Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Engineering II, Room 2355;
Telephone (805) 893-2430

Website: www.me.ucsb.edu (will open in a new browser window)

Chair: Eckart Meiburg
Vice Chairs: Francesco Bullo and Kimberly Turner

Contents:

• Faculty
  • Emeriti Faculty
  • Affiliated Faculty
• Overview
  • Mission Statement
  • Educational Objectives for the Undergraduate Program
  • Laboratory Facilities
• Undergraduate Program
  • Bachelor of Science-Mechanical Engineering
  • Research Opportunities
• Graduate Program
  • Master of Science-Mechanical Engineering
  • Doctor of Philosophy-Mechanical Engineering
  • Optional Graduate Degree Emphasis in Computational Science and Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering Courses
  • Lower Division
  • Upper Division
  • Graduate Courses

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Faculty

Karl J. Astrom, Ph.D., Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, Professor (control engineering and education)

Bassam Bamieh, Ph.D., Rice University, Professor (control systems design with applications to fluid flow problems)

Sanjoy Banerjee, Ph.D., University of Waterloo, Professor (transport processes, multiphase systems, process safety) *1

Glenn E. Beltz, Ph.D., Harvard, Associate Professor (solid mechanics, materials, aeronautics, engineering education)

Ted D. Bennett, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Associate Professor (thermal science, laser processing)

David Bothman, B.S., UC San Diego, Lecturer

Francesco Bullo, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Associate Professor (motion planning and coordination, control systems, distributed and adaptive algorithms)

David R. Clarke, Ph.D., University of Cambridge, Professor (electrical ceramics, thermal barrier coatings, piezospectroscopy, mechanics of microelectronics) *3

Vikram Deshpande, Ph.D., University of Cambridge, Associate Professor (mechanics of materials and structures)

Anthony G. Evans, Ph.D., Imperial College, London, Professor, Director of Center for Multifunctional Materials and Structures (thermostructural materials, ultralight structures, multifunctional materials and devices, actuating structures) *3

Frederic Gibou, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Assistant Professor (computational science and engineering) *2

Gary S. Hansen, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Associate Professor (technology management program)

George Homsy, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Professor (hydrodynamic stability, thermal convection, thin film hydrodynamics, flow in microgeometries and in porous media, polymer fluid mechanics)

Keith T. Kedward, Ph.D., University of Wales, Professor (design of composite systems)

Mustafa Khammash, Ph.D., Rice University, Professor (robust analysis and synthesis of control systems and controls in biological systems)

Stephen Laguette, M.S., University of California, Los Angeles, Lecturer (biomedical engineering design)

Carlos Levi, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Professor (materials processing, advanced solidification technologies, fine structures, process modelling, and microstructural analysis) *3

Glenn E. Lucas, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor (mechanical properties of structural materials, environmental effects, structural reliability) *1

Noel C. MacDonald, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Kavli Professor in MEMS Technology (microelectromechanical systems, applied physics, materials, mechanics, nanofabrication) *3

Eric F. Matthys, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Professor (heat transfer, fluid mechanics, rheology)

Stephen R. McLean, Ph.D., University of Washington, Professor (fluid mechanics, physical oceanography, sediment transport)

Robert M. McMeeking, Ph.D., Brown University, Professor (mechanics of materials, fracture mechanics, plasticity, computational mechanics) *3

Eckart Meiburg, Ph.D., University of Karlsruhe, Professor (computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics)

Carl D. Meinhart, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Associate Professor (wall turbulence, microfluidics, flows in complex geometries)

Igor Mezic, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Professor (applied mechanics, non-linear dynamics, fluid mechanics, applied mathematics)

Frederick Milstein, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Professor (materials science and metallurgy) *3

Jeffrey M. Moehlis, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor (nonlinear dynamics, fluid mechanics, biological dynamics, applied mathematics)

G. Robert Odette, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor (structural reliability) *3

Bradley E. Paden, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor (control theory, kinematics, robotics)

Sumita Pennathur, Ph.D., Stanford University, Assistant Professor (application of microfabrication techniques and micro/nanoscale flow phenomena)

Linda R. Petzold, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Professor (numerical differential equations, numerical optimization, mathematical software, parallel computing, scientific computing) *2

Hyongsok Tom Soh, Ph.D., Stanford University, Assistant Professor (micro-electromechanical systems, applications in molecular and cellular biology)

Theofanis G. Theofanous, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Professor, Director of Center for Risk Studies and Safety (nuclear and chemical plant safety, multiphase flow, thermal hydraulics) *1

Kimberly L. Turner, Ph.D., Cornell University, Associate Professor (microelectromechanical systems, namely sensors, actuators; dynamics, solid mechanics, measurement and characterization of microsystems motion and device parameters)

Henry T. Yang, Ph.D., Cornell University, Professor (aerospace structures, structural dynamics and stability, transonic flutter and aeroelasticity, intelligent manufacturing systems)

Walter W. Yuen, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor (thermal science, radiation heat transfer, heat transfer with phase change, combustion)

Emeriti Faculty

John C. Bruch, Jr., Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor Emeritus (applied mathematics, numerical solutions and analysis)

Roy S. Hickman, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor Emeritus (fluid mechanics, physical gas dynamics, computer-aided design)

Frederick A. Leckie, Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor Emeritus (mechanics of materials, engineering design)

Wilbert J. Lick, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Professor (oceanography and limnology, applied mathematics)

Ekkehard P. Marschall, Dr. Ing., Technische Hochschule Hannover, Professor Emeritus (thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, desalination, energy conversion, experimental techniques)

Thomas P. Mitchell, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Professor Emeritus (theoretical and applied mechanics)

Marshall Tulin, M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Emeritus, Ocean Engineering Laboratory Director (hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, turbulence, cavitation phenomena, drag reduction in turbulent flows)

James P. Vanyo, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Professor Emeritus (rotating nonrigid bodies, fluid dynamics)

*1 Joint appointment with the Department of Chemical Engineering.

*2 Joint appointment with the Department of Computer Science.

*3 Joint appointment with the Department of Materials.

Affiliated Faculty

Hector Ceniceros (Mathematics Department)

Patricia Holden (Bren School of Environmental Science and Management)

Arturo Keller (Bren School of Environmental Science and Management)

Gary Leal (Chemical Engineering Department)

Sally MacIntyre (Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology Department)

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The undergraduate program in mechanical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. We offer a balanced curriculum of theory and application, involving: preparation in basic science, math, computing and writing; a comprehensive set of engineering science and laboratory courses; and a series of engineering design courses starting in the freshman year and concluding with a three course sequence in the senior year. Our students gain hands-on expertise with state-of-the art tools of computational design, analysis, and manufacturing that are increasingly used in industry, government, and academic institutions. In addition, the Department has an 18-unit elective track program that allows students to gain depth in areas listed below, while maintaining appropriate breadth in the basic stem areas of the discipline. As part of their elective sequence, many students participate in a widely recognized design project program which emphasizes competitions like our national runner-up human powered submarine and third-place lunar rover teams for 2000. The project program is being expanded to emphasize entrepreneurial product-oriented projects, as well as those carried out in collaboration with industrial partners.

Mission Statement

We offer an education that prepares our students to become leaders of the engineering profession and one which empowers them to engage in a lifetime of learning and achievement.

