Labs & Learning Spaces
Mechanical Engineering
Our state of the art labs are a big part of what makes Bucknell one of the best colleges to study mechanical engineering. From your first year on campus, you’ll get hands-on experience with our research and design equipment and work side-by-side with your professors on real-world, independent engineering projects. Explore all of our research spaces and equipment below.
Academic East
Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Laboratory
Academic East 009
This lab is dedicated to researching the adverse impacts that the fabricated world has on the natural environment, and how to minimize those impacts. With access to a 32-foot and a 20-foot flume, as well as two wind tunnels and acoustic Doppler velocimeters, students research pollutant transport and contamination of surface and groundwater, water resource management, erosion and deposition patterns and hydrometeorology. The lab is shared by the departments of mechanical and civil & environmental engineering and is used in courses as well as independent research.
Material Science Lab
Academic East 001
Studying the properties of engineering materials, and the relationships between these properties and atomic structure, allows engineers to logically select materials for certain applications, and to modify or design new materials to meet specified needs. The Materials Science Laboratory provides opportunities for analysis of metals, plastics, ceramics and composites. Equipment includes hardness and impact testers, high-temperature furnaces, computer-controlled universal testing machines, optical and scanning electron microscopes with digital imaging capabilities, electrical and thermal analysis stations and materials processing equipment.
Renewable Energy Laboratory
Academic East 326A & 326B
The Renewable Energy Laboratory supports the development of solar power and fuel technologies ranging from hardware components to complex systems. The lab is equipped with a range of testing, measurement and simulation capabilities. A nearby, accessible rooftop lab provides additional space for mounting solar research equipment.
Vehicle Systems Design Lab
Academic East 118
This drive-in, drive-out lab for studying autonomous vehicle technology houses an electric, drive-by-wire research vehicle used in faculty and student research. It includes a hydraulic vehicle lift for below-vehicle access.
Dana Engineering
Additive Manufacturing & Materials Characterization Lab
Dana Engineering 025
The Additive Manufacturing and Materials Characterization Lab features a variety of equipment for the study of materials produced via additive and other advanced manufacturing technologies. The lab houses 3D printers utilizing various technologies for the production of layered components, including material extrusion (FDM), laser sintering (SLS) and UV photopolymerization (SLA). Additional equipment for sample testing and post-process characterization includes a universal load frame, auto-polisher and various microscopes.
Energy Conversion Laboratory
Dana Engineering 022C & 022D
The Energy Conversion Lab provides students with hands-on experience on how energy is turned into useful work. The space is equipped with a fully instrumented internal combustion engine test stand and a Rankine cycle test stand. A single-cylinder gasoline engine, a single-cylinder diesel engine and a demonstration steam turbine are used in several courses to reinforce theoretical knowledge with hands-on experiments.
Multi-Use Mechanical Engineering Laboratory
Dana Engineering 022
This lab includes two wind tunnels, two industrial 3D printers in a dedicated print room and an engine test facility supporting courses in fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, heat transfer, and internal combustion engines. Students also have access to tools, hardware and fabrication resources that enable hands-on experimentation and project work to better connect classroom theory to practical engineering applications.
Product Development Laboratory
Dana Engineering 020
The Product Development Laboratory contains an array of advanced prototyping equipment for quickly creating designs from metal and other materials. All equipment is available for student coursework and research projects, with accompanying safety training.
Richard J Mooney Innovative Design Laboratory
Dana Engineering 020B
The Mooney Innovative Design Laboratory is a student project space and part of a network of makerspaces on Bucknell’s campus. The Mooney Lab is equipped with a range of tools useful for basic fabrication and assembly, as well as a laser cutter and several 3D printers. Access to the lab is available to all Bucknell students, faculty and staff following the completion of a basic onsite safety orientation.