Arizona State University
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
Tempe, Arizona
Overview
The first degree program in engineering was approved in 1956, largely through the efforts of Valley civic and industry leaders who lobbied Arizona legislators. Today, there are more than 200 tenured and tenure-seeking faculty members in seven prominent engineering departments with the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering and the Del E. Webb School of Construction, one of the premier construction programs in the country. The School also supports five prestigious research centers, many of which are cooperative efforts between Engineering and other Arizona State University entities, other universities or research laboratories, and industry partners
There are more than 56,000 students at Arizona State University's three campuses, including more than 12,000 students pursuing a graduate degree program. More than 1,900 of the 6,716 students in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering are pursuing graduate degrees. There are nearly 500 students enrolled in doctoral programs within the School.
The Location and Community
Arizona is well known for its scenic attractions, which range from desert to mountain woodlands, lakes, and streams. The metropolitan community immediately surrounding Arizona State University thrives on high-technology industries that have large research and development staffs involved with computers, airborne electronics, semiconductors, turbines, energy production and conservation, food processing, and health services.
Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering offers opportunities for graduate study through seven departments and the Del E. Webb School of Construction. The graduate programs in the School of Engineering are designed to bridge the gap between knowledge of engineering sciences and creative engineering practice, at the same time increasing students' depth and breadth of knowledge in their area of emphasis. The performance of scholarly research and the acceptance of professional responsibility for the documented results are considered to be essential requirements for graduate degrees and entrance into professional careers. Degrees offered include the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in engineering and computer science; Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.); Master of Science with specialization in an area of engineering, computer science, or construction; Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.); and Master of Engineering (M.Eng.).
Ph.D., M.S., and M.S.E. degrees are offered in aerospace, chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering and in engineering science. Bioengineering offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, and materials engineering offers M.S. and M.S.E. degrees. Computer science offers M.S., M.C.S., and Ph.D. degrees. An M.S. degree is offered in construction. Course work can be adapted to the needs and interests of each student, subject to certain minimum requirements in mathematics and science. Qualified students in engineering or selected fields, such as physics, biology, or chemistry, have an opportunity to specialize in particular subject areas within engineering. The M.S. degree requires a research thesis or an engineering report; those interested should check with the departments for specific requirements. The M.S.E. does not require a thesis or report, but students must take a written examination. Similar opportunities and requirements exist for qualified students who wish to pursue the Master of Computer Science degree. The Ph.D. program in engineering must be approved by a faculty supervisory committee and the faculty chairperson. Approved programs may include courses within one field of specialization or may include a rationally unified group in a combination of fields.
The Fulton School offers the M.Eng. as a collaborative effort with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University in special cross-country fields. Courses are offered in distance format and on campus to meet the needs of practicing engineers as well as traditional students.
Facilities & Resources
Students have access to several outstanding experimental facilities, including a rich array of microscopy, synthesis, processing, and mechanical testing laboratories. Research facilities include capabilities for nanoelectronics, novel crystal growth, wafer processing, and materials/device characterization and analysis; analysis and treatment of water quality and organic wastes; thermal sciences, including study of heating and cooling systems; antenna characterization in an anechoic chamber; signal processing; speech and audio processing; cryogenics; power systems analysis; power electronics, high-voltage, and insulation laboratories; investigation of heat transfer phenomena; fiber optics; radioisotope and neutron activation analysis; fluid mechanics; aerodynamics; structural and soils testing; microprocessor applications; photovoltaic cells and systems; computer engineering; engineering mechanics; bioengineering, biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, and motor dynamics; neurosciences, including neuromechanical control; materials science, including polymers and radiation damage; manufacturing processes; rapid fabrication in plastics and papers; computer-integrated manufacturing; statistical process control; quality control and reliability; and vehicle dynamics and control.
Engineering Technical Services (ETS) maintains a staff of specialists providing for a variety of research, academic, and instructional needs. ETS offers a central computing infrastructure to the School that supports both the Windows 2000 environment and the AFS/Kerberos UNIX environment. The majority of computer-networking connections are dedicated 100 megabits-per-second links interconnected via a University gigabit backbone and linked into both the commercial Internet and the research-oriented Internet2. Dedicated staff members can provide for Windows and UNIX laboratory and office support needs. ETS also provides for the School research fabrication needs in the form of a machine shop staffed with skilled machinists and a structures shop staffed with carpenters, a welder, and an electrician. ETS also has electronics experts and a media specialist on its staff.
