School of Engineering

If you see the new movie Rule Breakers, look for a robot developed in 2022 by a student and professor from the robotics engineering program. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on the student research work that drew movie producers to the program; and ultimately led to WPI's unique contribution to the film about Afghanistan’s first all-female robotics team and its inspiring journey to international competitions.

Chemical engineering professor Michael Timko leads a team that has developed a novel process to remove harmful PFAS chemicals from sewage sludge during wastewater treatment. The process offers an additional benefit: it could also generate renewable fuel. Researchers hope the process will help address the PFAS problem and allow wastewater treatment facilities to reduce their use of energy and chemical additives for sludge disposal, 

WPI’s wildfire research is featured in The Common, a podcast from WBUR, Boston's NPR. Listen to the interview with Albert Simeoni, head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering – a former firefighter – and see photos on the podcast's website to learn more about what drives the research of faculty and students, their work that seeks to mitigate the impacts of large wildfires, and the experiments taking place in the department's laboratories. 

Recycling International reported on research published in Nature Reviews Clean Technology by researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. The paper explores the need for more efficient recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries, the opportunities presented by a closed-loop recycling strategy, and the challenges to implementing new processes. Authors on the research paper include Yan Wang, the William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and PhD student Zifei Meng.