TechDay2009

The aerospace engineering department at the University of Michigan is one of the most prestigious in the country. Students here use state of the art facilities inside the newest building on our north campus, the Francois Xavier-Bagnoud (FXB) building, to study laser diagnostics, space propulsion, optimal structural design, computational fluid dynamics, turbulent flows and combustion, advanced spacecraft control, and helicopter aeroelasticity.

In the field, students apply their coursework to the design, testing and fabrication of airplanes, rockets, satellites, interplanetary vehicles, and all sorts of other flying machines to achieve high performance with limited size and weight.

The degree program gives the student a broad education in engineering by requiring basic courses in aerodynamics and propulsion (subsets of 'gas dynamics'), structural mechanics, flight dynamics and control systems. These courses cover everything from the fundamentals to the design and construction of aircraft, spacecraft and other vehicular systems and subsystems.

Courses in gas dynamics treat fluid and gas flow around bodies and through turbojet engines and rocket nozzles. Courses in structural mechanics emphasize lightweight structures and are studied not only from the strength point of view but also in their elastic or dynamic behavior. Flight dynamics and control systems deal with the dynamical behavior of vehicles and systems as a whole and their stability and controllability both by human and automatic pilots.

AOSS students and professors are concerned with the description and explanation of phenomena in the atmosphere and oceans of the Earth and other planets. This encompasses climatology, air pollution meteorology, global change, comet dynamics, atmospheric evolution and space physics. The increased recognition of the importance of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in a wide range of human activity has created a demand for atmospheric scientist, oceanographers, and space scientists with a broad knowledge of the many processes that take place in the earth-ocean-atmosphere system, ranging from sea floor to the altitude orbiting satellites. This knowledge is necessary to understand and manage weather and climate changes caused by natural and anthropogenic modifications of our environment.

The subdisciplines treated within AOSS cover a wide range of activities and interests. The atmospheric scientist is concerned with solving problems related to forecasting, air pollution, industrial plant locations and processes, the design of structures and the wind loading of them. Many important decisions on transportation, whether by land, water, or air, depend critically on meteorological factors. The oceanographer is concerned with solving problems relating to water supply and control, water pollution, wave action on structures and beaches, and many other oceanographic and ocean engineering problems. Areas of interest in space science include the construction of satellite platform instruments for observation of the earth-atmosphere-ocean system. The B.S. degree in AOSS will prepare graduates for employment in the National Weather Service, NASA, private weather forecasting companies, air and water quality management firms, and for continued studies in graduate school.

The newest and fastest growing discipline in engineering combines traditional skills in chemical, mechanical, material, computer and nuclear engineering with biology and medicine. Biomedical engineering students at the University of Michigan study biomedical materials, biomechanics, biomedical imaging, rehabilitation engineering, tissue engineering, and biotechnology.

Research areas in biomaterials include the design of orthopedic, dental, cardiovascular and neuro-sensory prostheses, artificial organs, blood-surface interactions, biosensors and implant retrievals. Biomedical imaging includes research and procedures in areas such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radiography, ultrasound, and optics. All students in this discipline are well prepared for industry and government work as well as medical school or other graduate programs.

Chemical Engineering, of all branches of engineering, is the one most strongly and broadly based upon physical and life sciences. The Directors of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers have defined it as "the profession in which a knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, and other natural sciences gained by study, experience, and practice is applied with judgment to develop economical ways of using materials and energy for the benefit of mankind." Because of a broad and fundamental education, the chemical engineer can contribute to society in many functions, such as pure research, development, environmental protection, process design, plant operation, marketing, sales, and corporate or government administration. The work of the chemical engineer encompasses many industries, from the manufacture of chemicals, foods, and consumer products and the refining of petroleum, to biotechnology, nuclear energy, and space technology. Because of this breadth, there are many special fields in which chemical engineers may concentrate.

Major topics within chemical engineering include cellular bioengineering, reaction engineering, separations, simulation and mathematical modeling, catalysis, polymers, colloids and interfaces, fluid mechanics, materials processing, process control, sensing, microelectronic materials, electrochemical engineering, statistical thermodynamics, sequencing on a chip, gene therapy, metalloprotein drug design, bioinformatics, green chemistry and computational engineering.

Civil and environmental engineering encompasses environmental chemistry and microbiology, cost engineering, environmental and water resources engineering, construction engineering and management, earthquake-resistant design of structures, and geotechnical engineering. Civil engineers design, plan, and construct the buildings in which we live and work; the roads, highways, and bridges upon which we travel; the transit and transportation systems we use and much more.

