Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offers courses and provides facilities for two programs of graduate study and research in Mechanical Engineering, leading to the degrees of

A. The program of study must reflect the importance of underlying principles of the physical sciences and mathematical analysis to all phases of modern mechanical engineering.

Fluid Mechanics	Heat Transfer
Energy Conversion	Hydrogen Energy
Environmental Engineering	Materials Science,
Solid Mechanics	Internal Combustion Engines
Robotics	Controls and Design
Composite Materials	Aerodynamics and CFD
Optimization and Reliability	Nano-Bio-Systems
Nano Mechanics	Fuel Cells

C. It is expected that each graduate student will indicate early in his/her graduate work (within the first year), the particular area in which he/she intends to concentrate his/her efforts as well as the faculty advisor for dissertation.

MASTER OF SCIENCE

A. One academic year, or equivalent, spent in full time graduate study will be the minimum time necessary for a student to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

B. General requirements for the M.S. degree are listed under the Engineering heading of this section and in the general information of this Bulletin.

C. Students applying for acceptance to degree status must comply with the general requirements of the Graduate School.

D. Both a 30 credit hour thesis option and a 30 credit hour non-thesis option are available.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

A. The program in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy complies in full with the regulations of the Graduate School concerning admission, residence requirements, qualifying and final examinations and the dissertation.

C. All candidates for the Ph.D. degree are expected to complete an integrated program of studies in mechanical engineering, mathematics, physics and/or chemistry in preparation for the Qualifying Examination.

D. A qualifying examination is to be taken by each doctoral degree student within the first year. In the qualifying examination, the student is expected to demonstrate his/her competence in certain basic courses appropriate to modern mechanical engineering to the satisfaction of the department. A Ph.D. student will be admitted to candidacy after passing the qualifying examination as well as the defense of dissertation proposal.

E. One or two years beyond admittance to candidacy will usually be found necessary for the completion of an acceptable dissertation, whereupon the student will be required to pass the Final Oral Defense of the Dissertation.

F. The candidate may, if he/she so desires, pursue for his/her dissertation an investigation in connection with any of the research projects in progress in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department or, in the case of interdisciplinary programs, in other Colleges/Schools such as the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science or the Medical School.

500 level courses are open to advanced undergraduates and to graduate students; 600 level courses are open only to graduate students.

CLEAN ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

A. The Clean Energy Research Institute in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering acts as the focal point of energy and environment related activities in the College of Engineering.

B. Its goals are: to conduct research and to generate research proposals to investigate energy and environmental problems; to organize seminars, workshops and conferences using researchers within and without the University; to assemble, compile, publish and disseminate information on every aspect of energy and environmental problems; and to cooperate with other organs of the University, other academic institutions, government and private organizations in connection with the above listed activities.

C. The current activities of the Institute include research into hydrogen as a clean, inexhaustible synthetic fuel, environmental damage caused by fossil fuels, global warming and its remediation, instabilities in boiling systems, solar cooling and heating, hybrid solar collectors, remote sensing applied to energy related problems and solar energy, system optimization and reliability of solar and wind energy systems, and organization of national and international conferences and symposia on energy and environmental problems.

laboratories

FLUIDS AND THERMAL SCIENCES LABORATORY

A. The Fluids and Thermal Science Laboratory provides such equipment as a wind tunnel producing wind velocities of 150mph allowing opportunity to study the principles of aerodynamics, the effects of a hurricane, and air pollution modeling. Pressure and velocity measurements, renewable energy by wind power are simulated in this laboratory.

B. Research includes an open water channel that allows basic work on oil booms and boom arrangements to be done.

C. Additionally, air pollution research is conducted through sampling trains and equipment for stack sampling.

D. This laboratory provides research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES LABORATORY

A. Funded continuously since the 1970s, the Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory is a well-established research laboratory internationally known for its work in designing and testing engines for use with conventional and alternative fuels.

B. Graduate and undergraduate students alike have worked with faculty on numerous projects.

C. The laboratory focuses on issues of performance, energy conservation (fuel economy) and environmental impact (exhaust emissions).

D. Faculty research has received international recognition, and students research have been presented in numerous publications and at conferences sponsored by industry, government and academic venues.

DORGAN SOLAR and Fuel Cells ENERGY LABORATORY

A. The Dorgan Solar Energy Laboratory is equipped with a photovoltaic system, a solar air-conditioning system, a solar domestic hot water system, a solar-assisted heat pump system, and a meteorological data gathering station.

B. Both graduate and undergraduate students have worked with faculty on various research projects.

C. In addition to solar energy related projects, current research activities also include research on Hydrogen-Oxygen fuel cells and other energy and environment-related topics.

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS LABORATORY

A. The CFD lab is equipped with a Beowulf PC cluster parallel computing system with 16 Pentium 4 Xeon 1.7G processors.

B. Current interests are mainly in the area of aerospace propulsion systems including turbomachinery unsteady aerodynamics, fluid-structure interaction, turbulence simulation, design optimization, rocket engine turbopump flow, CFD algorithm/code development, etc.

MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - Dept. Code: MAE