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
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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:
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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)
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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.