Message from the Chair

On behalf of the faculty, staff, and your future fellow students, I’d like to welcome you to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kentucky.

Our ABET accredited department offers an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, along with M.S. and Ph.D. programs. We have about 600 undergraduate students and about 100 graduate students. We have four areas of emphasis in the department – Mechanics, Systems & Design, Thermal-Fluid Sciences, and Manufacturing.  The department also provides a B.S. degree through the extended campus program at Paducah in Western Kentucky, as well as a joint program with Western Kentucky University.

Why study Mechanical Engineering?

Mechanical Engineering is the broadest of all engineering disciplines, focusing on the application of fundamental principles of physics to a wide variety of machines and devices, including motion, vibration and noise, heat transfer, fluid flow, electronic controls, wear, and manufacturing processes, to name a few.  In each of these, mechanical engineers play a central role in designing and manufacturing.

With such a wide range of work necessary to bring machines and processes into practice, it is no wonder that the popularity of Mechanical Engineering has grown significantly over the past few years.

Why study Mechanical Engineering at UK?

Many exciting, faculty-driven programs await those who study here at the graduate and undergraduate levels, including:

• The Kentucky Space Grant Consortium is building a statewide infrastructure promoting national research competitiveness.  Kentucky NASA EPSCoR develops research capability in space-related science and technology, including contributions to economic development and the quality of life on earth, as well as building nationally competitive R&D enterprises for the future of the Commonwealth.

• The Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing Group has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a common standard to measure and evaluate the sustainability of manufacturing processes and products.

• The IR4TD is a newly created research institute dedicated to excellence in engineering research and providing a unique education based on IR4TD-Hitozukuri principles. The aims of IR4TD are solving industry’s technical problems by developing a win-win working relationship with company’s engineers and to create an enhanced learning process.

Our graduate and undergraduate student-lead projects include:

• The Weightless Wildcats is a group of engineering students with the objective to conduct experiments in the microgravity (zero-G) environment of NASA’s KC-135A aircraft as part of NASA’s Student Flight Opportunities Program.

• The Solar Car Team races Gato del Sol on the power of solar energy, and uses over 2000 GaAs Space-Grade Triple-Junction Emcore solar cells to power the Fiberglass//Nomex (honeycomb structured) shell.  Parts are made of carbon fiber instead of fiberglass. This provides structural strength, while being very light.

• The Solar House is UK’s entry into the Solar Decathlon competed against student engineering teams from around the world.  The solar-powered house was built by students and then transported to the National Mall in Washington D.C.  It demonstrated that homes powered entirely by the sun do not have to sacrifice the modern comforts and appealing features of today’s homes.

Each faculty member has an individual web page, and you are invited to review these, along with specific pages for research programs and centers to learn more about the research and development opportunities awaiting students at UK Mechanical Engineering.

I invite you to join us on our exciting mission to expand the horizons of science and technology through advancement of the principles of mechanical engineering!  This mission takes our students to points around the globe, into the atmosphere, and into space.  Won’t you join us?

L. Scott Stephens

Engineering Alumni Association Professor and Chair