Edwin L. Aguirre Two researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering â Asst. Profs. Yan Gu and Marianna Maiaru â were recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Air Force, respectively, with faculty early career development grants totaling $1,015,000. The funding will help advance research on robot walking and the process modeling of composite materials. Gu received a five-year NSF CAREER grant, worth nearly $565,000, for research that would develop new methods in modeling, analyzing and controlling the movement of legged robots to keep them stable and upright while walking on nonstationary surfaces. The CAREER grant is the NSFâs most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who demonstrate strong potential to lead research breakthroughs in their organizations.