Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering has applications in virtually every field and industry. Mechanical engineers are involved in the design and construction of everything from spacecraft to aircraft carriers to household appliances to heart-lung machines to microscopic nanomachines. Mechanical engineers work in a broad range of professions and industries. They design products, supervise production, conduct research and development, and run businesses and technical operations. In a shrinking world with limited natural resources, today's mechanical engineers must also accomplish their work economically and efficiently.

Our ME program is in perfect harmony with the WPI Plan, a flexible, innovative and academically challenging curriculum that empowers undergraduates to think creatively and develop competence, confidence and self-learning skills by synthesizing classroom experience with real-world projects. If mechanical engineering is the field for you, WPI is the perfect place to get the preparation you need to hit the ground running in your career.

Programs

WPI's mechanical engineering major requires a solid grounding in the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering science and design, as well as comprehensive preparation in several subdisciplines. Students work with advisors to develop a program that best meets their personal and professional interests and goals. Many students opt to build a comprehensive understanding of mechanical engineering with a broad-based program that encompasses high-level courses across several subdisciplines. Others elect to concentrate in a specific area. All concentrations require six courses from the area plus a related Major Project.

Our program prepares students for the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination, one of the steps needed to become a registered professional engineer, and assurance of a well-rounded engineering education.

The following concentrations are available:

Aerospace Engineering

This field involves the study of aeronautical and astronautical structures and systems, including lightweight structures, low- and high-speed aerodynamics, microgravity dynamics, propulsion systems, and space systems.

Biomechanical

This rapidly growing area is the interface between mechanical engineering and medicine. Professionals in this subdiscipline model and measure the mechanical behavior of biological tissues and fluids, develop materials for implanted devices, and design aids for the disabled.

Engineering Mechanics

This discipline focuses on understanding some of the more difficult problems in mechanical systems, including earthquake engineering, advanced stress analysis, mechanical vibration, fracture mechanics, finite element analysis, and advanced mechanics and dynamics.

Mechanical Design

Engineers in this field design, analyze and optimize the components of mechanical systems. Interest areas include kinematics and dynamics of mechanisms, machine design and analysis, mechanical designs, and computer-aided design.

Manufacturing

This field involves the development of systems for the modern manufacturing floor, including robots, computer-aided design systems, and machine vision systems. Students study such areas as composite materials, factory automation, and materials processing.

Materials Science and Engineering

This subdiscipline focuses on the properties, behavior and processing of metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. Areas of study include mechanical metallurgy, solid-state thermodynamics, physical metallurgy, tribology, corrosion and materials processing.

Thermal/Fluid Engineering

Students investigate the theoretical and empirical foundations of thermodynamics, heat transfer, mass transfer and fluid flow, and learn how to apply these fundamental engineering sciences to energy conversion, environmental control and vehicular systems.

Combined B.S./M.S. Degree Program

Outstanding students are encouraged to combine a master's degree with their undergraduate WPI studies. Interested students should initiate discussions about this five-year dual-degree program with their advisor early in their junior year.

Mechanical Engineering Minor

Undergraduates interested in a minor in mechanical engineering should consult with the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department or the lead faculty member in their specific subarea of interest to define an acceptable program.

Manufacturing Engineering Major

This independent, ABET-accredited program integrates such topics as computer-aided design and manufacturing, robotics, computer-integrated manufacturing, numerical control machining, concurrent/ simultaneous engineering, controls engineering and vision systems. This multidisciplinary program relies on the expertise of faculty from Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Management, and Mechanical Engineering.

Projects

The Major Project in mechanical engineering may be completed on or off campus for sponsoring agencies, businesses, hospitals and other organizations. Sponsors gain creative solutions to specific problems or insights into technical issues; students receive valuable practical experience in their field. WPI maintains several project centers with major companies in the United States and abroad.

Some recent project topics:

Facilities

The department supports many laboratories and research facilities:

Careers

By 2005, there will be as many as 95,000 new jobs for mechanical engineers--the highest number of all the engineering disciplines. Because WPI is at the leading edge of engineering education, our graduates are equipped with the skills and background employers seek and we enjoy an excellent job placement rate. Companies that recruit mechanical engineers at WPI include Airbus Industries, Arthur D. Little, AT&T, Boeing, Compaq, Electric Boat, Exxon, General Electric, Gillette, Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin Sanders, Norton-Saint Gobain, Northrup-Grumman, Raytheon, United Technologies, Westinghouse and Xerox.

Within five years of graduation, 70 percent of our students enroll in advanced-degree programs at such institutions as Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Purdue, Northwestern, Stanford, University of California, Berkeley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Michigan.

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Last modified: November 08, 2006 13:52:43