Cincinnati Magazine Photograph by Chris Von Holle Chances are youâve never heard of experimental modal analysis. But you donât have to be a mechanical engineer to understand how cool it is to stand in a totally echoless room or witness a big machine shake a full-sized carâthe kind of stuff that happens at UCâs Structural Dynamics Research Laboratory. Located in Rhodes Hall and also known as the Vibration Lab, the facility was originally established as part of a 1965 contract with the U.S. Air Force to help improve military machinery design. Researchers have since used the labâs state-of-the-art equipmentâranging from a chamber that absorbs all reflecting sound waves to a four-axis road simulatorâto answer questions about force, motion, and acoustics. Both an educational and industrial feat, the lab allows students to work alongside academic communities from across the globe and collaborate with scientists at NASA and General Motors. Itâs a whole network of good vibes.