Educational Objectives for the Undergraduate Program

It is the objective of the Mechanical Engineering Program to produce graduates who:

• Successfully practice in either the traditional or the emerging technologies comprising mechanical engineering;
• Are successful in a range of engineering graduate programs including those in mechanical, environmental and materials engineering;
• Have a solid background in the fundamentals of engineering allowing them to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering examination;
• Are active in professional societies.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is engaged in a very ambitious effort to lead the discipline in new directions that will be critical to the success of 21st century technologies. While maintaining strong ties to stem areas of the discipline, we are developing completely new cross-cutting fields of science and engineering related to topics such as: microscale engineering and microelectrical-micromechanical systems; dynamics and controls and related areas of sensors, actuators and instrumentation; advanced composite materials and smart structures; computation, simulation and information science; advanced energy and transportation systems; and environmental monitoring, modeling and remediation.

Qualified students who wish to pursue advanced engineering education may enroll in the M.S. or Ph.D. programs. The department offers programs leading to the degrees of master of science and doctor of philosophy, with a specialization in any of the following major areas: dynamical systems and controls; environmental and ocean engineering; solid mechanics and structures, thermo-fluid sciences and materials; micro/nanoscale science (including MEMS). The curricula for all of the major areas emphasize education in broad principles and fundamentals. At the same time, programs of study and research are flexible and tailored to accommodate the individual needs and interests of the students. Interdisciplinary approaches are stressed, and students are encouraged to cross over traditional boundaries into other departments.

The M.S. program is intended to extend and broaden the undergraduate background and equip practicing engineers with state-of-the-art knowledge in their field. The degree may be terminal or obtained on the way to the Ph.D. The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students for careers in research and/or teaching in their area of specialization.

Mechanical engineering graduates at all levels are highly sought after by the automotive, aircraft, marine, defense, electronics, and materials manufacturing industries. A major in mechanical engineering may also serve as an appropriate part of the program of studies required for a California community college teaching credential. Students who wish to secure this credential should consult the designated advisor in the Graduate School of Education.

Under the direction of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, academic advising services are jointly provided by advisors in the College of Engineering, as well as advisors in the department. In addition, departmental advisors are assigned to all students in the freshman year. In the junior year an upper-division advisor assists the students in the selection of departmental elective courses and provides counseling to students on a variety of issues related to their academic experience. Individual faculty are also available for help in program planning and professional development. A faculty supervisor and the graduate advisor, in conjunction with a graduate studies committee, directs the program of studies for M.S. and Ph.D. candidates. Undergraduate students enrolled in other majors at UCSB who plan to change to a major in the Department of Mechanical Engineering should obtain counseling from the departmental academic advisor.

Laboratory Facilities

Well-equipped teaching and research laboratories can be used to conduct experimental and computational research in many areas.

Teaching Laboratories

The laboratories listed below are a combination of facilities available permanently and those that are set up as necessary for the work of specific classes.

1. Basic Circuits. This laboratory focuses on basic electrical and electronic circuit design. Experiments give the students practical experience with Kirchhoff’s Laws, phasor analysis, operational amplifiers, and transistor circuits in the context of how these might be used in mechanical systems.

2. Sensors and Actuators. This laboratory introduces students to the basics of interfacing mechanical and electrical systems and mechatronics, including computer control of sensors and actuators. Experiments use transducers and measurements devices, actuators, A/D and D/A conversion, signal conditioning, and filtering.

3. General Mechanical Engineering Laboratory. This intermediate laboratory builds skills centered on the practice, design, and reporting of experimental work. The use of a broad range of sensors for thermoscience, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, materials science and environmental engineering is explored in the design and implementation of laboratory measurements. Reporting of experiments is practiced in formal technical writing.

4. Controls and Dynamics Laboratory. This laboratory emphasizes physical modeling from first principles in the context of experiments. Students learn to implement, commission, and test control systems for real dynamic problems using an integrated approach that includes dynamic analysis and simulation as well as design and implementation of the control strategy.

5. Computer Aided Design Laboratory. The laboratory makes modern computers and engineering software available to students. The lab contains 20 Pentium workstations and 12 UNIX workstations. All computers are networked to the lab’s printers, plotters, and other peripherals. Engineering packages available include ProEngineer, ANSYS, Mechanica, MatLab, Mathematica and several other design and analysis packages. Several analysis and educational packages are also provided. The lab is used in conjunction with the department’s CAD/CAM curriculum, and computers are available to the students for other class work.

6. Computer Aided Manufacturing Laboratory. This laboratory gives students practical experience with modern manufacturing techniques. The major equipment in the lab consists of computer controlled milling machines and a CNC lathe. Students learn to program and operate the tools, and to automatically translate CAD drawings on the PC into finished parts on the machines. Drawing files can be transferred directly from computers in the CAD laboratory to the machine in the shop. Equipment is available for the design and construction of simple controlled tools by the students.

7. Machine Shop. The student machine shop has eight milling machines, six lathes, welding, and sheet metal equipment for student use. The shop is supervised, and instruction on the use of the tools is available. Students are encouraged to use the shop for their own design projects.

Research Laboratories

8. Microscale Thermal Processing Laboratory (Bennett). Research conducted in the Microscale Thermal Processing Lab involves the thermal management of small-scale systems in both fabrication and device operation. The lab research is conducted at the apex where technology and science meet. The goal of the lab is to advance both fundamental understanding and processing technology in thermal science. Some current topics of research include: non-classical behavior of vaporization kinetics in pulsed laser deposition of thin film; developing laser based techniques for fabricating surface nanotexture for tribological enhancement of disk-drive storage media; and studying thermal asperities, which are disturbances in the computer-head readback signal arising from thermal fluctuations in the magnetoresistive element.

9. Materials Reliability and Performance Laboratory (Odette). The theme of the research supported by the MRPL is to assess and improve the ability of materials to sustain long-term, high-performance operation in hostile environments, often associated with advanced aerospace and energy systems. Complemented by other on- and off-campus facilities and an extensive network of national and international collaborating institutions, the MRPL provides the capability to expose materials to conditions involving various combinations of high stress and temperature, chemically reactive gases and fluids and high-energy radiation fields. The durability of the materials under these challenging conditions, as well as routes to achieving better performance, are assessed by combining microstructural characterization down to the atomic scale, with specialized tools that relate the substructure to materials failure processes. Characterization tools accessible through the MRPL include radiation scattering (neutrons, electrons and x-rays) electron microscopy; positron annihilation and tomographic atom probe techniques. The MRPL also provides unique capabilities for in situ observation of deformation and fracture of damaged materials, including tomographic image reconstruction methods. The MRPL has pioneered automated testing as well as advanced methods for extracting mechanical property information from small to microscale volumes of material, including biopsies from operating structures.

10. Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (Meiburg). Research in the CFD Laboratory focuses on large-scale simulations of complex flow-fields and related nonlinear dynamical systems, as well as on computationally intensive hydrodynamic stability problems. A 20-processor SGI Origin computer represents the main computational resource. In addition, a range of UNIX and LINUX workstations are available for pre- and post-processing purposes.

