Caterina Lamuta was recently awarded a prestigious Young Investigator Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop new self-morphing, stretchable soft skins (S⁴) for use in underwater vehicles and robots.

Amanda Mikhail, a distinguished engineering alumna of the University of Iowa, delivered a charge to the graduating class. She shared her journey as a mechanical engineer, emphasizing the problem-solving skills and mindset cultivated at Iowa Engineering. She encouraged the graduates to tackle challenges with confidence, communication, and a focus on humanity.

In November 2020, Stephen Baek, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, and H.S. Udaykumar, a professor of mechanical engineering and interim associate dean for research and graduate programs, both at the University of Iowa, received the 2020 Defense Innovation Award from TechConnect. Udaykumar and Baek received the award for their presentation “MaterIQ: An AI-based software tool for materials-by-design” at the Defense TechConnect Summit.