Department of Mechanical Engineering

Professors J. Steven Brown; Sen Nieh
Professors Emeriti Yun Chow Whang
Associate Professors Joseph Vignola, Chair, Jandro Abot, John A. Judge; Xiaolong Luo, Diego Turo, Zhaoyang Wang
Assistant Professor Chuan-Fu Lin
Clinical Assistant Professor Christian Bomela
Adjunct Professor George Mattingly
Adjunct Associate Professors Tuan Nguyen, Adam Wolfe
Adjunct Assistant Professors Francesco Corvaro, Shane Guan, Barbara Marchetti, Srinidhi Nagaraja, Buno Victorino Sarli, Tongele N. Tongele
Lecturers Sepideh Akhbarifar, Matthew Guild, Rocco Mennella

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). One graduate certificate in Acoustics is also offered.

Admission

Please refer to Admission under Special Regulations.

Master's Degree Program

Candidates for graduate studies plan their program in consultation with an advisor. Maximum flexibility in scope of studies is afforded by utilization of courses offered in other departments of the university or other area universities through the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Requirements for the master's degree programs follow those established for the school with the specification of two of the three following classes ENGR 516 (Computational Methods for Graduate Students), ENGR 518 (Experimental Techniques for Graduate Students) and ENGR 520 (Mathematical Analysis for Graduate Students). The department offers the following areas of specialty: 1) Energy & Environment, 2) Acoustics, Vibration, & Structures, 3) Biofabrication & Microfluidics, and 4) MEMS, Optical Measurements, Smart & Advanced Materials. Please refer to Degree Requirements.

Doctoral Degree Program

Requirements for the doctoral degree program follow those established for the school. Please refer to Degree Requirements. Note that the comprehensive examination is directed at assessing a student's preparation in advanced topics for doctoral research, and understanding of the research literature and a student's ability to define the frontiers of the proposed areas of investigation. The department offers several areas of specialty for doctoral study: 1) Thermal-Fluid Sciences, 2) Mechanics and Nano-Mechanical Systems, and 3) Acoustics and Vibrations.

Certificate in Acoustics

This program is designed to provide specialized graduate-level education in Acoustics in a practical way. The certificate requires 15 credits of the courses related to acoustics so the students will have skills to solve real-world problems. Students who complete the certificate in this certificate program may apply for admission to the M.S. program in mechanical engineering, and, if accepted, may count the 15 certificate credits towards their Master’s degree.

Research Areas

  • Acoustics, Vibrations, and Wave Propagation
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Biofabrication & Microfluidics
  • Clean Energy Production and Use
  • Computational Methods (FEM and CFD)
  • Electronic Packaging
  • HVAC and Refrigeration
  • MEMS/NEMS
  • Microfluidics and Biofabrication
  • Multiphase Flows and Heat Transfer
  • Optical Measurements
  • Pollution Control & Global Warming/Climate Change
  • Robotic & Mechatronics
  • Smart Materials and Systems

Courses Offered

Consult Cardinal Station for information about courses and to determine course offerings by semester.