MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Head of the Department: R. O. Buckius

Graduate Programs Committee Chairperson: P. M. Ferreira

Correspondence and Admission Information: Graduate Programs Coordinator, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 140 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1206 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 244-3416; E-mail: miegrad@uiuc.edu

URL: www.mie.uiuc.edu

GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering offers studies leading to the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, the Doctor of Philosophy in Mechan ical Engineering, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Engineering. Details outlining specific degree requirements are included in brochures available from the graduate programs coordinator, whose address is listed above.

ADMISSION

An applicant for admission to the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering must (1) be a graduate of an institution awarding a baccalaureate degree equivalent to that granted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; (2) be adequately prepared for advanced study as demonstrated by his or her previous program of
study and scholastic record; and (3) be recommended for admission by the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. An unofficial minimum grade point average of 3.25 (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate study is required. Scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test are required of all applicants. There is no language requirement. The department requires a minimum paper-based Test of Engl ish as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 610 (257 on the computer-based test) for those applicants who have not completed at least two years of full-time study in an institution in a country where English is the primary language, and in a school where English is the primary language of instruction. Based upon the previous preparation of the student, prerequisite courses may be specified by the adviser, but the credit may not be applied toward a degree.

Graduate Teaching Experience

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program.

MASTER OF SCIENCE

A total of eight units is required, of which six units are formal graded coursework (including two units at the 400 level) and two units, minimum, are thesis credit. For those students terminating their studies with the M.S. degree, a nonthesis option is available by departmental petition. Those pursuing the nonthesis option are required to complete a minimum of eight units of formal graded coursework (including two units at the 400 level) plus one unit of a 400-level independent investigations course, since each student is required to show evidence of the ability to do independent research.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

For those students entering the program with a master's degree, a total of eight units of formal graded coursework (including four units at the 400 level) is required in addition to eight units, minimum, of thesis credit. Qualifying examinations are required and should be taken no later than the second calendar semester after initial enrollment.

A student entering with a bachelor's degree has the option of a direct Ph.D. program. A total of 14 units of formal graded coursework (including six at the 400 level) is required in addition to ten units, minimum, of thesis credit. Qualifying examinations should be taken as early as possible.

For both Ph.D. options, the preliminary examination i s taken after the qualifying examination. A minimum of six months should elapse between the successful completion of the doctoral preliminary examination and the doctoral final examination (oral dissertation defense).

RESEARCH AREAS

Research in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering is broadly based, following the traditional disciplines of mechanical engineering and industrial engineering on the one hand and encompassing areas that are at the cutting edge of the profession on the other. The activities reflect not only the interests and creativity of our faculty and students, but also their responsiveness to societal problems. While the generation of new knowledge remains a basic function, a number of ongoing research projects have been prompted by the current needs of the state of Illinois and of the nation. Current studies are conducted in automotive systems, bioengineering, combustion and propulsion computational science and engineering, control systems, design methodolog y and tribology, dynamic systems, energy systems and thermodynamics, engineering mechanics, engineering statistics and quality control, environmental engineering, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, human factors, manufacturing systems, materials behavior, materials processing, MEMS, operations research, and production management. The areas associated with thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics address a wide range of problems, including novel energetic materials for rockets, combustion studies in IC engines and gas turbines, laser diagnostic methods for studying flow and combustion, behavior of bio-fluids, micro-scale heat transfer, kinetics of chemical processes, magneto-hydrodynamics, analytical and experimental studies of two-phase flows, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems, and development of computational tools such as meshless methods for simulating thermal and fluid systems. Research progress is made in the study of solid mechanics, materials behavior and processing includes casting proc esses, composite materials, creep, fatigue, fracture, high-temperature material behavior, phase transformations, polymer processing, ceramic-matrix composites, thin films, deformation processes, crystal plastic
microbiology
ity, micro-scale phenomena, non-linear dynamics, and continuum mechanics. In areas related to engineering mechanics, dynamics and control, the department's research includes chaotic dynamics and non-linear phenomena, experimental and analytical modal analysis, and control (including non-linear, adaptive, robust, optimal, and distributed) theory with application to various mechanical and electromechanical systems. In industrial engineering, studies are conducted in human factors and engineering psychology, operations research, and production engineering. Study in the areas of cognitive engineering, computer-aided manufacturing, ergonomics, facilities planning, human-machine interaction, large-scale systems analysis, machine tool sys tems design, mathematical programming and optimization, production planning and control, and project management is aimed at improving the design and implementation of integrated systems of persons, materials, and equipment.

The department has a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research, and works closely with other departments: the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in the fields of fluid dynamics and combustion; the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in controls and MEMs; the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in materials properties and processing; and the Department of Psychology in ergonomics and human factors engineering. Cooperation with the college's Bioengineering faculty, the Coordinated Science Laboratory, the Materials Research Laboratory, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and the Beckman Institute also lends diversity to our research.

research facilities

The department has several center-based research activities, including two NSF industry/university cooperative research centers: one in air conditioning and refrigeration, and one in machine tool systems. The University of Illinois is also the lead institution in the newly formed NSF/DARPA Machine Tool Agile Manufacturing Research Institute. In addition, the department has the Institute for Competitive Manufacturing, the Fracture Control Program, the Continuous Casting Consortium, and the DARPA-funded Mesoscale Cooler Program.

Research facilities include laboratories for advanced automation, air conditioning and refrigeration, combustion, computer-aided design and simulation, computer-integrated manufacturing, control systems, design for manufacturing, flexible automation, gas dynamics, heat transfer, human factors and simulation of human-machine interaction, internal-combustion engines, laser diagnostics for combustion, laser processing, machining and machine tool systems, mechanical behavior of materials, metrology, operations research, pre cision engineering, polymer and composite materials processing, propulsion, rapid prototyping, robotics, solar energy, thermal processing of materials, thermodynamics, tribology, vehicle dynamics, and welding and heat treatment. Special facilities include a micro-fabrication facility with its own clean room for silicon and CMOS-based micro-fabrication, test facilities for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and components, low- and high-speed wind tunnels, and laboratories for study of combustion, radiation, particulate and multiphase flow, complete specimen-scale mechanical testing equipment including an environmental testing chamber, thermomechanical and multiaxial loading capabilities, and laser processing facilities. The department has a construction shop with instrument makers and electronics technicians.

FINANCIAL AID

Financial assistance is available to most students who are admitted and includes fellowships, assistantships, and/or waivers of tuition and fees. Assistantship sti pends vary with one's entry level into the program.