About
Mechanical engineering is the most versatile of all engineering programs. Mechanical engineering encompasses the design, analysis, testing and manufacture of products used in every facet of modern society.
Welcome to mechanical engineering at The University of Alabama and thank you for visiting our website. We are glad that you are here exploring many exciting and innovative programs our department has to offer. With our vision of becoming the 21st century leader in mechanical engineering education, we have restructured ME Department to better operate, recruit faculty, manage graduate student admissions, manage our distance undergraduate and graduate as well as newly-created PhD distance programs, coordinate projects for our capstone design, interact with industries and alumni for securing funding. As such, we were able to identify three Departmental Disciplinary Groups (DDGs) in Dynamic Systems & Control (DSC), Materials Processing & Manufacturing (MPM), and finally ThermoFluids Science (TFS).
In addition to hiring thirteen new faculty within the last three years, bringing the current faculty count to 36 (from a count of 26, that is over 38% increase), four new staff positions have also been created and filled. ME has had a very successful year on research funding, and graduate students’ enrollment. More specifically, we had a steady increase in new awards since 2018 and made some new records – that is a 24% increase from FY18 with the total new awards of only $5.3M to a record high of $7M in FY19, to another record high of $11M in both FY 20 and FY 21. ME Dept. has the largest share in the college, and led all other engineering departments by a significant margin in new awards in FY 21.
Our currently 1,600+ undergraduate and 125+ graduate students enrolled in ME represent a slight decrease in undergraduate enrollment and a 25% increase in graduate enrollment compared with last two years. Our undergraduate program has continued to stabilize after years of rapid growth. As the largest department in COE, ME constitutes close to 30% of undergraduate and 25% of graduate students’ population. We made a strategic decision to gradually reduce our traditional undergraduate enrollment while improving our distance education and online programs. Currently, we have over 325 undergraduate and 70 graduate students in our fully ABET-accredited online programs. Over the last three semesters, our BSME distance program has increased by more than 25% and the MSME distance program enrollment has increased by more than 60%.
This has been another exciting year for the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program. Overall graduate enrollment for Fall 2021 is up almost 25% from Fall 2020, which was up 20% from the previous year. This increase is in spite of restrictive travel issues experienced by many international students forcing them to defer their admission to a later semester. The program growth continues to be due to the increase in externally funded research, the GAANN fellowship program, UA fellowship success, and growth in the number of ME faculty. Although the on-campus MSME program enrollment decreased by 13%, the distance MSME program more than offset that decrease with an increase of more than 130% relative to last year! As a result, overall enrollment in the MSME program increased by 30% relative to last year. The department and college also approved a distance ME PhD program that started in Spring 2021.
Our PhD admissions are up by over 50%, while PhD enrolment is up by close to 50% compared to last years’ enrolment. As a result, new opportunities for students to interact with faculty and other students outside the classroom have also been created. There are also more opportunities for undergraduate students to become involved with research. Several new opportunities have been created for students that include Capstone Day, Senior Day, Town Hall meetings, graduating seniors Day, ME Graduate Research Expo and “Engineering As Art” competition, and undergraduate and graduate seminars.
In closing, we strive to ensure that all our students have a strong education with teaming and leadership skills, involvement in student activities, and the practical background of co-op and internship experience. We believe that emphasizing these areas will make our students well qualified to take leadership roles in the future. Whether you are a current or former student, a potential student, or a visitor, please feel free to contact or visit us. Again, welcome to the Capstone.
Department Updates
Site Updates News Feed
Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Award Winners
December 9, 2022
Capstone Engineer Mechanical Engineering Newsletter – Fall 2022
December 7, 2022
Agrawal Awarded 2022 Distinguished Service Award
November 10, 2022
New Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering
November 8, 2022
Doctoral Student Selected for Prestigious NDSEG Fellowship
September 9, 2022
Department of Mechanical Engineering Welcomes New Faculty Members
August 17, 2022
Mechanical Engineering Faculty Members Part of Award-Winning Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize Team
May 24, 2022
Mechanical engineering student Michael Stokes placed second in the “Student Paper” category at the 16th International Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA) in Matsue, Japan.
April 30, 2022
Congratulations to Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal who has been recognized as Fellow of The Combustion Institute!
March 4, 2022
New BS Degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering Coming Fall 2022
December 9, 2021
4 New Undergraduate Minors Planned, 2 New Centers Created
December 9, 2021
UA Cuts Ribbon on Alabama IMaDE facility
September 30, 2021
Program Objectives, Student Outcomes and Statistics
Program Educational Objectives
Graduates of The University of Alabama BSME program and the Manufacturing Engineering Program will be able to:
- Our graduates will be expected to follow one of two career paths: technical or management. We expect them to have sufficient career and professional accomplishments within 5-10 years of graduation to be considered as either an engineering expert or a leader/manager.
- Our graduates will continue to grow in expertise and knowledge by participating in activities that enhance professional development in their career path.
- Our graduates will contribute to the profession in ways that benefit society.
Student Outcomes
The mechanical engineering program at The University of Alabama will demonstrate that its graduates have
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
- an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
- an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
- an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
- an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
- an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
- an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
Enrollment and Graduation Statistics
The University of Alabama Office of Institutional Research and Assessment maintains annual enrollment and graduate data for the programs in the College of Engineering. Please visit the OIRA Statistical Profiles website to find statistics for student enrollment, degrees awarded and faculty data.
Mission
The Department of Mechanical Engineering will:
- Provide high-quality undergraduate, graduate and continuing education in mechanical engineering that will prepare our graduates for professional careers and a lifetime of learning.
- Conduct high-quality research programs that support the undergraduate and graduate education objectives, assist in the economic development of the state and nation, and advance the general state of knowledge.
- Serve individual practicing engineers, industry, government, educational entities, and technical societies through active involvement with these groups and by providing professional expertise.
- Ensure that our students are well-educated technically, have some practical training, and have actively participated in professional society activities.
Vision
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Alabama will educate students at all degree levels to meet the current and future engineering needs of Alabama and the United States. We, as faculty and staff, will educate and guide these students to have desirable professional capabilities in applied and theoretical engineering knowledge, strong professional leadership skills, and a strong sense of responsibility to serve their profession and community. As part of the mission of a student-centered research institution, faculty will direct students in conducting useful engineering research that results in peer-reviewed publications.
Goals
- Provide an excellent education to our undergraduate students
- Provide an excellent education to our graduate students
- Enhance the research and teaching reputation of mechanical engineering at The University Alabama
- As faculty and staff, provide service to our profession, the national and international community, our state and region, and our local and university communities that reflects positively on engineering and the University