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Mechanical Engineering
Teaching and research related to Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering research ranges from fundamental work in
solid and fluid mechanics to diverse studies in materials, mechanical
systems, and biomechanics.
Characterizing the performance of such systems often depends on understanding behavior at several scales, requiring, for example, the mechanics of dislocations and other imperfections, grain boundaries, interfaces, and material heterogeneity.
"For me, that moment of paternal pride came a year ago this month, when my artificial fly first flexed its wings and flew."
- Rob Wood, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Key areas of investigation include:
- investigating the mechanics
of materials structures;
- exploring geophysical and biological systems
involved phenomena such as elasticity, plasticity, buckling, fracture,
and wave motion;
- understanding biological control, or the self-organizing behavior of living systems, in particular the brain, to develop novel control strategies and biologically-inspired machines;
-
developing biomedical instrumentation, teleoperated robots, and intelligent sensors.
Research is strongly interdisciplinary, with many connections to Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Chemistry Chemical Biology.
Research
Mechanical engineering covers a wide range of activities, including research in dynamics, fluids, materials, solids, and thermodynamics. Research is strongly interdisciplinary, with many connections to Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Chemistry and Chemical Biology.