Mechanical Engineering

• ENG ME 740: Vision, Robotics, and Planning
  Methodologies required for constructing and operating intelligent mechanisms. Comprehensive introduction to robot kinematics for motion planning. Dynamics and control of mechanical systems. Formal treatment of differential relationships for understanding the control of forces and torques at the end effector. Discussion of robot vision and sensing and advanced topics in robot mechanics, including elastic effects and kinematic redundancy. Meets with ENGSE740. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG ME 741: Fluid-Structure Interaction
  Discussion of basic phenomena occurring when the response of a solid structure immersed in or bounding a flow has a significant influence on the flow. Methods are developed and applied to a general range of vibration problems that arise in diverse situations involving the interaction of laminar and turbulent flows with rigid and elastic structures.
• ENG ME 742: Bio-Fluids and Structural Mechanics
  Mechanics of biological systems, with emphasis on biological application of fluid mechanics. Topics will be chosen from the following: cardiovascular dynamics--pulsatile flow, vessel elasticity, non-Newtonian behavior, flow in bifurcations, thermodilution; pulmonary dynamics--oscillatory flow, convection-diffusion interactions, surface tension effects, high frequency ventilation, turbulence; clinical applications--urodynamics, bone fracture, dental mechanics, male impotency; mechanics of propulsion--microorganisms in viscous liquids, swimming, flying.
• ENG ME 760: Control of Sound and Vibration
  Physical principles and multivariable control techniques involved in the active control of sound and vibration. Topics in sound control include reduction of noise in ducts, structural control to reduce acoustic radiation, and sound field control in enclosures. Vibration control for both lumped and distributed parameter systems, with examples from space structure control and active vibration isolation. Control techniques include feedback and feed forward approaches, LMS adaptive algorithms, linear quadratic regulators, and modern robust control techniques. Effects of system modeling errors and simplifications (i.e., modal truncation) are studied. Laboratory experience implementing a vibration-control scheme for a cantilever beam.
• ENG ME 761: Experimental Modal Analysis and System Identification
  Fundamental concepts of modal testing; analysis of multi-degree-of-freedom systems; viscous and hysteretic damping models; proportional and non-proportional damping; receptance, mobility and inertance frequency response functions; random and transient vibrations; practical issues concerning mobility measurement techniques; modal parameter extraction in frequency domain and time domain; structural modification; effects of non-linearities on modal analysis; engineering applications.
• ENG ME 762: Nonlinear Systems and Control
  Introduction to the theory and design methods of non-linear control systems. Application to robotics, vibration and noise control, fluid control, manufacturing processes, and biomedical systems. Mathematical methods based on the theory of differentiable manifolds; non-linear control techniques include feedback linearization, back-stepping, forwarding, and sliding mode control. Additional course topics will include controllability and observability, Lyapunov stability and its applications, limit cycles, input-output stability, zero dynamics, center manifold theory, perturbation theory, and averaging.
• ENG ME 765: Production Systems Design
  Theory and applications related to the design of complex production systems. Simulation theory, stochastic modeling and control, and mathematical decomposition techniques are developed and applied hierarchically to combine production statistics estimation, operations protocol design, and capacity selections in an integrated design of complex manufacturing systems. Meets with ENGSE765. Students may nor receive credit for both.
• ENG ME 766: Advanced Scheduling Models and Methods
  Emphasizes basic methodological tools and recent advances for the solution of scheduling problems in both deterministic and stochastic settings. Models considered include classical scheduling models, DEDS, neural nets, queueing models, flow control models, and linear programming models. Methods of control and analysis include optimal control, dynamic programming, fuzzy control, adaptive control, hierarchical control, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, Lagrangian relaxation, and heavy traffic approximations. Examples and case studies focus on applications from manufacturing systems, computer and communication networks, and transportation systems. Meets with ENGSE766. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG ME 778: Micromachined Tranducers
  The field of micro-electromechanical devices and systems (MEMS) has been growing at an exciting pace in recent years. The interdisciplinary nature of both micro-machining techniques and their applications can and does lead to exciting synergies. This course will explore the world of mostly silicon-based micro-machined transducers, i.e., micro-sensors and micro-actuators. This requires an awareness of material properties, fabrication technologies, basic structural mechanics, sensing and actuation principles, circuit and system issues, packaging, calibration, and testing. The material will be covered through a combination of lectures, case studies, individual homework assignments, and design projects carried out in teams.
• ENG ME 780: Perturbation Methods in Mechanics
  Regular and singular perturbation theory. Topics taught through examples related to solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and dynamics, and include: matched asymptotic expansions, method of multiple scales, WKB, strained coordinates, asymptotic expansion of integrals, method of averaging, exponential asymptotics, asymptotic summation, perturbation of dimension.
• ENG ME 781: Electroceramics
  This course will explore the structure property relationships and phenomena in ceramic materials used in electronic, dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic, and electrochemical applications. In particular we will discover how to functionalize a component for a particular application - a capacitor, a thermistor, actuator, or a fuel cell. Such a discovery process demands an in- depth understanding of the roles and interrelationships between the crystal structure, defect chemistry, microstructure, and texture in such materials. Statistical thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and solid mechanics principles will be used as and when necessary in the course. The course is intended to fit in the space and act as a bridge between solid state theory where the emphasis is largely on theory and a ceramic materials course where the emphasis is largely on processing.
• ENG ME 785: Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
  Elements of CAD/CAM systems examined with an emphasis on system integration tools, graphical programming of spatially oriented tasks, as well as automatic code generation necessary to provide the voluminous code needed to drive a factory floor. Students gain insight into the interplay between system components, interfaces, and the overall system. (Formerly ENGMN785)
• ENG ME 788: Soft Tissue Biomechanics
  This course will introduce students to the mechanics of soft biological tissue. In particular, the response of the heart, vasculature, and tissue scaffolds to mechanical loads from the perspective of nonlinear solid mechanics will be studied. Constitutive models for hyperelastic materials will be adapted to biomaterials to handle mechanical characteristics such as nonlinearity, viscoelasticity, and orthotropy. Basic experimental methods, and anatomy and physiology of particular tissue types will also be introduced. Emphasis is placed on integrating the basic analytical, experimental, and computational methods for a more complete understanding of the underlying mechanobiology. Meets with ENG BE788. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG ME 900: PhD Research
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation and defense of a PhD prospectus.
• ENG ME 901: Thesis
  Preparation of an original thesis under the guidance of a faculty member.
• ENG ME 925: Graduate Project
  A practical mechanical design, analysis, fabrication, or production project. Written report required.
• ENG ME 951: Independent Study
  Graduate students may study, under a faculty member's supervision, subjects not covered in a regularly offered course. Final report and/or written examination normally required.
• ENG ME 954: MS Thesis
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation of an original MS thesis. For students pursuing an MS thesis to satisfy the practicum requirement for the MS degree.
• ENG ME 991: PhD Dissertation
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation and defense of an original PhD dissertation.

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