11. Microfluidics Laboratory (Meinhart). In the Microfluidics Laboratory research is conducted in two primary areas: development of BioMEMS and the investigation of fluid mechanics at the microscale. In the BioMEMS area, the research group is teaming with groups in ECE and ThauMDx (a local biotechnology company) to develop a fully integrated laser-based immunoassay and molecular diagnostic sensor. In the microfluidics lab, fluid flow in devices with length scales of order one to one hundred microns is studied. Interests include developing micron resolution particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV), micro-mixing devices and protocols, particle manipulation using dielectrophoresis (DEP) and optical tweezers, and analysis of boundary conditions at the microscale.

12. Thermal-Fluid Sciences and Rheology Laboratory (Matthys). The work conducted in this laboratory focuses on fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and materials issues. Excellent experimental facilities are available. Non-Newtonian fluids such as polymer and surfactant solutions are investigated. Studies range from fundamental rheological investigations of molecular assembly dynamics to the practical development of new energy conservation technologies based on friction-reducing additives. Other areas of work include fluid mechanics and materials issues in biology applications; and transport phenomena in materials processing involving melting and solidification.

13. Mechanical Testing Laboratory (Odette). The MTL is a state of the art facility for characterization of the properties of advanced materials and structures, including composites, ceramics and alloys for aerospace and energy applications, biomaterials, smart materials systems, electronic packaging and microscale structures. An array of computer controlled mechanical testing devices and associated instrumentation and data acquisition systems forms the core of the facility. The focus of the MTL is on studies of deformation, fracture and fatigue, with the capability to simulate complex loading conditions in controlled environments over a wide range of temperatures, from cryogenic to 2000C. Unique capabilities for in situ observations of deformation and fracture have also been developed, as well as some specialized facilities for materials processing and fabrication and studies of high loading rate fracture. Research in the MTL is supported by a large number of other experimental and computational laboratories housed in other College departments and centers. The MTL is used by a large number of researchers from a number of UCSB departments.

14. Structural Materials Processing Laboratory (Levi). This multi-user laboratory features an array of state-of-the-art equipment for producing alloys, ceramics, intermetallics and composites in bulk, coating or thin film forms, and for studying the influence of process variables on materials structure and performance. Specialized facilities include a dedicated unit for the synthesis of thermal barrier coatings by electron beam physical vapor deposition, a multi-source e-beam evaporator for deposition of alloys and multi-layer coatings and thin films; equipment for manufacturing advanced, porous-matrix continuous-fiber ceramic composites; squeeze casting; tape casting of ceramics and rapid solidification processing. In addition, the laboratory has facilities for alloy preparation under controlled environments, for powder processing and densification under high temperature/high pressure, furnaces for heat treatments and cyclic oxidation testing, and equipment for characterization of microstructure and properties.

15. Ocean Engineering Laboratory (McLean). The focus of research in the OEL is hydrodynamics and sediment transport. The laboratory is located near the campus in the Engineering Research Centers building. It features a large wind/wave tank, 55 m long, 4.5 m wide and 2.5 m deep. Wind speeds up to 13 m/s can be achieved with a height of approximately 1.5 m above the water surface. In addition to wind waves, two- or three-dimensional waves can also be generated mechanically with a plunging type wavemaker. Sediment transport experiments are conducted in a large tilting, recirculating flume, 22 m long, 0.9 m wide and 0.9 m deep. This facility is equipped with acoustic Doppler and backscatter equipment to monitor fluid velocity, sediment concentration and bed elevation.

16. Microsystems Characterization Laboratory (Turner). The Microsystems Characterization Laboratory consists of cutting edge tools necessary for the fields of MEMS and Nanosystems. The primary function is to accurately measure the quasi-static and dynamic motion of MEMS and nano-systems. It consists of a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) based measurement system, capable of measuring the motion of MEMS devices from 0-1.5 MHz, with a displacement resolution of <10nm. Devices can be tested either using electrical probes or in packages. The suite is controlled by LabView. Additionally, there is a wafer probe station and an Olympus Provis optical microscope for research use. Windows NT workstations are available for doing MEMS modeling and fabrication as well.

17. Center for Risk Studies and Safety (Theofanous). Research in this lab focuses on turbulence and transport phenomena in multiphase systems, with particular reference to processes that are significant to environmental concerns, such as chemical and nuclear plant safety and waste management technologies. These experiments typically involve intense multiphase interactions under highly transient and rarely experienced settings. The primary experiments include: two hydrodynamic shock tubes for steam explosion research, apparatus for mixing hot particle clouds with coolants, an experiment to study natural convection at high Raleigh numbers, apparatus to study the critical heat flux in large-scale inverted geometry systems, and an experiment for the study of low gravity boiling and the effect of surfactants on critical heat flux. Instrumentation in the lab includes an infrared high-speed camera, a flash x-ray for quantitative radiography, high speed video and film cameras and high temperature melt-handling facilities. This work also involves large-scale numerical simulations, which are integrated toward achieving a significant practical contribution. Multi-scale numerical modeling is undertaken from the lattice Boltzman methods, to direct numerical simulations, to large-scale multifield models.

18. Fluid Mechanics and Stability Laboratory (Homsy). Research in this laboratory is devoted to the combined computational, analytical, and experimental study of fluid mechanics and thermal convection, with particular emphasis on hydrodynamic instabilities. Our computational resources include several high-end PC, Apple and DECAlpha workstations, with a full complement of software for scientific computing. Experimental facilities include laser-based flow visualization for LIF, PIV, and other velocimetries, digital imaging and analysis, and a wide variety of general laboratory equipment for study of fluid flows under various circumstances.

19. MEMS/NEMS Processing Laboratory (MacDonald, Turner, Soh). The MicroElectroMechanical Systems/NanoElectroMechanical Systems Processing Laboratory (MEMS/NEMS processing laboratory) is a semiconductor-processing laboratory for making MEMS/NEMS sensors, actuators, micro-instruments and ‘biochips’. The emphasis is single crystal, silicon processing on 8” diameter silicon wafers, and materials integration of compound semiconductors, ceramics, metals and polymers on silicon. The laboratory processing equipment includes an Applied Materials Centura Platform with three independent reactive-ion-etch (RIE) chambers with a common 8” wafer-handler. One chamber is dedicated to RIE etching of silicon; the second chamber is a RIE silicon dioxide etcher; and the third RIE etcher is for high-aspect-ratio etching of nm-scale features in silicon. The wafers are loaded and sequenced by computer-controlled wafer handlers. Additional 8” silicon processing tools include Optical Lithography (130 nm, MFS) and a three tube oxidation furnace: one standard oxidation tube (~1 Micrometer SiO2 thickness) and one tube for growing thick, ~15 micrometers thick silicon dioxide layers and the third tube for CVD processing. Support processes include optical lithography processing, wafer bonding and wet processing of 8” silicon wafers. A suite of characterization tools include time-resolved field emission electron microscopy, a computer-controlled laser vibrometer and optical microscope on a robotic arm for measuring real time MEMS/NEMS velocity and nm-scale displacements, an Atomic Force Microscope, and capacitance and conductance/voltage instruments. Additional tools to store and process Bio samples will be added for Bio-related MEMS/NEMS research. The new MEMS/NEMS laboratory complements and extends the tools and processes available at the UCSB NSF/NUNN laboratory that is located in the same building.

