Mechanical engineers are traditionally concerned with the conception, design, implementation and operation of mechanical systems. Typical fields of work are aerospace, energy, manufacturing, machinery, and transportation. Because of the very broad nature of the discipline, there is usually a high demand for mechanical engineers.
Many mechanical engineers follow other career paths. Graduate studies are useful for the specialists working in research establishments, consulting firms or in corporate research and development. Specialty areas include bio-mechanics, systems, robotics and computer applications.
To prepare the mechanical engineer for a wide range of career possibilities, there is a heavy stress in our curriculum on the fundamental analytical disciplines. This is balanced by a sequence of experimental and design engineering courses which include practice in design, manufacture and experimentation. In these courses students learn how to apply their analytical groundwork to the solution of practical problems.
Specialist interests are satisfied by selecting appropriate complementary courses from among those offered with a specific subject concentration, such as management, industrial engineering, computer science, controls and robotics, bio-engineering, aeronautics, combustion, systems engineering, etc.
The Department offers an Honours program which is particularly suitable for those with a high aptitude in mathematics and physics and which gives a thorough grounding in the basic engineering sciences. The complementary courses in this program can be utilized to take courses with applied engineering orientation, such as those offered in the regular program, or if preferred, to obtain an even more advanced education in engineering science.
Options in Aeronautical Engineering and Design are available for students in either the Regular or Honours Programs who wish to specialize in these areas.
While the program is demanding, there is time for many extracurricular activities. Students are active in such professional societies as the CASI (Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute), and the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), and the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and in various campus organizations.
Relations between faculty and students are extremely close. Social functions, at which students and professors meet to exchange views and get to know each other better, are organized frequently.