About the Department

The mechanical engineering field is one of the oldest of the several engineering fields. It is also one of the broadest in scope, for it is not identified with nor restricted to any particular technology (like nuclear engineering), nor to any particular vehicle (like land-based automobiles), nor to any particular device or particular system.

It is, in fact, concerned with so many areas of modem technology that the tasks and challenges of the mechanical engineer are most interesting and varied.

The field is logically associated with mechanical things, but this can lead to a restrictive image. For example, one often associates mechanical engineers with automobiles and, thus, with engines. To the non-engineer this is an acceptable association that implies a knowledge of pistons and carburetors. As engineers know, this picture is very shallow; the breadth of understanding implied when one thinks of designing an engine challenges the imagination. Automobile engines are just one of many devices that convert energy into useful work.

News and Events