20. Computational Materials Facilities (Beltz, Gibou, McMeeking, Milstein). A network of workstations within the Department and College as well as high-speed access to major national computing facilities supports the rapidly growing area of computational materials. Computational Materials research in Mechanical Engineering employs a variety of advanced simulation techniques such as finite element methods, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo and large scale differential equation solvers. The College-wide Computational Science and Engineering Program also supports these activities.

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Undergraduate Program

Bachelor of Science — Mechanical Engineering

Note: Schedules should be planned to meet both General Education and major requirements. Detailed descriptions of these requirements are presented in the College of Engineering Announcement and General Education booklet.

Preparation for the major

The following 106 units of lower-division courses are required: Engineering 3; Mechanical Engineering 6, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17; Chemistry 1A-B, 1AL-BL; Mathematics 3A-B-C, 5A-B-C; Physics 1, 2, 3, 4, and 3L, 4L; Writing 2E, 50E; and the College of Engineering General Education requirements.

Students who are not Mechanical Engineering majors will generally be permitted to take lower division mechanical engineering courses, subject to meeting prerequisites and grade-point average requirements, availability of space, and consent of the instructor.

Upper-division major

The following 79 units are required: Materials 101; Mechanical Engineering 104, 105, 140A, 151A-B-C, 152A-B, 153, 154, 155A, 156A-B, 163, 189A-B-C, and 15 units of departmental electives and 13 units of general education or free electives. Requirements total 185 units.

The mechanical engineering elective courses allow students to acquire more in-depth knowledge in one of several areas of specialization, such as those related to: the environment; design and manufacturing; thermal and fluid sciences; structures, mechanics, and materials; and dynamics and controls. A student’s specific elective course selection is subject to the approval of the department advisor.

Courses required for the pre-major or major, inside or outside of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, cannot be taken for the passed/not passed grading option. They must be taken for letter grades.

Research Opportunities

Upper-division undergraduates have opportunities to work in a research environment with faculty members who are conducting current research in the various fields of mechanical engineering. Students interested in pursuing undergraduate research projects should contact individual faculty members in the department.

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Graduate Program

In addition to departmental requirements, program applicants and candidates for graduate degrees must fulfill University requirements described in the section "Graduate Education at UCSB."

Specific details about departmental degree requirements are found in the departmental graduate guide which students receive upon admission. Departmental requirements stated in the guide are in addition to the minimum requirements stated below and in the section "Graduate Education at UCSB."

Master of Science -- Mechanical Engineering

Admission

In addition to Graduate Division requirements for admission to graduate status, the department requires a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution. Applicants with undergraduate preparation that is deemed inadequate may be required to take additional courses.

Degree Requirements

Students must choose a major field from among six stem areas presently offered by the department:

• Computational science and engineering
• Dynamic systems, controls, and robotics
• Environmental and ocean engineering
• Microscale/nanoscale science (including MEMS)
• Solid mechanics, structures and materials
• Thermofluid sciences

Significant flexibility exists in the requirements for each of these stem areas, and students are encouraged to gain expertise in modern cross cutting fields such as: manufacturing; reliability engineering; microscale systems; design; aerostructures; composite technology; energy and transportation; environmental sensing; integrated sensors, actuators and control systems; computational simulation and others.

Two plans of study are offered, each requiring successful completion of 42 quarter-units of credit. Plan 1 is a combination of coursework and research, culminating in the preparation of a thesis; Plan 2 involves coursework and the completion of a written project.

Plan 1 (thesis). The department requires 42 units with thesis: 18 units of approved coursework for letter grade in the major field, 9 units of approved elective courses for letter grade in science and engineering, 3 units of graduate seminar, 12 units of ME 598, and completion of a thesis. No more than 9 units may be at the 100 level.

Plan 2 (research project). The department requires 42 units without thesis: 18 units of approved coursework for letter grade in the major field, 18 units of approved elective courses for letter grade in science and engineering, 3 units of graduate seminar, and completion of a 3 unit project dealing with a topic in the major field. No more than 12 units may be at the 100 level.

Doctor of Philosophy -- Mechanical Engineering

The emphasis in the Ph.D. program is on the ability to correlate knowledge in the pursuit of original research.

Admission

Applicants to the Ph.D. program must meet Graduate Division requirements for admission.

Degree Requirements

During the first year of study students are required to develop a formal study plan which must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor and the department graduate advisor. In this plan, students select a major area of study from among the five fields offered by the department (see Master’s Requirements for a listing of these areas). Significant flexibility exists in the requirements for each of these stem areas, and students are encouraged to gain expertise in modern cross cutting fields such as: manufacturing; reliability engineering; microscale systems; design; aerostructures; composite technology; energy and transportation; environmental sensing; integrated sensors, actuators and control systems; computational simulation and others. All students in the Ph.D. program are required to pass a departmental oral screening exam. Students must take this examination within 15 months of being admitted to the Ph.D. program or within 6 months of entering with a Master’s degree. Normally, a student without a Master’s degree will have taken 15 units of approved graduate coursework prior to the screening examination. In the oral screening examination, students will be tested in their major area, as well as questioned in broader areas of mechanical engineering.

After passing the oral screening exam, students select a Ph.D. dissertation committee with the approval of their advisor. As part of the Ph.D. qualifying examination, each student must present a dissertation proposal to the Ph.D. committee for approval. Upon successful completion of this examination, students advance to candidacy.

Candidates must complete a dissertation and pass a thesis defense consisting of presenting a seminar talk and answering questions posed by the dissertation committee.

In addition to these requirements, Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of 39 quarter units of coursework: 18 units in key courses in the major field; 9 units in approved Mechanical engineering courses; 9 units for letter grade in approved science and engineering, 3 units of graduate seminar. Normally 27 units of credit is given to students who enter with an approved M.S. degree. The department requires that students maintain a minimum grade-point-average of 3.5.

Optional Graduate Degree Emphasis in Computational Science and Engineering

The Departments of Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Earth Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mathematics, and Mechanical Engineering offer an interdisciplinary master’s and Ph.D. degree emphasis in computational science and engineering (CSE).

CSE is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary area with connections to the sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. Computer models and simulations have become an important part of the research repertoire, supplementing (and in some cases replacing) experimentation. Going from application area to computational results requires domain expertise, mathematical modeling, numerical analysis, algorithm development, software implementation, program execution, analysis, validation, and visualization of results. CSE addresses these issues.

Although CSE includes elements from computer science, applied mathematics, engineering and science, it focuses on the integration of knowledge and methodologies from all of these disciplines and, as such, is a subject distinct from any of them. All students pursuing an emphasis in CSE must complete the following:

• Numerical Methods: Mechanical Engineering 210A-B-C-D (students must take at least three).
• Parallel Computing: Computer Science 240A-B (students must take at least one).
• Applied Mathematics: Students must take either the Math 214A-B or Math 215A-B sequence (run concurrently with Math119A-B and Math124A-B respectively), or the Mechanical Engineering 244A-B sequence.
• Credit will not be given for more than one of these sequences. Advanced courses may be substituted, with approval, as follows: Math 243 instead of Math 214, and Math 246 instead of Math 215.

The specific requirements for the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (thesis option only) with the CSE emphasis are as follows:

• The completion of the above requirements for an M.S. in mechanical engineering.
• A masters’ thesis in CSE.

The thesis must be written under the supervision of a CSE ladder faculty member. The thesis committee must include a minimum of three permanent ladder faculty members, at least two from Mechanical Engineering and one from CSE (may be CSE faculty member from another department).

