Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Program Description 

The Mechanical Engineering Department offers a design-oriented, project-based undergraduate program emphasizing fundamental engineering principles, with many courses providing hands-on and active learning experiences.

The Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program intentionally embeds professional and technical skills, e.g., working on teams, engineering design, technical communication, and programming throughout the Mechanical Engineering curriculum. Our project-based design spine is bookended by the first-year experience in Introduction to Design (EDNS 151) and our multidisciplinary capstone experience (EDNS 491 & 492) in the senior year. Following their first year at Mines, our students enter our project-based design spine in the middle years (sophomore and junior).

This project-based experience teaches design methodology and stresses the creative aspects of the mechanical engineering profession. The courses help prepare students for open-ended, industry-based projects in the senior design experience.

Students receive a strong foundation in mechanical engineering disciplines and a working knowledge of modern engineering tools, e.g., design and manufacturing techniques.

If students want to gain depth in a particular area of mechanical engineering, they can align their four ME electives in one of our eight tracks: Aerospace, Automotive, Automation and Controls, Biomechanics, Energy, Manufacturing, Materials, and Nuclear Energy. With over 80% of our students participating in industry-sponsored internships or research with our faculty, our graduates are well prepared for a mechanical engineering career in a world of rapid technological change. Students may continue to graduate school or pursue careers in automation and robotics, automotive, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, patent law, power generation, sustainable energy, and more.

Program Educational Objectives 

The Mechanical Engineering program contributes to the educational objectives described in the Mines' Graduate Profile and the ABET accreditation criteria. Accordingly, the Mechanical Engineering program at Mines has established the following program educational objectives for the BS in Mechanical Engineering degree:

The Mechanical Engineering program prepares graduates within three to five years of completing their degree to:

• Apply their Mechanical Engineering education as active contributors to their professional community and society more broadly;
• Effectively communicate information and its practical and societal impact to a diverse and globally integrated society;
• Demonstrate their commitment to professional development and life-long learning through workforce readiness training, professional community involvement, and community outreach;
• Embody ethical, environmental and societal responsibility encompassing diversity, equity and inclusion in their professional activities.

Student Learning Objectives

1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.

2. 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.
3. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

ABET Accreditation Status

The Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Mechanical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Primary Contact

mechanical@mines.edu

Associate Professor and Department Head

Anthony Petrella

Emeriti Professors

Joan Gosink

Graham G.W. Mustoe

Terry Parker

Brian G. Thomas

Emeriti Associate Professors

Joel Bach

David Munoz

John P.H. Steele

Professors

Robert Braun, Rowlinson Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Robert J. Kee, George R. Brown Distinguished Professor

Anne Silverman

Neal Sullivan

John R. Berger

Cristian V. Ciobanu

Carl Frick, Dean, Graduate Studies

Gregory S. Jackson

Alexandra Newman, Director, Operations Research with Engineering Program

Xiaoli Zhang

Associate professors

Steven DeCaluwe, Director of Graduate Studies

Mark Deinert

Veronica Eliasson

Joy Gockel

Owen Hildreth

Leslie Lamberson

Andrew Osborne

Paulo Tabares-Velasco

Nils Tilton

Ruichong "Ray" Zhang

Assistant professors

Denis Aslangil

Katie Knaus

George Kontoudis

Valerio Mascolino

Aashutosh Mistry

Rajavasanth Rajasegar

Kasra Taghikhani

Samantha 'Sam' Webster

Frankie Zhu

Professors of Practice

Angel Abbud-Madrid

Craig Brice

Christopher Dreyer

Brian Gockel

George Sowers

Teaching Professors

Daniel Blood, Associate Department Head

Kristine Csavina, Director, Capstone Design Program

Ventzi Karaivanov, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Derrick Rodriguez

Teaching Associate Professors

Jeff Ackerman

Polina Brodsky

Oyvind Nilsen

Kelly Rickey

Jeff Wheeler

Jim Wong

Teaching Assistant Professors

Adam Duran

Mathew Johnson

Elijah Kuska

Gary Nave

Siby Thomas

Affiliate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Michael Mooney

Research Professors

Sandrine Ricote

Brian G. Thomas

Research Associate Professors

Garrison Hommer

Huayang Zhu

Research Assistant Professor

Omid Babaie-Rizvandi

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Degree Requirements:

* Mechanical Engineering students are required to take four Mechanical Engineering elective courses. At least one of these courses must be from the Advanced Engineering Sciences list. The remaining must be from either the Advanced Engineering Sciences list or the Mechanical Engineering Electives list.

Advanced Engineering Sciences:

Mechanical Engineering Electives:

Major GPA

During the 2016-2017 Academic Year, the Undergraduate Council considered the policy concerning required major GPAs and which courses are included in each degree’s GPA.  While the GPA policy has not been officially updated, in order to provide transparency, council members agreed that publishing the courses included in each degree’s GPA is beneficial to students. 

The following list details the courses that are included in the GPA for this degree:

• CEEN241
• EDNS491 
• EDNS492
• MEGN100 through MEGN699 inclusive

Tracks for me undergraduate program

Tracks in Mechanical Engineering offer an opportunity for ME undergrads to explore various topics in mechanical engineering in more depth.  Students gain depth in the areas by focusing their ME Electives on four courses prescribed in each track.  Each proposed track is defined below with one course required in the Advanced Engineering Science Elective and three courses required from the ME Elective courses.  Note that undergraduate students are not required to align with a track. Tracks are suggestions for students to gain advanced knowledge in a subdiscipline area and are “transcriptable.”

Aerospace 

Automation & Controls 

Automotive

Biomechanics 

Energy

Materials and Manufacturing

Business Management

Nuclear Energy

Combined Mechanical Engineering Baccalaureate and Masters Degrees

Mechanical Engineering offers a five year combined program in which students have the opportunity to obtain specific engineering skills supplemented with graduate coursework in mechanical engineering. Upon completion of the program, students receive two degrees, the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Admission into a graduate degree program as a Combined Undergraduate/Graduate degree student may occur as early as the first semester Junior year and must be granted no later than the end of registration the last semester Senior year. Students must meet minimum GPA admission requirements for the graduate degree.

Students enrolled in Mines’ combined undergraduate/graduate program may double count up to six credits of graduate coursework to fulfill requirements of both their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These courses must have been passed with “B-” or better, not be substitutes for required coursework, and meet all other University, Department, and Program requirements for graduate credit.

Students are advised to consult with their undergraduate and graduate advisors for appropriate courses to double count upon admission to the combined program.

The Mechanical Engineering Graduate Bulletin provides detail into the graduate program and includes specific instructions regarding required and elective courses. Students may switch from the combined program, which includes a non-thesis Master of Science degree to a M.S. degree with a thesis option; however, if students change degree programs they must satisfy all degree requirements for the M.S. with thesis degree.

COURSES