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If there was a mantra for fall 2021 in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, everyone would be saying ‘it’s good to be back.’

After months of connecting only through Zoom calls and getting to know people’s home offices all too well, the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder has welcomed students back to campus for fall 2021. Halfway through the traditional in-person semester, there is still a collective joy at seeing students mingling in the Engineering Quad or moving through the Engineering Center hallways.

“I just like the intangible little things about being on campus,” said Andrew Brodsky, a mechanical engineering senior. “The hallway conversations, the intricacies of hands-on learning that cannot happen on Zoom, being in other people’s presence and simply wearing pants instead of sweatpants!”

The infectious buzz is, however, a tentative enthusiasm. Health and safety are still two of the top priorities on campus.

“I love being in person but there has definitely been a transition period of learning how to be around people again,” said mechanical engineering senior Claire Isenhart. “The energy needed to be in the classroom and in person is different from being online last year.” 

There are various COVID-19 protocols in place to keep Buffs healthy. You can read about the university’s latest .

Not all courses are fully in person, either. While most mechanical engineering classes are in person this semester, there are a few such as Mechanical Engineering Design Projects and Manufacturing Processes and Systems that are hybrid.

“Hybrid is nice,” said Cordelia Kim, another mechanical engineering senior. “Some students even attend the remote session together. We meet in a conference room for the lectures.”

In either scenario, the ability to educate and learn from one another without the separation of a computer screen has brought a renewed energy to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The benefit can be as simple as making eye contact during lectures or as valuable as obtaining the experiential education that ME is known for.

Click each tab below to read about how the return to campus has been a welcomed change in ME’s classrooms and labs.

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The University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder has debuted a new documentary titled "The Road Back: ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder’s Response to COVID-19." It chronicles how Buffs leaned in and discovered solutions that helped society move forward together, as one resilient community. The documentary features some faculty members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

State of the Campus | Fall 2021

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrIjH6Wtr1M]

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Since the start of the pandemic, Miller and her colleagues have been at the forefront of research on how the virus spreads through tiny airborne particles. Their studies have led to the creation of safety protocols for singing and playing musical instruments to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“In March 2020 musicians around the world were stunned to learn that gathering to play wind instruments or singing may be activities that could result in significant spread of the COVID-19 virus,” said academy member Karen Brunssen. “In-person music instruction and group musical activities came to a halt in schools, homes, businesses, concert halls, theaters and in places of worship.”

After understanding the risks, the academy sought specific information on how they might perform more safely. Miller and the team delivered.

“Three research reports from the International Coalition of Performing Arts Aerosol Study provided needed information specific to instruments and voices, and suggested limitations and potential protocols, including masking, social distancing, room ventilation, and more, for the health and safety of all involved,” Brunssen said.

In recognition of scientists’ guidance, the American Academy of Teachers of Singing awarded its inaugural AATS Award for COVID-19 response to the international group of researchers on May 5.

The is a select group of internationally recognized voice teachers and singing voice experts founded in 1922 with the express purpose of contributing to the singing profession in an advisory capacity.

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Professors Shelly Miller and Nina Vance, along with Miller's daughter, Renee Leiden, produced a video explaining how the transmission of respiratory infections can occur. They reveal that there are three ways someone susceptible to infection can contract a virus: contact transmission, spray of large particles and airborne transmission. Contact transmission occurs when someone susceptible to infection touches a surface that has been contaminated by a virus and then touches their eyes, mouth or nose. They said COVID-19 is not highly likely to spread in this way. A person can also become infected when a spray of large particles, or droplets, fly out of an infected person's mouth or nose and land on the eyes, nose or mouth of someone who is susceptible to infection. Airborne transmission occurs when the virus is suspended in particles in the air. Animal studies, superspreading events and air sampling have shown that COVID-19 is transmitted in this way. 

Watch the video below to learn more about the transmission of respiratory infections and how to mitigate these risks. 

[video:https://youtu.be/AGQYlrXzVJQ]

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