the Art of Engineering

Hammer

HAMMER Civil Engineering/The UGA STRENGTH Laboratory

The STRuctural ENGineering Testing Hub (STRENGTH) Laboratory is equipped to perform large- scale state-of-the-art research and testing services in the areas of concrete, steel, timber, and advanced materials.  This dynamic ‘freeze-frame’ painting of UGA’s high-bay structural testing area  captures the demonstration of ‘specialized dynamic-impact testing’ on fiber-reinforced concrete.

The laboratory testing capabilities include: large-scale static, dynamic, and fatigue load testing of structural members and systems, concrete compressive strength, split-tension strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, freeze-thaw durability, dynamic modulus of elasticity, impulse velocity, rapid chloride ion penetrability, unrestrained shrinkage, sulfate attack, alkali-silica reaction testing, and cement hydration.

Feature 2

Nothin’ but NET Mechanical Engineering / Computer Science / Research / Robotics

It has been said that the most difficult robotic gesture to master is the multi functional movement of the human hand.  In 2020, researchers at the University of Georgia College of Engineering designed a NEW soft robotic gripper that draws inspiration from an unusual source: pole beans.

In a study published in the Journal Optics Express, the fiber optic spiral gripper proved effective in gripping objects as small as a thin wire.  The device also demonstrated excellent repeatability, high twining sensing accuracy and precise external disturbance detection.

Feature 3

DAWG•LINK The Small Satellite Research Labratory

The Small Satellite Research Lab is a collaboration between students and faculty researchers across multiple disciplines.  The student led program named SPOC  (Spectral Ocean Color) won a highly competitive research grant from NASA to secure a spot on a rocket and funding to develop the ‘CubeSats’ that will monitor the health of Georgia’s coastal ecosystems from space.  The CubeSats have an advanced optic system that can zoom in on coastal areas to detect chemical composition and physical characteristics on ocean and wetland surfaces.  The satellite launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on a Northrop Grumman rocket on October 2, 2020.

Over the months and years, the lab has grown to include over 100 students who get hands-on experience in fields ranging from physics and electronics to geography and engineering.