Geotechnical Engineering deals with the application of engineering science and civil engineering technology to problems related to construction on the ground. The University of Michigan maintains a vigorous program of teaching and research on the static and dynamic behavior of soils, soil-structure interactions, and physico-chemical behavior of soils. The geotechnical engineering program at Michigan--which includes both soil mechanics and soil dynamics--has received international recognition and acclaim. Many graduates of the program hold prominent positions in professional practice, research, and teaching.

The Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program at The University of Michigan is one of the most highly rated Environmental Engineering graduate programs in the U.S. The program offers a broad-based curriculum with opportunities for concentrated study in environmental chemistry, environmental fluid mechanics, hazardous substance treatment and control, subsurface fate and transport, pollution microbiology, resource development and management, and water quality engineering. A perspective that stresses the integration of concepts from all of these areas of expertise provides graduates with excellent preparation for positions in professional practice, research, academics, or further educational pursuits.

Electrical Engineering (EE)

Electrical engineering is a dynamic and progressive branch of the engineering profession, which has pioneered the development of the modern science-oriented engineering curriculum. The electrical engineering program prepares a student to select from a broad range of career possibilities in design, development, manufacturing, sales, administration, and research.

Fundamentally, electrical engineering deals with the controlled application of electricity to the solution of real problems. This includes such things as motors, transistors, integrated circuits, and lasers as well as larger physical systems for which these are components: electrical power generating and distribution systems, communication networks, and computers. It is also concerned with the flow of electricity in the human body and with the transmission of signals between planets and satellites. Whether in the design and construction of systems to televise pictures from the planets or to insure the reliable completion of a phone call to a next-door neighbor, whether to map the geography and the resources of the earth from a satellite or to display harmlessly the internal anatomy of a living being for medical diagnosis, electrical engineering is intimately involved with almost every realm of human endeavor. Typical undergraduate work involves the study of sensors and integrated circuitry, software systems, artificial intelligence, hardware systems, solid-state electronics and optics, and communications, control and signal process. The EECS department is currently the largest engineering department at the University of Michigan.

Computer Engineering (CE)/Computer Science (CS)

Both CE and CS majors take a common set of coursework in mathematics, computer programming, and computer architecture. The difference often lies more in what you choose for your non computer technical electives and other college-wide requirements as they differ between Engineering (for CE) and Literature, Science and the Arts (LS&A) (CS). If your main interest is programming or the Internet, either degree program can satisfy maximum exposure to the courses and computing environment you need. Students who often choose Computer Engineering base their decision on the following reasons: Interest in a double major with some other degree program in engineering; undecided between computers and some other degree program in engineering; particular interest in very large-scale integrating (VLSI) design aspects of computers. This area of specialization requires more in-depth knowledge of electrical circuit theory.

Step into the future where rapid development of science and technology is creating a demand for applied physicists with a strong, general background in both physics and engineering. Physics deals with the laws of nature and matter. Engineering Physics is the application of this knowledge to the development of technologies.

The College of Engineering also has an interdisciplinary professional program, which offers students the opportunity to build expertise in a broad range of emerging and expanding fields by working with faculty and advisors to develop a personalized program with courses from several departments.

Study in the Industrial and Operations Engineering Department focused on facility design and ergonomics, stochastic processes, linear and nonlinear optimization, operations research, production and manufacturing systems analysis, financial engineering and enterprise systems. Industrial Engineering has been traditionally concerned with the analysis, design and control of materials, work and information in operating systems.

A distinguishing focus has been the integration of humans, machines, and materials to achieve optimum performance of operating systems. Methods of operations research and ergonomics provide the fundamental tools for performing this analysis and integration. More recently the field has expanded to include non-industrial operations involving supply, distribution, transportation, handling, medical care and safety. The design and control of these systems requires the use of scientific methods in a variety of research and application areas.

Graduate education in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering provides an important complement to our strong undergraduate program. National polls have consistently ranked the department's graduate program among the best in the United States. The student body in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering is highly international in character, including students from Canada, Mexico and many countries in Asia, Europe and South America.

New technologies developed through engineering and science will continue to make startling changes in our lives in the 21st century, and people in materials science and engineering will continue to be key in these changes and advances. These engineers deal with the science and technology of producing materials that have properties and shapes suitable for practical use. The materials engineer fundamentally studies the stuff other things are made of: from tin, copper, steel, and glass to polymers, semiconductors, superconductors, alloys, ceramics, and biomaterials. The activities of these engineers range from primary materials production, including recycling, through the design and development of new materials to the reliable and economical processing/manufacturing for the final product. Such activities are found commonly in industries such as aerospace, transportation, electronics, energy conversion, and biomedical systems.