Students pursuing a Ph.D. with an emphasis in CSE must:

• Complete the above requirements for a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.
• Write and defend a dissertation in CSE.
• The student’s dissertation must be written under the supervision of a Mechanical Engineering CSE ladder faculty member. The doctoral examination committee must include at least one CSE ladder faculty member and at least one ladder faculty member from another department.

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Mechanical Engineering Courses

Lower Division

6. Basic Electrical and Electronic Circuits

(3) Khammash, MacDonald, Soh

Prerequisites: Physics 3-3L; Mathematics 3C; open to ME majors only.

Not open for credit to students who have completed ECE 2A or 2B, or ECE 6A or 6B.

Introduction to basic electrical circuits and electronics. Includes Kirchhoff’s laws, phasor analysis, circuit elements, operational amplifiers, and transistor circuits.

10. Engineering Graphics: Sketching, CAD, and Conceptual Design

(4) Laguette, hare

Prerequisite: ME majors only.

Introduction to engineering graphics, CAD, and freehand sketching. Develop CAD proficiency using advanced 3-D software. Graphical presentation of design: views, sections, dimensioning, and tolerancing.

11. Introductory Concepts in Mechanical Engineering

(1) Bothman, Fields, Evans, Bruch, Beltz

Prerequisite: lower-division standing.

The theme question of this course is “What do mechanical engineers do?” Survey of mechanical and environmental engineering applications. Lectures by mechanical engineering faculty and practicing engineers.

12S. Introduction to Machine Shop

(1) Bothman

Prerequisite: ME majors only.

Basic machine shop skills course. Students learn to work safely in a machine shop. Students are introduced to the use of hand tools, the lathe, the milling machine, drill press, saws, and precision measuring tools. Students apply these skills by completing a project.

14. Statics

(4) Milstein, Beltz, turner

Prerequisites: Physics 1 and Mathematics 3B; open to ME majors only.

Free-body principle and Newton’s third law, general force systems, distributed forces, internal forces, numerical and graphical solutions to three-dimensional problems in statics.

15. Strength of Materials

(4) Beltz, Milstein, Kedward, Laguette

Prerequisites: ME 14; open to mechanical engineering majors only.

Hooke’s law and properties of structural materials. Methods of sections and virtual work and energy methods. Design applications to engineering structures, problems of tension, torsion, flexure and combined loading. Design beyond the elastic limit.

16. Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics

(4) Turner, McLean, Bamieh

Prerequisites: Physics 2; ME 14; and, Mathematics 5C; (may be taken concurrently); open to ME majors only.

Not open for credit to students who have completed ME 163A.

Vectorial kinematics of particles in space, orthogonal coordination systems. Relative and constrained motions of particles. Dynamics of particles and systems of particles, equations of motion, energy and momentum methods. Collisions. Planar kinematics and kinetics of rigid bodies. Energy and momentum methods for analyzing rigid body systems. Moving frames and relative motion.

17. Mathematics of Engineering

(3) Moehlis, McLean, Homsy

Prerequisites: Engineering 3; Mathematics 5B (may be taken concurrently); open to ME majors only.

Engineering applications of mathematical methods. Topics include ordinary differential equations, linear algebra, calculus, Fourier analysis, and partial differential equations.

95. Introduction to Mechanical Engineering

(1-4) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 6 units.

Participation in projects in the laboratory or machine shop. Projects may be student- or faculty-originated depending upon student interest and consent of faculty member.

97. Mechanical Engineering Design Projects

(1-4) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for maximum of 12 units, variable hours.

Course offers students opportunity to work on established departmental design projects. P/NP grading, does not satisfy technical elective requirement.

99. Introduction to Research

(1-3) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for maximum of 6 units, variable hours.

Directed study to be arranged with individual faculty members. Course offers exceptional students an opportunity to participate in a research group.

Upper Division

100. Professional Seminar

(1) McMeeking, Milstein, Odette

Prerequisite: undergraduate standing.

May be repeated for up to 3 units. May not be used as a departmental elective.

A series of weekly lectures given by university staff and outside experts in all fields of mechanical and environmental engineering.

104. Sensors, Actuators and Computer Interfacing

(3) Bamieh, Paden

Prerequisites: ME 6; open to ME majors only.

Interfacing of mechanical and electrical systems and mechatronics. Basic introduction to sensors, actuators and computer interfacing and control. Transducers and measurement devices, actuators,
A/D and D/A conversion, signal conditioning and filtering. Practical skills developed in weekly lab exercises.

105. Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

(3) Bennett, Matthys, McLean

Prerequisites: ME 151B, 152B, 163; and, Materials 100B or 101; open to ME majors only.

Introduction to fundamental laboratory measurement techniques and report writing skills. Experiments from thermosciences, fluid mechanics, mechanics, materials science and environmental engineering. Introduction to modern data acquisition and analysis techniques.

106A. Advanced Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

(3) Khammash, Bamieh

Prerequisite: ME 155A.

An advanced lab course with experiments in dynamical systems and feedback control design. Students design, troubleshoot, and perform detailed, multi-session experiments.

106B. Mechanics, Materials and Structures Laboratory

(3) Zok

Prerequisites: ME 15; ME 154; ME 156A; and Materials 100B or 101.

Experiments on mechanical behavior of materials and structures. Assessment of analytical and finite element methods for mechanical design, with applications to optimization of lightweight structures.

110. Aerodynamics and Aeronautical Engineering

(3) Beltz, Meinhart

Prerequisites: ME 14 and 152A.

Concepts from aerodynamics, including lift and drag analysis for airfoils as well as aircraft sizing/scaling issues. Structural mechanics concepts are applied to practical aircraft design. Intended for students considering a career in aeronautical engineering.

112. Energy Conversion

(3) Marschall, Matthys

Prerequisites: ME 151C and ME 152A; or, Chemical Engineering 110B and 120A.

Overview of energy usage and production from prehistory to present times (technical, environmental, and societal issues). Technical analyses of the modern means of energy production (fossil, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, etc.): operating principles, hardware, engineering issues, environmental impact, etc.

114. Water Supply and Pollution Control

(3) McLean

Prerequisite: ME 152A or Chemical Engineering 120A.

Water supply and quality requirements for domestic, industrial, agricultural, and recreational uses. Properties of natural surface and groundwaters. Pollutants in surface and groundwaters. Transport and fates of waterborne pollutants. Water and sewage treatment processes. Waste water reclamation. Water quality management in ground and surface water environments.

119. Introduction to Coastal Engineering

(3) McLean

Prerequisite: ME 152A.

Quantitative description of waves and tides: refraction, shoaling. Nearshore circulation. Sediment characteristics and transport; equilibrium beach profile; shoreline protection.

124. Advanced Topics in Transport Phenomena/Safety

(3) Banerjee

Prerequisites: Chemical Engineering 120A-B-C, or
ME 151A-B and ME 152A.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 124.

Hazard identification and assessments, runaway reactions, emergency relief. Plant accidents and safety issues. Dispersion and consequences of releases.

125AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided letter designation is different, but only 4 units may be applied toward the major.

