Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Department:

Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering

College:

Armour College of Engineering

Degrees:

Master of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Master of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Description:

The Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering offers several flexible programs in mechanical and aerospace engineering, with five major-areas of study: computer-aided design and manufacturing, dynamics and control, fluid dynamics, solids and structures, and thermal sciences. The department also offers programs in metallurgical and materials engineering and an interdisciplinary program in manufacturing engineering.

The Master of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering program is designed for working professionals, and aimed at broadening student potential, enhancing technical versatility and, in some instances, providing the opportunity for changes in career path. The Professional Master's program is a course-only degree program requiring a minimum of 30 credit hours. There is no thesis or comprehensive examination requirement.

The Master of Science degree program advances knowledge through post-baccalaureate coursework and state-of-the-art research in preparation for careers in industrial research and development. The M.S. degree is also generally acceptable as a prerequisite for study toward the doctorate. In line with the department's approach to its graduate programs, a student has considerable flexibility, in consultation with his or her program adviser, in formulating an M.S. program.

The Ph.D. program provides advanced, research-based education and knowledge through advanced coursework, state-of-the-art and original research, and publication of novel results in preparation for careers in academia and industrial research and development. The department offers programs leading to the Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The doctoral degree is awarded in recognition of a high level of mastery in one of the several fields of the department including a significant original research contribution. A student working toward the Ph.D. degree has great flexibility in formulating an overall program to meet individual needs under the guidance of an adviser and the department.

Specializations:

Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Certificate Programs:

Distance Learning:

http://www.distance-education.iit.edu

Dual Degrees / Joint Degrees:

Master of Manufacturing Engineering
Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Master of Science with specialization in Energy/Environment/Economics (E3)

Research Facilities:

Mechanical and aerospace engineering laboratories include the Fejer Unsteady Wind Tunnel; the Markovin Low-Turbulence Wind Tunnel; the National Diagnostic Facility, a computer-controlled, high-speed, subsonic flow wind tunnel; a high-speed jet facility for aeroacoustic research; a hydrodynamics laboratory; flow visualization systems; laser-based measuring equipment; several computer-based data acquisition, processing and display systems of the Fluid Dynamics Research Center; laboratories for research in robotics, guidance and navigation, computer-integrated manufacturing, Footlik CAD lab, railroad engineering, biomechanics and its instrumentation, combustion, internal combustion engines, two-phase flow and heat-transfer, electrohydrodynamics, and combined heat and mass transfer; and research facilities for atomization, spray flames, and emissions from mobile and stationary combustion sources.

Metallurgical and materials engineering laboratories include facilities for research in metallography, heat treatment, and mechanical testing; optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopes; powder metallurgy, and laser machining facilities. The department has numerous computers and workstations available for computational research activities.

Research Areas:

The faculty conducts research activities in fluid dynamics, including aeroacoustics, flow control, turbulent flows, unsteady and separated flows, instabilities and transition, turbulence modeling, flow visualization techniques, computational fluid dynamics; metallurgical and materials engineering, including microstructural characterization, physical metallurgy of ferrous and nonferrous alloys, powder materials, laser processing and machining, high temperature structural materials, mechanical behavior, fatigue and fracture, environmental fatigue and fracture, computational x-ray diffraction analysis, texture, recrystallization and computational methods in materials processing; solids and structures, including experimental mechanics--composites, fracture mechanics, design and testing of prosthetic devices, and holographic interferometry; computational mechanics--fracture mechanics, cable dynamics and analysis of inelastic solids; theoretical mechanics, including wave propagation, fracture, elasticity and models for scoliosis; computer aided design and manufacturing, concentrated in the areas of computer-aided design, computer-based machine tool control, computer graphics in design, manufacturing processes, wear and fracture behavior of cutting tools, tribology, frictional wear characteristics of ceramics, dynamic behavior of rail vehicles including self-excited oscillations, longitudinal dynamics and handling of trains, and interactive computer simulation of rail vehicles; thermal sciences, including spray combustion, atomization, alternative fuels, mobile and stationary source combustion emissions, and thermodynamic and economic aspects of industrial cogeneration of heat and electricity and waste-heat generation; and dynamics and control, including guidance, navigation, and control of aircraft and spacecraft, intelligent control for aircraft models, flow fields, robotics devices for laser machining; and dynamic analysis and control of complex systems.

Admission Requirements:

1. Cumulative undergraduate GPA minimum: 3.0/4.0

2. Combined GRE score minimum:
1000 (quantitative + verbal), 3.0 (analytical writing)
*Typical admitted quantitative score minimum: 650

3. TOEFL minimum (if required): 550/213/80
(paper-based/computer-based/Internet-based test)

4. Admission as a regular graduate student requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, normally in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, metallurgical engineering, materials engineering, or engineering mechanics. A candidate with a bachelor's degree in another field, and with proficiency in other engineering disciplines, mathematics and physics, may also be eligible for admission. However, students must remove any deficiencies in essential undergraduate courses that are prerequisites for the chosen degree program in addition to meeting the other requirements of the graduate program.

How to apply:

Office of Graduate Admission

Departmental Website:

http://www.iit.edu/engineering/mmae/

The material on these web pages contains the most current program offerings and requirements, and is intended for informational purposes only. Program offerings and requirements change from time to time, and these web pages are changed accordingly. The requirements applicable to a particular student's program are those set forth in the official Graduate Bulletin that was in effect the year the student began his or her graduate program. Therefore, to find the official program requirements applicable to his or her program, a student must consult the Graduate Bulletin from that year.