School of Mechanical Engineering Fact Sheet

Head: Dr. Eckhard Groll, William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering and Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Associate Head for Undergraduate Education: Dr. James D. Jones, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Associate Head for Graduate Education: Dr. Jay Gore, Vincent C. Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Assistant Head for Facilities and Personnel: Dr. Peter Meckl, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Director, Ray W. Herrick Laboratories: Dr. Patricia Davies, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Director, Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories: Dr. Robert Lucht, Ralph and Bettye Bailey Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Student Body Size and Statistics:

Undergraduate:

  • 1,341 undergraduate students enrolled in Fall 2017
  • Ranked #6 best undergraduate program in mechanical engineering (#4 among public universities), U.S. News & World Report
  • 15% of enrolled undergraduate students are female
  • 39% of enrolled undergraduate students are international
  • 98% pass rate on the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
  • 15% of undergraduate students pursue advanced degrees immediately upon graduation
  • 40% of our students participate in a global engineering education experience with international partner institutions
  • $62,838 average starting salary in industry for our undergraduate students
  • ~ $1M in scholarships awards to mechanical engineering undergraduates at Purdue

Graduate:

  • 499 graduate students enrolled in Fall 2017
  • Ranked #8 graduate program in mechanical engineering (#5 among public universities), U.S. News & World Report
  • 40% of graduate students are working toward a Ph.D. degree
  • 63% of enrolled students are international, bringing rich diversity to the program
  • ~ $1M awarded to graduate students as fellowships, and scholarships

Student Organizations:

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
  • OMEGA (Official ME Graduate Association)
  • Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society
  • Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassadors (PMEA)
  • Purdue Society of Automotive Engineers
  • Purdue Solar Racing Group
  • SAE Baja
  • SAE Formula
  • SAE Formula - Electric Vehicle

Faculty and Research Areas in the School:

  • 79 Tenure/Tenure track faculty members
  • 4 Research faculty members
  • 12 faculty members by Courtesy
  • 25 new faculty members in the last 5 years
  • Annual research expenditures exceed $22M
  • Research Areas:
    • Acoustics and Noise Control
    • Bioengineering
    • Computational Engineering
    • Combustion
    • Design
    • Fluid Mechanics and Propulsion
    • Heat Transfer
    • Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
    • Manufacturing and Materials Processing
    • Mechanics and Vibration
    • Nanotechnology
    • Robotics
    • Solid Mechanics
    • Systems Measurement and Control

Research Labs:

  • Ray W. Herrick Laboratories consists of a $30 million LEED-Gold certified building, hosting research in:
    • High Performance Buildings (Thermal Systems, Refrigeration, Indoor Air Quality, Lighting, Building envelope, Building Simulation, Geothermal, Energy Utilization, Controls, Human Comfort)
    • Acoustics, Vibrations & Dynamics (Noise and Vibration Control, Structural Health Monitoring, Structural Modeling, Characterization of the Dynamic & Acoustical Properties of Materials & Material Systems, Multi-body System Dynamics)
    • Electromechanical Systems (Sensing, Diagnosing, Modeling, Controlling: Engines & Powertrains, Electrohydraulics, Energy Systems, Printers, Morphing Structures, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
    • Human Response to Engineered Systems (Perception-based Engineering Design, Effects on People: annoyance, comfort, sleep disturbance, health, human interactions with building systems and controls)
  • Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories is the largest academic propulsion lab in the world. Based on 24 acres by the Purdue Airport, Zucrow Labs hosts research in:
    • Combustion (rockets and rocket fuel)
    • Turbo machinery (jet engines)
    • Aeroacoustics
    • Measurement and control
    • Computational fluid mechanics
    • Particle flow heat transfer
  • Maha Fluid Power Research Center is the largest academic hydraulics lab in the country, providing 15,000 square feet to model and test the performance of hydraulic pumps and motors.
  • Birck Nanotechnology Center houses 186,000 square feet of interdisciplinary research space for nanotechnology, including the largest academic cleanroom in the world.