ME “Innovation Lab” Launched for Maryland Day and Visitor Tours

The Department of Mechanical Engineering “Innovation Lab”, a museum of award-winning student/faculty projects, was launched on April 24 for Maryland Day.

Some of the exhibits, like the Human-Powered Submarine, are still in use as current classroom projects. Others, like the walking robot and jousting robot, were created in the 80’s to compete in international competitions.

One of the most recognizable of all the student projects featured in the museum, the award winning solar-powered car ‘Pride of Maryland’, created quite a stir on campus in early 1990. The solar car blends bicycle and airplane technologies to create a lightweight, aerodynamic, non-polluting vehicle.

Other exhibits include a model of the solar house created in 2002 for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathalon competition held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and a human-powered vehicle created by students to win the 1999 ASME Human Powered Vehicle Competition.

You can view a 360° panorama virtual tour of the Innovation Lab here on the Engineering Information Technology website.

The Innovation Lab is available for tours with advance notice for groups of up to twenty people. Please contact Sami Ainane, Director of Undergraduate Programs, at (301) 405-5310 for more information.

Published May 15, 2004