehabilitate motor function, augment human performance, or improve human-robot interaction via haptic communication. The lab combines fundamental research into neurorehabilitation, motor learning, and perception with applied projects on the design and control of exoskeletons and haptic devices. WeBR Lab seeks out and maintains active collaborations, with current collaborations with CARE Lab, Locomotor and Movement Control Lab, AUBE Lab, GAVLab, AU Harrison College of Pharmacy, AU Department of History, as well as external collaborators at several universities and centers.
Length
Established in 2020
Direction
Future directions for the WeBR lab include new haptic interface design for generating novel percepts, advanced motor assessments for stroke, spinal cord injury, and tremor, and new exoskeleton developments in terms of design (soft and rigid components), power (functional electrical stimulation and exoskeleton providing torque), and form factor (bridging supernumerary digit and exoskeleton designs).
Tribology
Robert Jackson · Multiscale Tribology Laboratory
Overview
The goal of the Multiscale Tribology Laboratory is to investigate and model the physical phenomena that distress and govern contacting components through experimental and computational techniques. The goal is to predict and control the friction, wear, lubrication, and contact performance of components and systems. This includes bearings, gears, seals, wheels, rails, bolts, electrical connectors, other machine components, and also the influence of materials and lubricants. For those wanting to expand their skills and understanding in this area, Auburn offers a Tribology and Lubrication Science Minor. More information can be found at https://eng.auburn.edu/programs/tribology/.
Length
Active for over two decades.
Direction
The current focus is on advanced vehicle applications (electric and autonomous), manufacturing and the use of AI tools.