Mechanical Engineering (M E)

Mechanical Engineering (M E)

Program Home Page

KAREN A. THOLE, Head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
137 Reber Building
814-865-2519

Degrees Conferred: Ph.D., M.S.

The Graduate Faculty

Ashok D. Belegundu, Ph.D. (Iowa) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
James G. Brasseur, Ph.D. (Stanford) Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Mathematics
Jack S. Brenizer, Ph.D. (Penn State) Professor of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Sean N. Brennan, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Marc Carpino, Ph.D. (Columbia) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Liming Chang, Ph.D. (Illinois) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Fan-Bill Cheung, Ph.D. (Notre Dame) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
John M. Cimbala, Ph.D. (Cal Tech) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Richard Ciocci, Ph.D. (Maryland) P.E. Assistant Professor of Engineering (Harrisburg)
Stephen A. Copley, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) Senior Scientist, Applied Research Laboratory
Edward C. DeMeter, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering
John E. Dzielski, Ph.D. (MIT) Research Engineer; Assistant Professor of Acoustics
Moustafa El-Gindy, Ph.D. (Tech Inst of Budapest) Senior Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Mary I. Frecker, Ph.D. (Michigan) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Amanul Haque, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Daniel C. Haworth, Ph.D. (Cornell) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Lawrence E. Hochreiter, Ph.D. (Purdue) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering
Thomas G. Hughes, Ph.D. (Penn State) Senior Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Harris Imadojemu, Ph.D. (North Carolina State) Associate Professor of Engineering (Harrisburg)
Kathryn Jablokow, Ph.D. (Ohio State) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Great Valley)
Amir Khalilollhi, Ph.D. (Penn State) P.E. Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Erie)
Gary H. Koopmann, Ph.D. (Catholic U) P.E. Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Anil K. Kulkarni, Ph.D. (Brown) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Kenneth K. Kuo, Ph.D. (Princeton) Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
John S. Lamancusa, Ph.D (Wisconsin, Madison) P.E. Professor of Mechanical Engineering
William C. Lasher, Ph.D. (SUNY, Buffalo) P.E. Program Chair, Mechanical Engineering (Erie)
A. Scott Lewis, Ph.D. (Penn State) Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Thomas A. Litzinger, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Eric R. Marsh, Ph.D. (MIT) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Matthew M. Mench, Ph.D. (Penn State) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Panagiotis Michaleris, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Timothy F. Miller, Ph.D. (Penn State) Senior Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Eric M. Mockensturm, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Michael F. Modest, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Madara M. Ogot, Ph.D. (Penn State) Associate Professor of SEDTAPP and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Matthew B. Parkinson, Ph.D. (Michigan) Assistant Professor of SEDTAP; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Eric G. Paterson, Ph.D. (Iowa) Senior Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Laura L. Pauley, Ph.D. (Stanford) P.E. Professor of Mechanical Engineering
L. Joel Peltier, Ph.D. (Colorado) Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Horacio Perez-Blanco, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Howard L. Petrie, Ph.D. (Illinois) Senior Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Stephen J. Piazza, Ph.D. (Northwestern) Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Bioengineering, and Mechanical Engineering
Christopher D. Rahn, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Asok Ray, Ph.D. (Northeastern) P.E. Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
John T. Roth, Ph.D. (Michigan Tech) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Erie)
Domenic A. Santavicca, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Robert J. Santoro, Ph.D. (Boston College) George L. Guillet Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Gary S. Settles, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Kendra Sharp, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Timothy Simpson, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering
Alok Sinha, Ph.D. (Carnegie Mellon) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
H. Joseph Sommer III, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Gita Talmage, Ph.D. (Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Karen A. Thole, Ph.D. (Texas, Austin) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Stefan T. Thynell, Ph.D. (North Carolina State) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Martin W. Trethewey, Ph.D. (Michigan Tech) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Stephen R. Turns, Ph.D. (Wisconsin) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Jeremy L. Walter, Ph.D. (Penn State) Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory
Chao-Yang Wang, Ph.D. (Iowa) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Kon-Well Wang, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) William E. Diefenderfer Chaired Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Qian Wang, Ph.D. (Princeton) Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Ralph L. Webb, Ph.D. (Minnesota) Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering
David N. Wormley, Ph.D. (MIT) Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering; Professor of Mechanical Engineering
John Wyngaard, Ph.D. (Penn State) Professor of Meteorology, Geo-Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering
Vigor Yang, Ph.D. (Cal-Tech) Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Savas Yavuzkurt, Ph.D. (Stanford) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Richard A. Yetter, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Graduate programs and research facilities are available in combustion, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, dynamic system analysis, robotics, mechanical design, and energy systems. Air pollution control, automotive safety, tribology, designing for noise control and for reliability also provide many research and design opportunities.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program is quite competitive. Entering students must hold a B.S. degree in engineering or physical science. Students with 3.0 or better (out of 4.0) junior/senior cumulative grade-point averages and appropriate course backgrounds will be considered for admission. The best-qualified applicants will be admitted. In addition, scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are required. To qualify for admission, an international student must achieve a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or a minimum score of 213 on the computer-based test. Letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose written by the applicant are also required to complete the application pacakge.

