Graduate Programs in the Life Sciences

Graduate Field of Mechanical Engineering

Degrees offered: M.Eng., M.S., Ph.D.

The program emphasizes basic mechanical sciences to prepare students for the diversity found at the frontiers of research and industrial development. The faculty is particularly strong and active in biomechanical engineering, fluid dynamics, turbulence, combustion, thermal systems engineering, multiphase flows, energy and power systems, transport processes in microgravity, mechanical systems and design, control and robotics, dynamics and control of space structures, mechanics of materials and materials processing, materials microgravity sciences and computational mechanics.

The M.S. and Ph.D. programs provide advanced levels of training suitable for students pursuing careers in research and development, education, or advanced engineering analysis and design. A reading knowledge of French, German, Japanese, or Russian is required of Ph.D. degree candidates whose native language is English. Doctoral degree candidates must take a qualifying examination in addition to the examinations required by the Graduate School. Teaching experience for two semesters, normally satisfied by a teaching assistantship, is required of Ph.D. students.

The professional degree of Master of Engineering (Mechanical) provides a one-year course of study for those who want to develop a high level of competence in current technology and engineering design and who plan to practice engineering in industry or professionally. The program has a thirty-credit curriculum and requires an engineering design project.

Biomechanical engineering: Analysis and design of biomechanical systems for orthopedic surgery; development of computer-aided design and analysis techniques for bone-implant systems; skeletal adaptation and bone structural behavior; mechanics and dynamics of human and animal motion and coordination.

Combustion: Combustion processes for practical energy-conversion devices; computational techniques for turbulent combustion; incineration of municipal and hazardous waste; combustion in a microgravity environment; computer simulations of rapid granular flows; models of pneumatic transport; laser imaging studies of turbulent combustion; development and application of laser tomography for combustion measurements.

Energy and power systems: Combustion and transport processes in gas turbine combustors.

Fluid mechanics: Theoretical and experimental studies of turbulence with applications to industrial, meteorological and oceanographic flows; construction of consistent turbulence models; experimental studies of transition to turbulence and three dimensionalities in wakes, shear flows, and boundary layers; linear and nonlinear wave propagation and stability studies of vortex flows; experimental investigations of vortex structure; vortex-induced vibration; fundamental vortex interactions; wing vortex wake dynamics; splash dynamics of droplets on surfaces.

Heat transfer: Experiments in critical heat flux and boiling instability; heat transfer in electronic components; radiosity for realistic images in computer graphics; transport phenomena in materials processing; inverse heat transfer problems; computational design and control of thermal systems and processes.

Materials processing and precision engineering: Experiments and modeling of microstructure and damage evolution in metals; modeling, optimal design and robust control of deformation, solidification and crystal growth processes; computational mechanics.

Mechanical systems and design: Spatial and dynamical modeling and the use of models in analysis, design, and control; magnetic bearings; application of nonlinear dynamics and chaos to mechanical systems; guidance, estimation, and trajectory optimization; multi-variable robust control; dimensional tolerances and metrology; metatheories for design; design analysis of fluid film bearings; tribology.

Multiphase flows: Experimental circulating fluidization; impact of particles on other particles or solid boundaries; scale-up and heat transfer in fluidized beds; development of instrumentation for gas-solid suspensions; granular flows down inclines; theories and numerical simulations of collisional granular materials; microgravity experiments on the flow, heat transfer and segregation of collisional granular materials and gas-solid suspensions; development of instrumentation for the snow pack and snow avalanches; suspension theories; rheology of polymer melts; two-phase boiling.