While much attention is being focused on developing metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites with improved properties, the ability to actually engineer, or create, materials to meet specific needs is just now being realized. This engineering can be carried out at the atomic level through the millions of possible combinations of elements. It can also be done on a larger scale to take advantage of unique composite properties that result from microscopic-scale combinations of metals, ceramics and polymers, such as in fiber reinforcement to make a graphite fishing rod or, on a slightly larger scale, for steel-belted radial tires. Finally, it can be practiced on an even larger scale with bridges, buildings, and appliances.

Mechanical engineering is the branch of engineering that serves society through the analysis, design and manufacture of systems, at all size-scales that convert a source of energy to useful mechanical work. Encompasses design and manufacturing, dynamics, controls, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), mechanics of materials, thermal and fluid sciences, automotive engineering, and biomechanics. The scope of mechanical engineering includes all aspects of the mechanics of equipment and processes used in this rapidly developing technical era. Mechanical engineers play a major role in the national space program, in energy utilization and conservation, in the transportation and automotive fields, and in the fields of automation, in manufacturing and biomechanical systems, fluid machinery, production and processing machinery including the petroleum and chemical fields, and consumer goods and appliances. Mechanical engineers have responsibility for research, design, development, testing, control, and manufacture in these diverse fields. Many mechanical engineering graduates assume positions of management, while others prefer a career along technical lines.

Because a mechanical engineer might work in any one of these fields, the academic program has been planned to offer a challenging and basic education. It is designed to provide knowledge of the basic physical sciences, and to encourage the development of ingenuity for the purpose of creating well-engineered solutions to technological problems. A basic science program in physics, chemistry, and mathematics; an engineering science program in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, solid mechanics, dynamics, materials, and electronics integrated with laboratory experiences in measurement; and studies in design and manufacturing will prepare the student equally well for any of the fields of application.

The study of fixed and moving structures in a marine environment, from drilling platforms to racing yachts and submarines, and how water and waves interact with them. Focuses on marine systems design, remote sensing of ship wakes and sea surfaces, marine hydrodynamics, nonlinear sea keeping analysis, system and structural reliability, design and analysis of offshore structures and vehicles. In addition to traditional naval architecture and marine engineering, instruction is offered in offshore engineering, coastal engineering, and marine environmental engineering. Recent graduates are active in design and research related to offshore oil and gas exploration and production platforms. Others are involved in overcoming water-borne pollution transport in the Great Lakes and the oceans, and coastal erosion predictions, as well as the design of traditional ships, submersibles, high-speed vessels and recreational craft. A number of our alumni have leading roles in the design of America´s Cup racing yachts.

Ship and offshore platform analysis and design require knowledge of hull geometry, vessel arrangements, hydrostatic stability, structures, resistance, propulsion, maneuvering, and sea keeping. Other areas of concern are the economic aspects of design and operation, production, model testing, propulsion and control theory, vibration problems, and piping and electrical system analysis and design.

The undergraduate degree program is arranged to give the student a broad engineering mechanics education by requiring basic courses in the areas of structural mechanics, hydrodynamics, marine power systems, and marine dynamics. These courses cover engineering fundamentals and their application to the design and construction of marine vehicles and systems. Courses in marine structures deal with the design and analysis of marine vehicles and platforms including static strength, fatigue, dynamic response, safety, and production. Resistance, maneuvering, and sea keeping characteristics of bodies in the marine environment are the subject matter for courses in marine hydrodynamics. Marine power systems involve all the mechanical systems on a marine vehicle with particular emphasis on the selection and arrangement of the main propulsion system. In marine dynamics, the student studies the vibrations of marine structures and engines and the rigid body responses of the vessel to wind and waves.

The Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences department encompasses nuclear reactor analysis and design, radiation measurement and imaging, plasma physics and plasma processing, materials and radiation effects, medical applications and health physics, and radioactive waste management.

In the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan we are interested in all of the fields of technological application that have grown out of this hundred year old field. This relatively recent genesis actually makes nuclear engineering and radiological science the youngest of the engineering professions, having achieved all of their technological application in only the last fifty years. Nuclear engineering and radiological sciences are concerned with the technological uses of radioactive materials, these applications include the extraction of useful energy from the nucleus of the atom, the manufacture and safe handling of the incredible number of radioactive isotopes that are used in industry and in many hospital diagnostic procedures, the modification of material properties for practical purposes, and the development of new instruments and scanners to detect and image radiation. Together all of these applications support an industry, which contributes roughly 4.1 million jobs and $300 billion dollars each year to the United States economy alone.