Expenses and Aid
The Graduate College considers 9 credit hours full-time enrollment. For updated information on tuition and fees, students should visit http://www.asu.edu/sbs/vpsa/fees.html.
Financial Aid:
Approximately 760 graduate teaching or research assistantships are available, including sponsored research support. Students should write to the department chair of the program of interest for further information.
Housing/Living Expenses:
Students should expect to pay an additional annual cost of $15,826 for rent, food, personal expenses, and books.
How to Apply / Application
Students are required to complete an application form and to turn in certain documents to both the ASU Graduate College and the individual department of interest. Departments may require letters of reference, a statement of purpose, GRE scores, or other such documents not requested in the Graduate College application. Information regarding the necessary departmental application materials may be obtained by contacting the specific department of interest at the Web address listed in the Correspondence and Information section. Regular admission requires a grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) in the last two years of course work leading to the bachelor's degree. In special circumstances, provisional admission may be granted.
Who to Contact
Director of Graduate Student Initiatives
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287-5506
480-965-1726
School of Engineering Web Site
Graduate Programs, Research and Department Chairs
• Aerospace Engineering: Robert E. Peck, Chair. Concentrations include aerodynamics, complex systems design, dynamics and control, propulsion, and structures. Research topics include aeroacoustics, aeroelasticity, airbreathing and space propulsion, aircraft crashworthiness, composite materials and structures, flight dynamics, guidance and controls, damage and fracture mechanics and fatigue, performance monitoring and optimization, space exploration, and structural dynamics and vibrations.
• Bioengineering: Eric Guilbeau, Chair. Bioengineering topics include human movement and control of neuromuscular and neuroprosthetic systems; biosensors; neurostimulation; hard- and soft-tissue biomaterials, molecular/cellular/tissue, neural engineering, biomaterials, cardiac assist devices, and biocompatibility; orthopedic replacement devices and rehabilitation engineering; and artificial organs, medical device design, medical and bioelectrical instrumentation: physiological transport, hybrid artificial organs, bioseparations, molecular and cellular bioengineering, and biosystems engineering. Interested students can refer to the in-depth description in the Biomedical Engineering section of Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs in Engineering and Applied Sciences.
• Chemical Engineering: Subhash Mahajan, Chair. Chemical engineering topics include biotechnology; biomaterials; thin-film, catalytic, and biochemical reactors; engineering of biological surfaces; adhesion of biological materials; chemical vapor deposition and etching; atmospheric and sea water desalination modeling and water reclamation with hazardous waste removal; environmentally conscious manufacturing, wet chemical surface treatment processes; thin-film characterization and colloid science; thin-film and particle adhesions; semiconductor processing; plasma etching; surface reactions; chemical process control, system identification, and control approaches to supply chain management; and atmospheric transport and transport in porous media. Interested students can refer to the in-depth description in the Biomedical Engineering section of Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs in Engineering and Applied Sciences.
• Civil and Environmental Engineering: Sandra L. Houston, Chair. Environmental/water resources engineering: Water and wastewater treatment processes; health-related water microbiology; microbial identification, removal, and transport; hazardous wastes mitigation; aquifer restoration; chemical fate and transport modeling; fuel oxygenate groundwater impacts and treatment; bioremediation; water quality analysis; watershed management; risk assessment; sustainable engineering; hydraulic engineering; fluid mechanics; data assimilation; numerical modeling; water resource systems; hydrology. Geotechnical/geoenvironmental engineering: Soil mechanics, earthquake engineering, foundation analysis and design, hazardous waste transport and mitigation processes. Structures/materials engineering: Analysis of reinforced concrete and steel structures, finite element analysis, earthquake-resistant design, structural dynamics, optimization; composite materials, durability of materials, structural testing. Transportation/materials engineering: Urban transportation planning, geometric design of facilities, traffic operations; mechanical properties of highway materials, pavement analysis and design, micromechanics, pavement management, pavement maintenance and rehabilitation.
