Grad Profiles - Michigan Technological University Mechanical Engineering

Overview
Michigan Technological University was founded in 1885 as the Michigan School of Mines, in response to a growing need for mining and metallurgical engineers. In 1964, the name was changed to Michigan Technological University to reflect the broad spectrum of programs the institution offered in science, engineering, forestry, business, liberal arts, social sciences, science teacher education, and technology. Currently, twenty-eight programs grant a B.S. degree, twenty-two grant an M.S., and fifteen grant a Ph.D. In addition, the University offers three B.A. degree programs and one M.E. program, and seven programs culminate in a two-year Associate in Applied Science degree. MTU is a state-supported university. Of the 6,336 students enrolled, about 64 percent were pursuing engineering studies, ranking this institution the eighteenth-largest engineering school in the nation and the fourth-largest in mechanical engineering. The College of Engineering is made up of nine departments covering the disciplines of mechanical engineering–engineering mechanics, metals and materials engineering, chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical engineering, geological engineering sciences, general engineering, and mining engineering and the Center for Biomedical Engineering. Of the 132 members of the academic faculty in engineering, more than 99 percent have earned doctorates. There are approximately 150 graduate students in the department, with about 30 percent of them working toward the Ph.D. degree. Approximately 45 percent of the students are from overseas.

The Community
The University is located in Houghton, next to Portage Lake, in Michigan's scenic Upper Peninsula near Lake Superior. Forests, parks, and clean lakes and streams make the area ideal for outdoor activities. A waterfront jogging and biking trail cuts through campus.

Houghton is located about a 4-hours' drive time from Green Bay, 7 hours from Minneapolis, and 10 hours from Detroit. The Houghton County Memorial Airport has daily flights to Minneapolis that connect to other major cities and bus service to Houghton is also available.

Programs of study and degree requirements
An M.S. degree is offered in both mechanical engineering and in engineering mechanics, and a Ph.D. is offered in mechanical engineering–engineering mechanics. The purpose of the graduate program is to prepare students to work in the design and development of advanced engineering technologies and, in the case of the doctoral program, to teach or to carry out independent research. The M.S. program requires the successful completion of at least 30 semester credits. There are three different degree plans: thesis option, report option, and course-work option. Typically, all students pursue the thesis option, which requires a thesis of at least 6 credits. The M.S. degree program can generally be completed in one to two years. The Ph.D. program includes the following milestones: passing the qualifying examination, approval of a formal dissertation proposal by the student's advisory committee, and preparation and successful defense of a research dissertation. The Ph.D. degree generally requires the completion of a year of course work, and the time required to complete the degree is typically three to four years beyond the M.S. degree.

The department is structured along four areas of teaching and research: design/dynamic systems, energy/thermofluids, manufacturing/industrial engineering, and solid mechanics. Within this framework, a student selects an adviser and develops a research topic and course plan to suit their individual interests and needs. The faculty members within each area have established course lists from which students can build their programs of study. Emphasis is placed on graduate student participation in laboratory investigations, industrial projects, and interdisciplinary studies.

Facilities & Resources
The ME–EM department has more than 50,000 square feet of laboratories in the thirteen-floor ME–EM building. The laboratories house up-to-date instrumentation and equipment for teaching and research in such areas as heat transfer, fluid mechanics, engines, combustion, vibrations, experimental mechanics, material testing, high-loading rate testing, plastic design and fabrication, fatigue, biomedical engineering, fracture, creep, materials processing, manufacturing systems, machining, metal forming, metrology, micromanufacturing, robotics, acoustics, dynamics, and controls. The department has graduate computer labs that include networked workstations and PCs. Available software includes many advanced engineering applications as well as standard business/office applications. Full Internet access and tools are also available. The department has a number of support staff members (mechanical and electronic) and research engineers who support the graduate program. Additional University facilities are housed within other departments and University research institutes. The University library features the latest advances in information storage and document retrieval technologies and is especially strong in engineering and the physical and natural sciences.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: Full-time resident graduate students tuition is $2988 per semester for up to 12 credits.

Financial Aid: Graduate teaching and research assistantships are available. The minimum levels were at or above $4440 per semester plus tuition for M.S. students and $5210 per semester plus tuition for Ph.D. students. Department fellowships are available to outstanding students each year, along with a number of industrial fellowships.

Housing/Living Expenses: The University maintains student housing and dormitory accommodations nearby. The rates were $394 per month for a one-bedroom family apartment and $493 per month for a two-bedroom apartment. Private rooms and apartments are also available nearby. The cost of living is moderate.

