One embodiment provides a system that mitigates vibrations caused by cooling fans in a computer system. More specifically, the system includes a cooling fan mechanically coupled to the chassis of the computer system, wherein vibrations generated by the cooling fan are coupled to the chassis. The system also includes an actuation mechanism that creates a relative displacement between the cooling fan and the chassis when a control signal is applied to the actuation mechanism. The system additionally includes a detection mechanism which detects the relative displacement and generates a feedback signal which represents the relative displacement. The system further includes a control signal generation mechanism which converts the feedback signal into the control signal, which is subsequently applied to the actuation mechanism. When the control signal is applied to the actuation mechanism, the relative displacement between the cooling fan and the chassis vibrationally decouples the cooling fan from the chassis.