Individual courses each concentrating on one area in the following subjects: applied mechanics, cad/cam, controls, design, environmental engineering, fluid mechanics, materials science, mechanics of solids and structures, ocean and coastal engineering, robotics, theoretical mechanics,thermal sciences, and recent developments in mechanical engineering.

128. Design of Biomedical Devices

(3) Laguette

Prerequisites: ME 10, 14, 15, 16, and 153; open to ME majors only.

Introductory course addresses the challenges of biomedical device design, protyping and testing, material considerations, regulatory requirements, product documentation, and ethics.

134. Advanced Thermal Science

(3) Matthys, Yuen, Homsy

Prerequisite: ME 151C.

This class will address advanced topics in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. Topics of interest may include combustion, phase change, experimental techniques, materials processing, manufacturing, engines, HVAC, non-Newtonian fluids, etc.

136. Introduction to Multiphase Flows

(3) Theofanous

Prerequisites: Chemical Engineering 120A-B-C; or, ME 151C and 152A.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 136.

Development from basic concepts and techniques of fluid mechanics and heat transfer, to local behavior in multiphase flows. Key multiphase phenomena, related physics. Extension of local conservation principles to usable formulations in multiphase flows. Modelling approaches. Practical examples.

138. Risk Assessment and Management

(3) Theofanous

Prerequisites: ME 151B and 152A, or Chemical Engineering 120A-B-C.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 138.

Conceptual foundations of risk and its utility for decision making. Determinism, statistical inference, and uncertainty. Formulation of safety goals and approaches to risk management. Generalized methodology and tools for assessing risks in the industrial, ecological, and public health context.

140A. Numerical Analysis in Engineering

(3) Homsy, Moehlis, Gibou, Meiburg

Prerequisites: ME 17 or Chemical Engineering 132A; open to ME and Chemical Engineering majors only.

Building upon calculus and computer programming, the course covers basic numerical methods, including linear and nonlinear algebraic equations, interpolation and approximation, ordinary differential equations, numerical integration and differentiation, finite element and perturbation. Weekly assignments involve both pencil-and-paper and computer work.

140B. Theoretical Analysis in Mechanical Engineering

(3) Bruch, Moehlis, Gibou

Prerequisites: ME 140A; open to ME and Chemical Engineering majors only.

Analysis of engineering problems formulated in terms of partial differential equations. Solutions of these mathematical models by means of analytical and numerical methods. Physical interpretation of the results.

141A. Introduction to MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS)

(3) MacDonald, Turner

Prerequisites: ME 104 and 163; or, ECE 130A and 137A; with a minimum grade of C- in both.

Same course as ECE 141A.

Analysis of MEMS actuators and displacement sensors with emphasis on the analysis of capacitor-based sensing and actuation. Analysis and design of operational-amplifier models and circuits for capacitor sensors including feedback concepts. Vibration analysis of MEMS structures including wave equations for ‘string’ and bar structures. MEMS scaling concepts.

141B. MEMS: Semiconductor Processing and Device Characterization with Laboratory

(4) MacDonald, Turner

Prerequisites: ME 141A or ECE 141A; and, Chemistry 1B-BL.

Same course as ECE 141B.

Lectures and laboratory on semiconductor processing for MEMS. Description and analysis of key semiconductor and equipment used for MEMS. Design and fabrication of MEMS capacitor-actuator and accelerometers, includes a description of MEMS characterization tools.

141C. Introduction to Microfluidics and BioMEMS

(3) Meinhart

Prerequisite: ME 141A or ECE 141A; open to ME and EE majors only.

Same course as ECE 141C.

Introduces physical phenomena associated with microscale/nanoscale fluid mechanics, microfluids, and bioMEMS. Analytical methods and numerical simulation tools are used for analysis of microfluids.

151A. Thermosciences 1

(3) Bennett, Homsy, Yuen

Prerequisites: Physics 2; ME 14; and, Mathematics 5C; open to ME majors only.

Basic concepts in thermodynamics, system analysis, energy, thermodynamic laws, and cycles.

151B. Thermosciences 2

(3) Yuen, Bennett

Prerequisites: ME 151A and 152A; open to ME majors only.

Introduction to heat transfer process, steady and unsteady state conduction, multidimensional analysis. Introduction to convective heat transfer.

151C. Thermosciences 3

(3) Homsy, Bennett

Prerequisites: ME 151B and 152B; open to ME majors only.

Convective heat transfer, external and internal flow, forced and free convection, phase change, heat exchangers. Introduction to radiative heat transfer.

152A. Fluid Mechanics

(3) Homsy, Matthys, Meinhart

Prerequisites: Mathematics 5C and ME 16; open to ME majors only.

Introduction to the fundamental concepts in fluid mechanics and basic fluid properties. Basic equations of fluid flow. Dimensional analysis and similitude. Hydrodynamics.

152B. Fluid Mechanics

(3) Meinhart

Prerequisite: ME 152A; open to ME majors only.

Incompressible viscous flow. Boundary-layer theory. Introductory considerations for one-dimensional compressible flow.

153. Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design

(3) Beltz, Turner, Kedward, Laguette

Prerequisites: ME 10 and 16; open to ME majors only.

Design methods. Creative thinking. Introduction to manufacturing processes, design for manufacturing. Project planning and teamwork. Applications of engineering software. Application of engineering principles to practical problem solving. Codes and standards. Engineering ethics.

154. Design and Analysis of Structures

(3) McMeeking, Kedward

Prerequisites: ME 15 and 16; open to ME majors only.

Introductory course in structural analysis and design. The theories of matrix structural analysis and finite element analysis for the solution of analytical and design problems in structures are emphasized. Lecture material includes structural theory compatibility method, slope deflection method, displacement method and virtual work. Topics include applications to bars, beams, trusses, frames, and solids.

155A. Control System Design

(3) Bamieh, Astrom

Prerequisite: ME 17; ME 140A (may be taken concurrently); and ME 163.

The discipline of control and its application. Dynamics and feedback. The mathematical models: transfer functions and state space descriptions. Simple control design (PID). Assessment of a control problem, specification, fundamental limitations, codesign of system and control.

155B. Control System Design

(3) Paden, Bullo

Prerequisite: ME 155A.

Application of analytical methods to control system modeling and design. State-space modeling, controllability and observability. System specification and limitations, loop gain, classical design and the optimal linear quadratic regulator. Sampled-data implementation.

156A. Mechanical Engineering Design I

(3) Lucas, Evans, Beltz, Turner

Prerequisites: ME 151C, 152B, 153 and 154; and, Materials 100B or 101; open to ME majors only.

The rational selection of engineering materials, and the utilization of Ashby-charts, stress, strain, strength and fatigue failure consideration as applied to the design of machine elements. Lectures also support the development of system design concepts using assigned projects and involve the preparation of engineering reports and drawings.

156B. Mechanical Engineering Design II

(3) Kedward

Prerequisites: ME 156A; open to ME majors only.

Machine elements including gears, bearings, and shafts. Joint design and analysis: bolts, rivets, adhesive bonding and welding. Machine dynamics and fatigue. Design for reliability and safety. Codes and standards. Topics covered are applied in practical design projects.

158. Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing

(3) Bothman

Prerequisites: ME 10 and 156A; open to ME majors only.

Engineering applications using advanced 3-D CAD software for plastic part designs and tooling. Topics include an overview of the design for injection molded plastic parts, material selections and electronic tooling design via CAD and CNC system software. Emphasis is put into final design projects that are designed to be functional, manufacturable, and esthetically pleasing.

