Mechanical engineering is about studying the fundamental mechanisms behind any movement and the energy converted in the process of moving. Materials engineering is about applying the properties of matter to engineer devices exploiting internal structures within the materials, and thereby dictate how the material moves or redistributes energy internally once in service.

Engineering is also about making new technologies, and access to advanced materials has often driven technological breakthroughs. The usage of composite materials enables us to engineer enhanced performance, or build additional function into the material. Access to well-characterised polymers, improved control, and enhanced automation in materials processing have led to the development of materials printing – 3D printers. Coupled with nanotechnology, new ways emerge to build and assemble advanced material structures into 3D composites at shorter length scales. Mechanical engineers use computer aided design tools to synthesize the geometry of any product and mathematically investigate its performance, and the tools are applicable to nanofabrication. Thus, materials engineering is becoming a digital development cycle.

Our current projects focus on the synthesis of bioactive medical devices manufactured by additive techniques such as fused deposition modelling and electrospinning. They are used for tissue engineering of connective tissue in the pelvic floor region and cartilage in the joints of the skeletal system. The projects are carried out in collaboration with Aarhus University Hospital and biotech companies.