How to Apply / Application
Application materials may be requested from the department via mail or e-mail (addresses listed below); online applications are also accepted through the University Web site at http://www.mtu.edu/apply/. Study may begin in August, January, or June. Applications should be submitted eight months before the expected start date to receive full consideration for support. All applicants must take the GRE General Test, and applicants whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL. Successful applicants should have a cumulative GRE score greater than 1900 and, if required, a TOEFL score greater than 600. As a guideline for domestic students, GPAs greater than 3.0 and 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) are expected for admission to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs, respectively.

Who to Contact

Professor William W. Predebon, Chair
Department of Mechanical Engineering–
Engineering Mechanics
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, Michigan 49931
Telephone: 906-487-2551
E-mail: megradap@mtu.edu
http://www.me.mtu.edu

Dr. Oner Arici, Associate Chair and
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Mechanical Engineering–
Engineering Mechanics
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, Michigan 49931
Telephone: 906-487-2551

FACULTY AND RESEARCH

E. C. Aifantis, Ph.D., Minnesota. Multiscale continuum mechanics, pattern-forming instabilities in plasticity and fracture.
C. L. Anderson, Ph.D., Wisconsin. Heat transfer, I-C engines.
O. Arici, Ph.D., Brown. Thermodynamics, heat transfer, solar energy, vehicle climate control.
J. E. Beard, Ph.D., Purdue. CAD, kinematics, bioengineering, manufacturing.
B. P. Bettig, Ph.D., Arizona State. CAD/CAM, geometric reasoning, design automation.
P. Cho, Ph.D., Northwestern. Combustion, fuels, air pollution.
W. J. Endres, Ph.D., Illinois. Machining dynamics, cutting mechanics, manufacturing processes.
H. A. Evensen, Ph.D., Syracuse. Noise, vibration, dynamic measurements.
C. R. Friedrich, Ph.D., Oklahoma State. Micromanufacturing, micromechanical and precision machining, design.
X-L. Gao, Ph.D., Wisconsin. Composites, solid mechanics, nanotechnology, manufacturing processes, modeling.
J. K. Gershenson, Ph.D., Idaho. Life-cycle engineering, environmentally conscious design, design for manufacturing, lean engineering.
T. R. Grimm, Ph.D., Michigan Tech. Engineering design, CAE, finite elements, biomechanics.
M. Gupta, Ph.D., Rutgers. Design with plastics and composites, polymer processing, electronic packaging, FEM.
J. H. Johnson, Ph.D., Wisconsin. Combustion, emissions, thermodynamics, engines, air pollution.
L. B. King, Ph.D., Michigan. Plasma space propulsion, plasma physics, optical fluid diagnostics, space system design.
J. B. Ligon, Ph.D., Iowa State. Experimental mechanics, wave propagation, phytomechanics, polymer composite materials.
E. Lumsdaine, Ph.D., New Mexico. Acoustics, vibration, heat transfer.
D. J. Michalek, Ph.D., Texas at Arlington. Computational fluid dynamics.
M. H. Miller, Ph.D., North Carolina State. Manufacturing, grinding, precision engineering.
I. Miskioglu, Ph.D., Iowa State. Experimental stress analysis, fracture mechanics, composite materials.
K. Moon, Ph.D., Illinois. Nanotechnology, manufacturing process modeling and optimization, surface texture characterization.
A. Narain, Ph.D., Minnesota. Heat transfer, fluid mechanics, film condensation flows, viscoelastic liquids.
S. M. Pandit, Ph.D., Wisconsin. Data-dependent systems modeling, forecasting, computer control, machine vision, laser interferometry.
G. G. Parker, Ph.D., SUNY at Buffalo. Dynamics, linear and nonlinear control, robotics.
C. E. Passerello, Ph.D., Cincinnati. Vibrations, dynamics, finite elements.
W. W. Predebon, Ph.D., Iowa State. Ceramic processing, behavior and characterization, wave propagation in solids, impact phenomena.
M. D. Rao, Ph.D., Auburn. Vibration, dynamic measurements, noise control and composites.
G. Subhash, Ph.D., California, San Diego. Ceramics, micromechanics, wave propagation, experimental solid mechanics.
J. W. Sutherland, Ph.D., Illinois. Environmentally conscious manufacturing, metal cutting, quality engineering, machining dynamics.
M. A. Vable, Ph.D., Michigan. Computational structural mechanics.
C. D. Van Karsen, M.S.M.E., Cincinnati. Noise, vibration, experimental methods.
C. R. Vilmann, Ph.D., Northwestern. Fracture mechanics, finite elements.
K. J. Weinmann, Ph.D., Illinois. Sheet metal forming, tribology in metal forming, metal cutting.
S. L. Yang, Ph.D., Florida. Computational fluid dynamics, heat transfer.

Partial list of recent research projects