162. Introduction to Elasticity

(3) McMeeking, Beltz

Prerequisites: ME 15 and 140A.

Equations of equilibrium, compatibility, and boundary conditions. Solutionsof two-dimensional problems in rectangular and polar coordinates. Eigen-solutions for the Wedge and Williams’ solution for cracks. Stress intensity factors. Extension, torsion, and bending. Energy theorems. Introduction to wave propagation in elastic solids.

163. Engineering Mechanics: Vibrations

(3) McMeeking

Prerequisites: ME 16; open to ME majors only.

Not open for credit to students who have completed ME 163B.

Topics relating to vibration in mechanical systems; exact and approximate methods of analysis, matrix methods, generalized coordinates and Lagrange’s equations, applications to systems. Basic feedback systems and controlled dynamic behavior.

166. Advanced Strength of Materials

(3) Turner

Prerequisite: ME 15.

Analysis of statically determinate and indeterminate systems using integration, area moment, and energy methods. Beams on elastic foundations, curved beams, stress concentrations, fatigue, and theories of failure for ductile and brittle materials. Photoelasticity and other experimental techniques are covered, as well as methods of interpreting in-service failures.

167. Structural Analysis

(3) Yang

Prerequisites: ME 15 or 165; and ME 140A.

Presents introductory matrix methods for analysis of structures. Topics include review of matrix algebra and linear equations, basic structural theorems including the principle of superposition and energy theorems, truss bar, beam and plane frame elements, and programming techniques to realize these concepts.

169. Nonlinear Phenomena

(4) Mezic, Khammash

Prerequisites: Physics 105A or ME 163; or upper-division standing in ECE.

Same course as ECE 183 and Physics 106. Not open for credit to students who have completed ME 163C.

An introduction to nonlinear phenomena. Flows and bifurcation in one and two dimensions, chaos, fractals, strange attractors. Applications to physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology.

170A. Introduction to Robotics: Robot Mechanics

(4) Paden, Bullo

Same course as ECE 181A.

Recommended preparation: ME 16.

Overview of robot kinematics and dynamics. Structure and operation of industrial robots. Robot performance: workspace, velocity, precision, payload. Comparative discussion of robot mechanical designs. Actuators. Robot coordinate systems. Kinematics of position. Dynamics of manipulators.

170C. Introduction to Robotics: Robot Control

(4) Paden

Prerequisites: ECE 2A-B-C with a minimum grade of C-; or ME 104.

Same course as ECE 181C.

Overview of robot control technology from open-loop manipulators and sensing systems, to single-joint servovalves and servomotors, to integrated adaptive force and position control using feedback from machine vision and touch sensing systems. Design emphasis on accurate tracking accomplished with minimal algorithm complexity.

173. Control Systems Synthesis

(3) Bamieh

Prerequisite: ME 155A.

Not open for credit to students who have completed ECE 147A.

Pole-placement, observer design, observer-based compensation, frequency and time-domain techniques, internal model principle, linear quadratic regulators, modeling uncertainty in signals and systems, robust stability and performance, synthesis for robustness.

185. Materials in Engineering

(3) Levi, Odette

Prerequisite: Materials 100B or 101.

Same course as Materials 185.

Introduces the student to the main families of materials and the principles behind their development, selection, and behavior. Discusses the generic properties of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites more relevant to structural applications. The relationship of properties to structure and processing is emphasized in every case.

186. Manufacturing and Materials

(3) Levi, Odette

Prerequisites: ME 15 and 151C; and, Materials 100B or 101.

Same course as Materials 186.

Introduction to the fundamentals of common manufacturing processes and their interplay with the structure and properties of materials as they are transformed into products. Emphasis on process understanding and the key physical concepts and basic mathematical relationships involved in each of the processes discussed.

189A-B-C. Capstone Mechanical Engineering Design Project

(2-2-2) Laguette

Prerequisites: ME 153; and ME 156A (may be taken concurrently).

A three-quarter in-progress sequence with grades for all courses issued upon completion of ME 189C. Students may not concurrently enroll in ME 197 and ME 189A-B-C with the same design project.

Students work in teams under the direction of a faculty advisor to tackle an engineering design project. Engineering communication, such as reports and oral presentations are covered. Course emphasizes practical, hands-on experience, and integrates analytical and design skills acquired in the companion ME 156 courses.

193. Internship in Industry

(1) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor and prior departmental approval needed.

Cannot be used as a departmental elective. May be repeated to a maximum of 2 units.

Students obtain credit for a mechanical engineering related internship and/or industrial experience under faculty supervision. A 6-10 page written report is required for credit.

197. Independent Projects in Mechanical Engineering Design

(1-4) Staff

Prerequisites: ME 16; consent of instructor.

May be repeated for a maximum of 12 units, variable hours. No more than 4 units may be used as departmental electives.

Special projects in design engineering. Course offers motivated students opportunity to synthesize academic skills by designing and building new machines.

199. Independent Studies in Mechanical Engineering

(1-5) Staff

Prerequisites: consent of instructor; upper-division standing; completion of two upper-division courses in Mechanical Engineering.

Students must have a minimum of 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters and are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199DC/199RA courses combined. No more than 4 units may be used as departmental electives. May be repeated to 12 units.

Directed individual study.

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Graduate Courses

200. Professional Seminar

(1) McMeeking, Milstein, Odette

Prerequisite: graduate standing.

A series of weekly lectures given by university staff and outside experts in all fields of mechanical and environmental engineering.

200P. Master of Science Project

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: graduate standing.

A ten-week research project on an advanced topic in Mechanical Engineering.

201. Advanced Dynamics

(3) Mezic

Newton’s laws and symmetries, Newton, Laplace and principle of determinism, qualitative analysis of Newton’s equations of motion, Hamiltonian mechanics, one degree of freedom (DOF) systems, two DOF systems, motion in central fields, application to molecular dynamics, control of classical dynamical systems, Lagrangian mechanics, chaos and ergodic theory, rigid body motion.

202. Advanced Dynamics

(3) Mezic

Prerequisite: ME 201; graduate standing.

Differentiable manifolds in dynamical systems theory, differential forms, Hamiltonian phase flow, Lie algebras of vector fields, canonical formalism, integrable systems, introduction to perturbation theory, averaging, chaos in Hamiltonian systems, theory of invariant measures in dynamical systems, ergodic partition, dissipative dynamical systems, limit cycles, Lyapunov exponents, strange attractors.

203. Special Topics in Dynamical Systems

(3) Mezic

Prerequisite: ME 201.

Geometric mechanics, volume-preserving dynamical systems, molecular dynamics; Infinite dimensional dynamics and finite dimensional approximations including incompressible Euler equations and point vortex theory, transport and fluid mixing, control of measure-preserving systems, equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics methods for vortex gases.

207. Faculty Research Seminar

(1) Khammash

A series of bi-weekly presentations given by ladder faculty members to familiarize graduate students with current department research projects. This course is required to be taken by all graduate students within the first year of arrival.

210A. Matrix Analysis and Computation

(4) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Computer Science 211A, ECE 210A, Mathematics 206A, Chemical Engineering 211A, and Geology 251A. Students should be proficient in basic numerical methods, linear algebra, mathematically rigorous proofs, and some programming language.

