Mechanical Engineering

Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine

alse6588 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:21:34 +0000

Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine alse6588 Fri, 02/27/2026 - 13:21

Professor Alaa Ahmed is leading a study that highlights the central role that dopamine, a brain chemical associated with reward, seems to play in making people move faster when they want something. The findings could one day help scientists understand and even diagnose a range of human medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and depression.

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Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives

alse6588 — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:04:48 +0000

Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives alse6588 Fri, 02/13/2026 - 11:04

A first-of-its-kind study, led by Professor Daven Henze and collaborators at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, assesses how health benefits of aggressive climate policy travel across international borders. The researchers say that ambitious climate action to improve global air quality could save up to 1.32 million lives per year by 2040.

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Chip Bollendonk (MechEngr'17, MS'17)

miwi9607 — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:33:29 +0000

Chip Bollendonk (MechEngr'17, MS'17) miwi9607 Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:33

Chip Bollendonk, 2026 Alumni Engagement Medal Recipient

Engineering Alumni Awards

2026 Alumni Engagement Medal Recipient

Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering Recipient

Chip Bollendonk graduated from �� Boulder in 2017 with his BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering and a minor in leadership. He works at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at �� Boulder, where he designs and builds spaceflight instruments to enable cutting-edge space, earth and climate science. Prior to his time at LASP, Bollendonk worked in consulting and contributed to various missions including United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser. He is a passionate �� Boulder alum and previously served on the �� Alumni Association Board of Advisors, in addition to mentoring senior design teams for many years. Most recently, Bollendonk has joined the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering as an adjunct lecturer, where he enjoys bringing important course concepts to life by leveraging a decade of engineering design and analysis experience. Bollendonk spends his free time running, telemark skiing, playing in a band and working on vintage MG cars.

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Kevin Martin (MechEngr'16)

miwi9607 — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:47:42 +0000

Kevin Martin (MechEngr'16) miwi9607 Mon, 02/02/2026 - 10:47

Kevin Martin, 2026 Recent Alumni Award

Engineering Alumni Awards

2026 Recent Alumni Award recipient

Kevin Martin is the founder & CTO of unspun, a certified B Corp transforming apparel manufacturing through automated and localized production. unspun develops industrial 3D weaving technology that enables on-demand manufacturing for apparel, dramatically reducing waste, excess inventory and the carbon footprint inherent in traditional global supply chains. By shifting apparel production closer to the consumer, unspun aligns speed, sustainability and scalability in a single manufacturing platform. The company’s north star is creating a 1% reduction in global human carbon emission.

Martin graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. During his undergraduate years, he founded his first company, Airworx, focused on robotic camera motion systems and early drone-based video production—an experience that first sparked his interest in entrepreneurship. Shortly after graduating, Martin joined co-founders Beth Esponnette and Walden Lam to build the next generation of local manufacturing for textiles.

One year after participating in �� Boulder’s mechanical engineering capstone program himself as an undergrad, Martin and his co-founders sponsored their own student project to build an early unspun prototype. That prototype helped unspun secure its first National Science Foundation development grant, followed by the company’s first venture investment from hardware accelerator HAX. unspun has since gone on to raise over $70 million in additional funding and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Martin was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2021—the same year unspun was recognized by Time Magazine’s Best Inventions and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. unspun has also been featured by leading global media and industry organizations for its impact on sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and the future of apparel.

Martin remains actively engaged with �� Boulder, where he regularly guest lectures and participates in alumni programming. He has served on the College of Engineering & Applied Science Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Board and as a Regional Network Ambassador for the college. He attributes a major factor in his entrepreneurial journey to the encouragement and support he received as an undergraduate at �� Boulder, particularly from his mentors Jacob Segil, Daria Kotys-Schwartz and Julie Steinbrenner.

Kevin Martin is the founder & CTO of unspun, a certified B Corp transforming apparel manufacturing through automated and localized production. Martin graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.

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Anthony Pigliacampo (MechEngr'02)

miwi9607 — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:58:43 +0000

Anthony Pigliacampo (MechEngr'02) miwi9607 Mon, 02/02/2026 - 08:58

Anthony Pigliacampo, 2026 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award Recipient

Engineering Alumni Awards

2026 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award recipient

Anthony Pigliacampo is a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, and business leader with a broad range of industry expertise spanning product design, consumer brands, food service, and advanced manufacturing. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, where early student projects helped spark his lifelong passion for turning ideas into real-world products and businesses.

Pigliacampo began his career as a product designer at IDEO, a globally recognized design and innovation consultancy, where he contributed to product development programs for leading global brands. In 2005, he founded Venture Design Works, a product development studio focused on the outdoor retail and cycling markets. The company was sold in 2008, and its products continue to be sold internationally.

