DEPARTMENT OF
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The Graduate Program Vanderbilt University’s Graduate School, in collaboration with the School of Engineering, offers master of engineering, master of science, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering. The mechanical engineering department is recognized internationally as a research leader in the areas of bioMEMS, combustion, microscale heat transfer and fluid mechanics, nanotechnology, medical device design, mechatronics, prosthetics, and robotics. The curriculum can be designed to achieve both the bachelor’s and the master of engineering within five years. A doctoral degree prepares the student for a career of independent research and contributions towards the advancement of science and technology. Graduate students have the opportunity to design an interdisciplinary curriculum with a mechanical engineering focus area that will provide a competitive advantage in obtaining an academic faculty position, or a leadership position in research and development at a startup company, government laboratory, or in a leading company in the area of interest to the student. Our engineering graduates are widely known and valued for their expertise, interdisciplinary experience, intellectual independence, communication skills, and leadership, and are thoroughly prepared for the 21st century global work environment.
Graduate Admissions Graduate education is focused on the Ph.D. degree. Selective admissions results in fewer than 15% of applicants admitted. Application fees are waved for online applications. To enter the mechanical engineering graduate program, you must meet the general require-
Contact
ments of admission by the Vanderbilt University Graduate School. Information online: www.vanderbilt.edu/gradschool
Graduate Curriculum The program in mechanical engineering allows concentration in a variety of areas of mechanical engineering research. Candidates for the master of science degree must complete 24 hours of course work and an acceptable master’s thesis. The course work must include at least 12 hours at or above the 300 level, and a minor of at least 6 hours in courses separate from, but related to, the field of study. The Ph.D. program requires 36 hours of course work beyond the bachelor’s degree (with a minimum of 24 hours completed at Vanderbilt) and an acceptable dissertation. This course work must include a 6-hour minor in an area separate from, but related to, the field of study. At least 18 hours of the 36 must be at or above the 300 level. A maximum of 12 hours in independent study may be included in the 36-hour requirement. The master of engineering, an advanced professional degree, is offered by the School of Engineering. There is also a master of science/doctor of medicine degree program joint between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Medicine. Details may be obtained from the director of graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering.
Financial Assistance Financial awards are available in several forms, such as University Fellowships, Graduate Teaching Assistant-
ships, Graduate Research Assistantships and Traineeships. Virtually all students who are admitted based on merit are offered a financial support package. The financial support package typically consists of a competitive stipend, a tuition waiver and full health insurance coverage. Students interested in financial assistance should check the appropriate box under "Financial Information" on the online application. Information online: www.vanderbilt.edu/gradschool
About Vanderbilt & Nashville A private research university, Vanderbilt was founded in 1873 and named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1 million endowment. Vanderbilt enrolls approximately 12,000 students from all 50 U.S. states and over 90 foreign countries in four undergraduate and six graduate and professional schools. Several research centers and institutes are affiliated with the university, including the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, Dyer Observatory, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the only Level I trauma center in Middle Tennessee. Vanderbilt’s hometown of Nashville (population of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area is 1,582,264) is a vibrant, engaging city known proudly as "Music City, U.S.A." The Bridgestone Arena is home to the National Hockey League team, the Nashville Predators. The National Football League’s Tennessee Titans’ home is LP Field in downtown Nashville. Vanderbilt is located near downtown, and the university’s students, faculty, staff and visitors frequently cite Nashville as one of the perks of Vanderbilt.
Nilanjan Sarkar, Director of Graduate Studies, Mechanical Engineering Room 509, Olin Hall, Phone: (615) 343-7219, Fax: (615) 343-6687 Email: nilanjan.sarkar@Vanderbilt.Edu | Website: http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/MechanicalEngineering.aspx
Research Areas The Laboratory for the Design and Control of Energetic Systems Eric J. Barth, Dynamic systems and control; design, modeling, and control of mechatronic and fluid power systems www.vanderbilt.edu/dces
Energetic BioMEMS Lab Jon F. Edd, Inertial and drop-based microfluidics (BioMEMS),fluid mechanics, heat transfer, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, cryopreservation and cryosurgery, electrical impedance tomography, and irreversible electroporation http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/erg
The Center for Intelligent Mechatronics
Important Dates October 22: November 19: December 1: January 15: February 15: April 15:
Last date to take paper-based general GRE Last date to take TOEFL (Internationals) Last date to take computer-based general GRE Application deadline, including all supporting credentials Admission offers made Deadline to accept admission
Michael Goldfarb, Design, modeling, and control of electromechanical devices and systems; design of highenergy-density robotic actuators; control of fluidpowered actuators and devices http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/cim
Micro/Nanoscale Thermal-Fluids Lab Deyu Li, Micro/nano scale energyand molecular transport phenomena, nanofabrication techniques, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation, micro/nanofluidics http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/MNTFL/
Computational Flow Physics Lab Haoxiang Luo, Computational fluid dynamics; fluid-structure interaction; biological locomotion; biomedical flows; microfluidics http://challenge.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/
Laser Diagnostics of Combustion Lab Robert W. Pitz, Laser diagnostics, laminar flames, turbulent combustion, molecular tagging velocimetry, hypersonic propulsion, pollutant formation,Raman scattering, laser-induced fluorescence http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/Combustion.aspx
The Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab Nilanjan Sarkar, Control of electromechanical systems, rehabilitation robotics, human-robot interaction, affective computing, virtual reality, and intelligent systems for autism intervention http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/rasl/index.html
The Advanced Robotics and Mechanism Applications Lab Nabil Simaan, Medical robotics, robot design, flexible robots, snake robots, parallel robots, sensory-guided surgery, intelligent surgical robots, surgical assistance http://arma.vuse.vanderbilt.edu
The Vanderbilt University Welding Automation Lab Alvin M. Strauss, Friction stir welding, wind energy using Flettner rotors, nuclear propulsion:applications of variational methods, dimensional analysis, and the fractional calculus http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/vuwal/index.shtml
Science and Technology of Robotics in Medicine Lab Pietro Valdastri, Capsule robots for wireless or softly tethered operation toward painless endoscopy and scarless surgery http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/storm
Nanoscale Optics and Materials Lab Jason Valentine, Optical metamaterials, transformation optics, nanophotonics, nanoimaging, active photonics, solar energy conversion,scalable 3D nanomanufacturing http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/NanOptics
Thermal Engineering Lab D. Greg Walker, Ultrasonic pyrometry, thermographic phosphor temperature measurement, nanoscale electrical and thermal transport modeling, energy conversion devices http://telab.vuse.vanderbilt.edu
The Medical and Electromechanical Design Lab Robert J. Webster III, Electromechanical design, modeling, and control,medical systems, image guided surgery, flexible robots, mobile and legged medical robots, biosensors, human-machine interfaces http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/MEDLab