Dr. Atreya has worked in the area of printed biodegradable electronics for precision agriculture and soil monitoring. In particular, he developed a novel printed sensor to characterize microbial decomposition of organic matter in soil. These sensors have now been deployed around the world as an effort to correlate their signal response with more conventional soil health measurements. He plans to continue to investigate the design, fabrication, and use of products and systems architected from naturally derived materials which can often impart interesting properties to a product, such as biodegradability, recyclability, and stimuli-responsiveness, which are crucial to sustainability efforts. Such a combination of emergent properties is necessary with the world trending towards distributed sensing and actuation in all applications ranging from environmental monitoring to tangible interfaces to personal medicine, making disposability and obsolescence here to stay. In addition, Dr. Atreya is interested in the design of accessibility devices, especially such that users with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses can continue to pursue their hobbies or crafts. He is also interested in design education, especially in the teaching of low-fidelity prototyping in the era of pervasive 3D printing.
keywords
Printed and solution-processed electronics, naturally derived and biodegradable materials, Internet of things (IoT) and distributed sensing, novel fabrication techniques, accessibility, low-fidelity prototyping
GEEN 1017 - Engineering Drawing
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2026
Introduces CAD software; relevant concepts, including orthographic projection, sections, engineering drawing, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing; and rapid manufacturing methods. Final design project involves rapid prototyping. Not recommended for AREN majors.
GEEN 1400 - Engineering Projects
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023 / Fall 2024 / Spring 2025 / Fall 2025 / Spring 2026
First-year students solve real-world engineering design problems in interdisciplinary teams. Design projects vary by section. Curriculum focuses on iterative design process, teamwork and team dynamics, supporting design with testing and analysis, and technical writing. Completed projects are exhibited at an end-of-semester design expo. Students responsible for contributing towards their design project budget (approximately $75). Degree credit not granted for this course and ASTR 2500, ASEN 1400, ASEN 1403 and ECEN 1400.
MCEN 5000 - Sociotechnical Industry Skills
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2025
Provides an introduction to sociotechnical skills as they relate to the practice of engineering. Themes include career exploration, communication, ethics, leadership, and teamwork. Students conduct several self-assessments to build awareness of their working styles and strengths. Students work on teams to be more effective as leaders and working on teams. Alumni and industry professionals regularly participate in the course to provide expertise and networking opportunities.
MCEN 5055 - Advanced Product Design
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2025
Introduces engineering design and development of consumer products. Includes learning sketching, brainstorming, idea generation, design thinking, user-centered design, product requirements and specifications, product constraints, human factors, aesthetics, industrial design, intellectual property, concept prototyping, idea selection, tolerancing, cost estimating, design for assembly, and materials selection. Entails a semester-long team re-design of a consumer product.
MCEN 5065 - Graduate Design I
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Fall 2024
First part of a two-course graduate product design experience in mechanical engineering. Covers problem definition and specifications, determining design requirements, user feedback, alternative design concepts, engineering analysis, concept prototypes and CAD drawings. Students make several oral design reviews, a final design presentation and prepare a written report. Entails a team product design, fabrication and testing cycle of sponsored project. Students who complete this course are encouraged to take MCEN 5075 Graduate Design II.
MCEN 5075 - Graduate Design II
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2025
Second part of two-course graduate product design experience in mechanical engineering. Includes refinement of prototype, design optimization, fabrication, testing, and evaluation. Students orally present the final design and prepare a written report and operation manual for the product. Entails a team product design, fabrication, and testing cycle of a sponsored project, leading to a fully-functional product.