In 2009, motivated by a desire to make healthy dining more convenient, delicious, and affordable, Pigliacampo co-founded Modern Market Eatery, a fast-casual restaurant concept built around scratch-made food. The company expanded to a multi-state footprint, operating more than 30 locations across four states. In 2018, Modern Market Eatery was acquired by Butterfly Partners and became the foundation for Modern Restaurant Concepts, a national platform for scaling better-for-you restaurant brands. Pigliacampo served as CEO through 2021. The platform has since grown to more than 800 restaurants nationwide, generating over $1.3 billion in annual systemwide sales.

Pigliacampo is currently the CEO of Joseph Machine Company, an original equipment manufacturer of highly automated CNC machinery based in Pennsylvania. The company designs and builds advanced manufacturing systems used by leading companies, including Andersen Windows, Tesla, and Cornerstone Brands and is considered a leader in American design and manufactured machine tools.

While his career has spanned many industries, a consistent thread has been his passion for turning ideas into reality. He remains closely connected to the University of Colorado Boulder, where he regularly engages with alumni and students and has spent years guest lecturing in the Advanced Product Design courses.

He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, Natalie, and their two children, Ava and Joseph, and continues to pursue innovation at the intersection of engineering, business, and design.

Anthony Pigliacampo (MechEngr'02) is a �� Boulder alumnus and entrepreneur whose career spans product design, consumer brands, and advanced manufacturing. He co‑founded Modern Market Eatery, helped grow it into a national restaurant platform, and now serves as CEO of Joseph Machine Company.

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:20:27 +0000

Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging Alexander Jame… Wed, 01/21/2026 - 10:20

Associate Professor Xiaoyun Ding and medical collaborators at �� Anschutz have created a new chip device to help give blood centers and hospitals a reliable way to monitor the quality of red blood cells after they sit for weeks in storage.

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Wind tunnel research could help predict how wildfires spread

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 18:35:37 +0000

Wind tunnel research could help predict how wildfires spread Alexander Jame… Fri, 12/05/2025 - 11:35

PhD student Laura Shannon, alongside Professors Greg Rieker and Peter Hamlington of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering are setting fires inside wind tunnels to gain a better understanding of how fire spreads across different terrain. The team says their findings could help keep communities safer in a world where climate-driven wildfire is becoming more common—and more dangerous.

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Brewing engineers: Inside �� Boulder’s new food engineering program

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:25:43 +0000

Brewing engineers: Inside �� Boulder’s new food engineering program Alexander Jame… Wed, 12/03/2025 - 15:25

Faculty member Carmen Pacheco is the architect behind the Food Engineering Graduate Certificate, one of �� Boulder's most innovative academic ventures. Launched in 2024, the program was designed to introduce engineering students to the science behind their favorite foods and career opportunities in the food industry, but it can also reinforce scientific concepts that students can apply to any engineering discipline.

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A window underground: New sensors measure emissions from soil in real time

Alexander James Servantez — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 21:40:29 +0000

A window underground: New sensors measure emissions from soil in real time Alexander Jame… Thu, 11/20/2025 - 14:40

Soil is comprised of an intricate network of bacteria and other microbes that humans depend on, but this complex environmental system is constantly shifting, making it difficult for scientists to measure. Associate Professor Gregory Whiting and his team of researchers are developing reliable, inexpensive and easy-to-deploy sensors that monitor soil in real time to help farmers optimize their use of fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money in the process.

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Smart toilet designs in Cambodia held promise, but a key piece was missing

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:38:19 +0000

Smart toilet designs in Cambodia held promise, but a key piece was missing Alexander Jame… Wed, 11/19/2025 - 14:38

Assistant Teaching Professor James Harper recently led a behavioral study analyzing toilet use in Cambodia. Their goal was to introduce a new, smart toilet design that can keep rural households safe and protect the environment. But while households reported that they liked the new system, a crucial piece was missing: using it correctly.

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Mechanical Engineering

Why do we get a skip in our step when we’re happy? Thank dopamine

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Global collaboration to limit air pollution flowing across borders could save millions of lives

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Chip Bollendonk (MechEngr'17, MS'17)

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Kevin Martin (MechEngr'16)

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Anthony Pigliacampo (MechEngr'02)

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Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging

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Wind tunnel research could help predict how wildfires spread

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Brewing engineers: Inside ���������� Boulder’s new food engineering program

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A window underground: New sensors measure emissions from soil in real time

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Smart toilet designs in Cambodia held promise, but a key piece was missing

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Brewing engineers: Inside �� Boulder’s new food engineering program