Dearborn Engineer, Fall 2005 - College of Engineering & Computer ...

DEARBORN Engineer
Mechanical Engineering Graduate
Program: Designing the Future
The mechanical engineering graduate studies
program may begin with fundamentals, but
the department’s ultimate goal is to produce engineers
who can creatively apply those fundamentals to develop
innovative mechanical systems. “We have a very exciting
graduate program, which continues to evolve,” says Ben
Li, chair of the department. “We teach our students to
be more creative in order to become competitive in
industry. Labor is very expensive. To keep manufacturing
costs down, you have to find ways to be more innovative
than the competition in order to stay ahead. We teach
our students to find those ways, which in turn makes
them more desirable to industry.”
Mechanical engineering graduate students focus on one
of three major areas: thermal and fluid sciences,
mechanical systems, or manufacturing. Approximately
half of their coursework emphasizes their chosen area of
study, while the other half is made up of classes from the
other mechanical engineering disciplines as well as other
departments. “We want our students to gain a wider
exposure to other fields,” says Li, “so they’ll have a
more diversified background from which to draw.”
Students are given the option to do a research thesis as well.
Opportunities for research currently include a wide variety
of faculty projects dealing with such topics as hydrogen fuel
cells, the manufacture of artificial bones, fundamental issues
related to turbulence and its effect on vehicles, the effects
of gravity and weightlessness on various materials, and
improving fuel economy through the manufacture of better
automotive powertrains. Sponsors include the Department
of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Science
Foundation, and automotive companies.
“In southeastern Michigan, our two main industries are
automotive and manufacturing,” says Tariq Shamim, associate
professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the department’s
graduate studies committee. “Most of our research,
although widely diversified, is somehow related to issues
relevant to those two industries. We have unique expertise.”
With the oldest graduate program at UM-Dearborn, the
mechanical engineering department has long accommodated
the working student. Its courses are primarily
offered in the evening hours, and the students’ professional
expertise is highly valued in the classroom. “When
students bring their industry experience to the classroom,
they enrich the discussion,” says Shamim. “They bring
practical problems they encounter at work, and we help
them solve them. It’s definitely one of the more positive
aspects of the program.”
“Teaching here is exciting,” says Li. “There’s a certain
fulfillment in helping students apply what they learn,
then come back and share with us what they encounter.
You have the opportunity to help them enhance their
knowledge and their careers, and at the same time you
get to keep up with developments in industry. This kind
of interaction is beneficial and unique for our graduate
program. And by providing them with the tools to make
themselves and the region competitive, you’re helping
the next generation of engineers design the future.”
Vahram Avagyan, MS in Computer and Information Science, 2005
Through his research with mechanical engineering associate professor Pravansu
Mohanty, Vahram Avagyan has been able to apply his interest in computer science
to challenging, real-world mechanical engineering and manufacturing problems.
Avagyan helped Mohanty develop software for rapid manufacturing systems.
“There are a lot of mathematical problems involved in supporting rapid
manufacturing,” says Avagyan. “You have to look at a damaged part from
various angles and try to work with the mathematical properties of that part,
like its symmetry, in order to project its complete shape.”
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Avagyan came to UM-Dearborn primarily to work with Mohanty and was funded
through the project. “I’m interested in applying interesting new theories of
computer science to very practical problems,” he says. “That was the most
exciting aspect of this project, and it’s why I came here.”