Department of Mechanical Engineering

2052 Engineering Building, (307) 766-2122
Web site: www.uwyo.edu/mechanical
E-mail: me.info@uwyo.edu
Department Head: Carl P. Frick

Professors:

DENNIS N. COON, B.S. Alfred UniversityNew York; M.S. 1984; Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 1986; Professor of Mechanical Engineering 1999, 1988.

CARL P. FRICK, B.S. University of Colorado at Boulder 1999; M.S. 2003; Ph.D. 2005; Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2019, 2008; Head of Mechanical Engineering 2015.

DIMITRI J. MAVRIPLIS, B.S. McGill University 1982; M.Eng. 1982; Ph.D. Princeton University 1987; Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2003.

JONATHAN W. NAUGHTON, B.S. Cornell University 1986; Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 1993; Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2012, 1997.

Associate Professors:

RAY S. FERTIG III, B.S. University of Wyoming 2001; M.S. 2003; Ph.D. Cornell University 2010; Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2017, 2011.

MICHAEL STOELLINGER, M.S. Technical University Munich 2005; Ph.D. University of Wyoming 2010; Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2018, 2012.

Assistant Professors:

DILPUNEET S. AIDHY, B.E. Punjab Engineering College 2004; Ph.D. University of Florida 2009; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2015.

ERICA L. BELMONT, B.S. Tufts University 2004; M.S. 2008; Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin 2014; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2014.

YANG LIU, B.S. Chongqing University; M.S. Zhejiang University; Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 2014; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2018.

MAYSAM MOUSAVIRAAD, B.S. Sharif University of Technology 2002; M.S. 2004; Ph.D. University of Iowa 2010; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2017.

XIANG ZHANG, B.S. Northeastern University (China) 2009; M.S. Beihang University (China) 2012; Ph.D. Vanderbilt University 2017; Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering 2019.

Professors Emeriti:

Donald F. Adams, Paul A. Dellenback, Bruce R. Dewey, Andrew Hansen, William R. Lindberg, Kynric M. Pell, Ovid A. Plumb, Donald A. Smith, David E. Walrath, Robert A. Wheasler

Mechanical Engineering is the broadest area of study in engineering. In contrast to other engineering disciplines, mechanical engineers are employed in significant percentages in almost all industrial and governmental organizations that employ engineers.

The spectrum of activities in which mechanical engineers are engaged continues to expand. The curriculum has in turn become flexible to allow for the education of mechanical engineering students in many diverse and allied areas, or for graduate school preparation.

The educational objectives of the Department of Mechanical Engineering are as follows:

Successfully practice the profession of engineering
Demonstrate career growth (e.g. increasing complexity of job assignment, career promotions, professional registration, patents, publications, and completion of advanced degrees)

The undergraduate program includes a foundation in mathematics, science, and engineering sciences. The three key elements of the mechanical engineering undergraduate program include core engineering principles, laboratory experience, and development of communication skills.

The mechanical engineering curriculum affords the student the flexibility to pursue specific professional goals within the discipline. Such an opportunity needs to be carefully considered by each student, so that elective courses are chosen with these goals in mind. During the junior and senior years, the student selects 15 credit hours of technical electives.

Mechanical and Energy Systems Engineering degree candidates must meet the academic requirements of the college and in addition must have an average GPA of 2.000 (C) in Mechanical and/or Energy Systems engineering courses completed at this university. A grade of C or better must be earned in all engineering science (ES) and required mathematics courses.

Dual ME/ESE Degrees

In the event that a student desires to double major in ME and ESE, University policy requires that 30 credit hours past the first degree are required to earn the second degree, and college policy dictates that 24 of these credit hours must be technical coursework approved by the Department while up to 6 hours can be any student-chosen electives.

Graduate Study

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Faculty in Mechanical Engineering conduct research in the areas of aerodynamics, biomaterials, composite materials, computational material science, computational fluid dynamics, combustion, continuum mechanics, heat transfer, materials reliability, mechanical behavior of materials, nanomechanics of surfaces and interfaces, and wind energy.

Department Specific Admission Requirements

Applicants should possess a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering with a minimum GPA of 3.000 on a 4.000 grade scale or equivalent. Students that do not hold B.S./M.E. degrees may qualify as M.S. candidates by completing, without credit, certain prerequisite courses as specified by the Department. These prerequisites would depend upon the candidate’s background and upon the area in which he/ she plans to specialize.

In addition to the required application materials (i.e. application form, academic transcript, GRE, TOFEL, or IELTS scores, letters of reference) the applicant must submit a Statement of Purpose indicating their technical area of interest, abilities, and objectives in completing a graduate degree in mechanical engineering.

A minimum composite score of 294 (MS) or 307 (PhD) on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the GRE is typically required for full admission to the Mechanical Engineering Department. For international students, a minimum TOEFL score of 577 on the written exam or 90 on the Internet-based test (iBT) TOEFL (or a minimum IELTS score of 6.5). Admittance to the graduate program is competitive, and the average applicant that is accepted will likely have well above the minimum qualifications.

Energy Systems Engineering

Energy Systems Engineering is an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree offering by the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The ESE program was designed to train engineers to address one of this country’s foremost challenges: to achieve energy independence and yet meet the growing demand for energy, while at the same time addressing critical environmental concerns. The program is intended to help meet these challenges by preparing students to be:

technology leaders in energy conversion and environmental protection systems
capable managers in the energy industry
versatile overseers of energy development by the governmental sector
technically-trained and environmentally-sensitive liaisons between the energy industry and the public.

ESE students will be trained in alternative and environmentally-friendly energy conversion systems, as well as more traditional technologies that will continue to play an important role for the foreseeable future.

Although the discipline of mechanical engineering has historically been responsible for the design of energy conversion cycles and equipment, issues outside the conventional realms of engineering are increasingly important to address as new and improved energy conversion systems are implemented. The engineer trained in Energy Systems will be better equipped than traditional mechanical engineers to deal with the environmental, legal, political, economic, and permitting aspects of new energy projects.

The ESE degree has many course work requirements in common with the Mechanical Engineering degree, particularly in the thermal, fluids, and energy conversion sciences. However, the ESE program emphasizes energy conversion aspects of Mechanical Engineering and requires course work from UW’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), course work in environmental law, and two electives picked from a list of classes that focus attention on energy and the environment. The SENR courses expose students to issues related to permitting such as preparation of environmental impact studies, and related regulations such as the Endangered Species Act. In addition, there are four technical electives that allow students to choose more detailed study in personal areas of interest including, for example, courses in environmental engineering, wind engineering, solar engineering, nuclear engineering, and petroleum engineering.

The educational objectives of the ESE program are the same as those listed for the ME program. Energy Systems Engineering degree candidates must meet the academic requirements of the College and must have a minimum GPA of 2.000 (C) in ESE and ME course work. An International Engineering Option similar to that in ME is also available. A grade of C- or better in engineering science, mathematics, and basic sciences courses is required to fulfill prerequisites in Mechanical and Energy Systems engineering courses. A grade of C or better is required for any transfer course from another university.