B.S./M.S. Dual Degree Program  
Mechanical Engineering

Undergraduate

 

Mechanical engineering includes all aspects of design, development, control, and manufacture of mechanical systems and energy conversion systems.

 

Mechanical engineering is essential to the proper design and manufacture of nearly every physical product in our modern world. As such, mechanical engineers are a fundamental resource for most industries, and they work in interdisciplinary environments. Mechanical engineers must have the ability to see broad perspectives across disciplines and industries and yet solve very local and specialized problems.

 

The undergraduate curricu­lum addresses the education and training of mechanical engineering students and concentrates on two technical areas:

 

• Design and analysis of thermofluid systems for effective use of energy; and

• Design, analysis, and control of mechanical systems including the study of materials used in engineering.

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Educational efforts are chan­neled to expand the skills of prospective engineers not only in understanding funda­mentals but also in developing competence in analyzing engineering systems. 

 

Sample Project Descriptions

Prosthetic Hand - Extensions of this year's project to possibly include new user groups with new design criteria, additional DOFs, new transmission techniques; new user interfaces, etc.; co-advised w/Dr. Asuri in Bioengineering

 

Satellite Tracking Systems - Developing a low cost but precision tracking system for the large parabolic antenna (e.g. 4.5 meters in diameter and larger), requiring ME structural design/fab, control systems (implemented in software), etc. System(s) will be used for an upcoming industry and NASA satellite missions, and innovative designs might be commercially licensed

 

Agricultural Robotics and Automation - We will be pursuing several "agtech" projects focused on capabilities such as auto navigation of a tractor/vehicle in GPS-denied environments (e.g., requiring vision systems), crop cutting/picking/harvesting, distributed sensor networks, sampling systems, intervention systems (cutting, spraying, etc.), UAV remote sensing, etc.

 

Marine Robotics, Sampling, and Automation - We will be pursuing several marine robotic projects involving the development of new sensor/sampling systems, automated control, swarm robot development and control, significant extensions/rebuilds of one of our underwater robots, and complimentary upgrades to a deployment boat for control consoles, a crane/winch system, a tether management system, etc.

 

UAV Environmental Monitoring Missions - Primarily software/control system development for a cluster of UAVs to perform missions for NOAA, NASA, USGS, etc.

 

Vehicle Teleoperation and Automation Work, Automating a Drive-by-Wire GEM EV

 

Disaster Robots - Developing/extending tracked robots for disaster response capabilities involving sensing, physical intervention, etc.

 

 

Mechanical Engineering Master of Science Program

 

 

The Mechanical Engineering Department is dedicated to delivering up-to-date, high-quality courses across a broad range of disciplines to meet the needs of both part- and full-time graduate students. These courses are concentrated in seven technical areas:

 

1. Dynamics and Controls

2. Materials Engineering

3. Mechanical Design

4. Robotics and Mechatronic Systems

5. Space Systems

6. Thermofluids

7. Theoretical and Computational Mechanics

 

Educational efforts are channeled to expand the skills of prospective and practicing engineers not only in understanding fundamentals but also in developing competence in analyzing engineering systems. The department offers graduate degrees at the Master's, Engineer's, and Doctorate levels, as well as Certificates.

 

An M.S. degree requires 45 units of study with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher. The student must select one of five concentration areas, and develop a program of studies with an advisor. Courses taken to satisfy any particular requirement may be used to simultaneously satisfy additional requirements for which they are appropriate. Master of Science degrees must include the following:

 

• Engineering Core requirement (6 units)

• Math requirement (8 units): MECH 200 and 201, or MECH 202 and an approved two-course sequence or equivalent four-unit course in applied math

• Topic Requirement: 12 or more units depending on the concentration area

• Concentration Electives depending on the area (0-10 units)

• Culminating Experience: 4-9 units towards a thesis, capstone project, or project course sequence.

Culminating experience options depend on the concentration area. A thesis requires a faculty advisor and must be approved by an additional reader and the department chair. The thesis topics are to be determined by the student and faculty advisor, who need not be the concentration advisor. The additional reader need not be a Mechanical faculty member but must be a full-time faculty member in the School of Engineering.

 

The student may take any additional graduate courses offered by the School of Engineering to meet the 45 unit requirement but no more than 6 units of Engineering Management courses may be taken.