Degree Requirements

The M.S. degree program is designed for students to gain advanced knowledge for research, analysis, and design in mechanical engineering. Students pursuing an M.S. degree may choose one of two options: completion of 24 course credits and the submission of a thesis (6 credits) to the Graduate School, or 30 course credits and the submission of a scholarly paper to the department. A Ph.D. thesis proposal may serve as the paper, provided the student has passed the Ph.D. candidacy examination.

Continuous registration is required of all Ph.D. graduate students until the thesis is approved.

The Ph.D. program emphasizes scholarly research and helps students prepare for research and related careers in industry, government, and academe. Students are admitted to candidacy after passing written and oral examinations. The Ph.D. program is quite flexible, with minimal formal requirements. The Ph.D. is awarded upon completion of a program of advanced study that includes a minimum period of residence, a satisfactory thesis, and the passing of comprehensive and final oral examinations as determined by the student's doctoral committee.

Generally, a Ph.D. student must have 30 credits above a master's degree before taking the comprehensive examination.

Integrated B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering

A limited number of undergraduate students in the B.S.M.E. program will be considered for admission to the integrated undergraduate/graduate program leading to the B.S.M.E. and the M.S.M.E. degrees. Students with a junior standing in the B.S.M.E. degree program may be admitted to the integrated B.S.M.E./M.S.M.E. program, following a positive review of an application specific to this program by the faculty committee on graduate admissions. Students must have attained a GPA of at least 3.0. Students admitted to the integrated program must maintain a GPA in all classes used toward the M.S.M.E. degree of at least 3.0.

Student Aid

Graduate students are supported by a variety of government and industry fellowships, traineeships, and research and teaching assistantships. Stipends vary depending on the source. Competition for support is extremely keen; however, outstanding students are considered for attractive offers of support, including various fellowships specifically for new students in the College of Engineering. By completing the department's application for financial assistance, you will automatically be considered for a graduate assistantship. To receive full consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted by January 15.

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (M E) course list

The University reserves the right to change the requirements and regulations listed here and to determine whether a student has satisfactorily met its requirements for admission or graduation, and to reject any applicant for any reason the University determines to be material to the applicant's qualifications to pursue higher education. Nothing in this material should be considered a guarantee that completion of a program and graduation from the University will result in employment.

This electronic Graduate Bulletin is a version of the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University. It is suggested that users refer to this electronic bulletin when seeking the latest information about the University's academic programs and courses. Printed versions of the Bulletin are also official copies of the programs, courses, and policies in effect at the time of printing.

Last Revised by the Department: Spring Semester 2007

Blue Sheet Item #: 35-04-252

Review Date: 1/16/07

DATE LAST REVIEWED BY PUBLICATIONS: 7/9/07 (link check)