• Computer Science and Engineering: Sethuraman Panchanathan, Chair. The Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Depatrment is the core of the Institute for Computing and Information Science and Engineering (InCISE), a new research institute created to foster inter/multi/transdisciplinary collaboration between researchers in computer and information science and other disciplines. The focal points of the institute are the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing, Information Assurance, Intelligent Information Integration, and Partnership for Research in Stereo Modeling (PRISM). The CSE faculty members are engaged in state-of-the-art research in the areas of algorithms and applications (network flows, combinatorial optimization, and coding), artificial intelligence (distributed planning systems, incremental planning, and applications), bioinformatics, computer-aided geometric design/graphics (visual representation of data, surface, volume and multidimensional image with biomedical manufacturing applications and multiresolution flow visualization); databases (database and multimedia information systems for commercial and manufacturing applications), data and Web mining, distributed processing and computer networks (optical and wireless networks, quality of service, and security), embedded systems (real-time systems and hardware-software codesign), microprocessors (hardware and software system design and testing), multimedia (compression; content-based indexing; semantic indexing; compressed-domain indexing; MPEG-4, MPEG-7, and MPEG-21 standards; media-in-arts; face recognition; and gait analysis and recognition), and software engineering (software development and maintenance processes, component-based software development, quality assurance, middleware development, and embedded systems software development).
• Del E. Webb School of Construction: William H. Badger, Director. The program includes concentrations in construction science, management, and facilities. Research areas include water safety, urban systems, real estate development, construction materials, infrastructure development and renewal, construction supply chains, project delivery and procurement next generation facilities, clean environments, and intelligent buildings. The Alliance for Construction Excellence serves as a technology transfer center for the construction industry.
• Electrical Engineering: Stephen Goodnick, Chair. Centers of research excellence have been established in several areas. Those closely affiliated with electrical engineering are the Center for Solid State Electronics Research, the Power Systems Engineering Research Center, the Center for Low Power Electronics, the Flexible Display Center, the Connection One Center, WINTech (Wireless Integrated Nanotechnology), and the Center for Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology. The department maintains an active program of research and development that is supported by funds from federal agencies, private foundations, private corporations, and the University. Opportunities for research are offered to students whose goals are research, development design, manufacturing, systems, engineering management teaching, or other professional activities in the electrical engineering field. Significant research activities exist in solid-state electronics (nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, materials processing, microsystems, materials/device characterization, low-power electronics, microelectromechanics, analog/digital circuits, semiconductor theory), power engineering (power systems, power quality, system control, transmission and distribution, power electronics, high-voltage engineering, computer applications), electromagnetics (antennas, propagation, penetration, scattering, microwaves, RF circuits, antennas and circuits for wireless communications, radar), coherent optics (semiconductor lasers, integrated optics, fiber optics), control systems (linear, nonlinear, chaotic systems; real-time, adaptive, and robust control systems), signal processing (DSP algorithms, speech and image processing, sensor data processing, adaptive array processing, detection and estimation, multimedia signal processing), communications (digital communications, broadband networks switching and traffic theory, wireless systems, multicarrier systems, coding), and arts, media, and engineering (media hardware, software, control, and theory).
• Industrial Engineering: Industrial statistics/quality and reliability engineering, operations research and production systems, information systems engineering/management systems engineering, manufacturing systems design and control, human factor/ergonomics, semiconductor manufacturing.
• Materials Science and Engineering: Subhash Mahajan, Chair. Composites, computer modeling, electrical ceramics, heteroepitaxy, high-temperature microelectronics, metallization, microscopy, Pb-free solders, powder metallurgy, thin-film growth, nanomaterials. Interested students can refer to the in-depth description in the Materials Science and Engineering section of Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs in Engineering and Applied Sciences.
• Mechanical Engineering: Robert E. Peck, Chair. Concentrations include design and manufacturing, system dynamics and control, solid mechanics, and thermofluid sciences. Research topics include combustion and fuel systems safety, computational mechanics, corrosion, cryogenics, crystallography and thin-film growth, design and manufacturing automation, electronic packaging and coding, energy renewal and management, engineering informatics, environmental and geophysical fluid dynamics, failure analysis and reliability, heat transfer in complex flows, mechatronics, microscale and nanoscale transport processes, nanomechanics, pollution monitoring, transport and control, power and energy systems, precision materials processing, product design innovation, robotics, smart structures, and turbulence modeling. Multidisciplinary research areas include microsystems, nanosystems, modeling and process simulation, energy and environment, and intelligent and adaptive systems