Graduate level-matrix theory with introduction to matrix computations. SVD’s, pseudoinverses, variational characterization of eigenvalues, perturbation theory, direct and iterative methods for matrix computations.

210B. Numerical Simulation

(4) Petzold

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Computer Science 211B, ECE 210B, Mathematics 206B, and Chemical Engineering 211B and Geology 251B. Students should be proficient in basic numerical methods, linear algebra, mathematically rigorous proofs, and some programming language.

Linear multistep methods and Runge-Kutta methods for ordinary differential equations: stability, order and convergence. Stiffness. Differential algebraic equations. Numerical solution of boundary value problems.

210C. Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations - Finite Difference Methods

(4) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Computer Science 211C, ECE 210C, Mathematics 206C, Chemical Engineering 211C, and Geolgy 251C. Students should be proficient in basic numerical methods, linear algebra, mathematically rigorous proofs, and some programming language.

Finite difference methods for hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptic PDEs, with application to problems in science and engineering. Convergence, consistency, order and stability of finite difference methods. Dissipation and dispersion. Finite volume methods. Software design and adaptivity.

210D. Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations - Finite Element Methods

(4) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Computer Science 211D, ECE 210D, Mathematics 206D, Chemical Engineering 211D, and Geology 251D. Students should be proficient in basic numerical methods, linear algebra, mathematically rigorous proofs, and some programming language.

Weighted residual and finite element methods for the solution of hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptical partial differential equations, with application to problems in science and engineering. Error estimates. Standard and discontinuous Galerkin methods.

212. Risk Assessment and Management

(3) Theofanous

Prerequisites: consent of instructor.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 212

Conceptual foundations of risk and its utility for decision making. Determinism, statistical inference, and uncertainty. Formulation of safety goals and approaches to risk management. Generalized methodology and tools for assessing risks in the industrial, ecological, and public health context.

215A. Applied Dynamical Systems I

(3) Moehlis

Prerequisite: graduate standing.

Phase-plane methods, non-linear oscillators, stability of fixed pints and periodic orbits, invariant manifolds, structural stability, normal form theory, local bifurcations for vector fields and maps, applications from engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology.

215B. Applied Dynamical Systems II

(3) Moehlis

Prerequisites: ME 215A; graduate standing.

Local codimension two bifurcations, global bifurcations, chaos for vector fields and maps, Smale horseshoe, symbolic dynamics, strange attractors, universality, bifyrcation with symmetry, perturbation theory and averaging, Melnikov’s methods, canards, applications from engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology.

216. Level Set Methods

(4) Gibou

Prerequisite: Computer Science 211C, or Chemical Engineering 211C, or ECE 210C, or ME 210C.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 226, ECE 226, and Computer Science 216.

Mathematical description of the level set method and design of the numerical methods used in its implementations (ENO-WENO, Godunov, Lax-Friedrich, etc.). Introduction to the Ghost Fluid Method. Applications in CFD, Materials Sciences, Computer Vision and Computer Graphics.

218. Introduction to Multiphase Flows

(3) Theofanous

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 218.

Development from basic concepts and techniques of fluid mechanics and heat transfer, to local behavior in multiphase flows. Key multiphase phenomena, related physics. Extension of local conservation principles to usable formulations in multiphase flows. Modelling approaches. Practical examples. Computer simulations.

219. Mechanics of Materials

(3) McMeeking

Same course as Materials 207.

Matrices and tensors, stress deformation and flow, compatibility conditions, constitutive equations, field equations and boundary conditions in fluids and solids, applications in solid and fluid mechanics.

220A-B. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics

(3-3) Bennett, Homsy, Meinhart

Prerequisites: ME 151A-B and 152A-B.

Introductory course in fluid mechanics. Basic equations of motion (continuity, momentum, energy, vorticity), coordinate transformations, “potential” flow, thin airfoil theory, conformal mapping, vortex dynamics, boundary layers, stability theory, laminar/turbulent transition, turbulence. Inviscid/viscid, irrotational/rotational, incompressible/compressible flow examples.

221. Advanced Viscous Flow

(3) Homsy

Prerequisite: ME 220A.

Review the Navier-Stokes equations in velocity, pressure, and vorticity variables. Analyze details of important low and moderate Reynolds number flow applications and then high Reynolds number flows with boundary layer phenomena. Compare exact, approximate, numerical, and experimental solution methods.

223. Turbulent Flow

(3) Staff

Prerequisites: ME 220A-B or Chemical Engineering 220A-B.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 221.

Nature and origin of turbulence, boundary layer mechanics law of the wall, wakes, and jets, transport of properties, statistical description of turbulence, measurement problems, stratification effects. Application of principles to practical problems is stressed.

225AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Specialized courses dealing with advanced topics and recent developments in one or more of the following areas: dynamic systems, control and robotics, fluid mechanics, materials science and engineering, ocean engineering, solid mechanics and structures, thermal sciences.

230. Elasticity

(3) Beltz, McMeeking

Prerequisite: ME 219 or Materials 207; consent of instructor.

Same course as Materials 230.

Review of the field equations of elasticity. Energy principles and uniqueness theorems. Elementary problems in one and two dimensions. Stress functions, complex variable methods and three-dimensional potential functions. Fundamental solutions in two and three dimensions. Approximate methods.

232. Plasticity

(3) McMeeking, Milstein

Prerequisite: ME 219.

Same course as Materials 232.

Plastic, creep, and relaxation behavior of solids. Mechanics of inelastically strained bodies; plastic stress-strain laws; flow potentials. Torsion and bending of prismatic bars, expansion of thick shells, plane plastic flow, slip line theory. Variational formulations, approximate methods.

233A. Design of Composite Structures

(3) Kedward

Prerequisite: ME 230 or 275A.

Emphasis is placed on the differences of design with composites vis-à-vis the design of conventional metallic structures. The content is directed at the class of polymer-matrix composites.

234A. Structural Dynamics

(3) Bruch

Formulation of the equations of motion for free and forced response of single and multi-degree of freedom systems and for distributed-parameter systems. Modal analysis. Approximate solution techniques. Numerical algorithms. Damping.

236. Nonlinear Control Systems

(4) Kokotovic, Teel

Same course as ECE 236.

Recommended preparation: ECE 230A.

Analysis and design of nonlinear control systems. Focus on Lyapunov stability theory, with sufficient time devoted to contrasts between linear and nonlinear systems, input-output stability and the describing function method.

237. Nonlinear Control Design

(4) Kokotovic

Prerequisite: ECE 236 or ME 236.

Same course as ECE 237.

Stabilizability by linearization and by geometric methods. State feedback design and input/output linearization. Observability and output feedback design. Singular perturbations and composite control. Backstepping design of robust controllers for systems with uncertain nonlinearities. Adaptive nonlinear control.

239. Conduction Heat Transfer

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: undergraduate course in heat transfer.

Development of mathematical representation of conduction heat transfer and techniques available for analytical, analog, and numerical solutions.

241. Radiative Energy Transfer

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: undergraduate course in heat transfer.

The physical nature of radiation and of its interaction with matter, conservation principles in radiative transfer and their relation to molecular and convective processes, and thermodynamic equilibrium with consideration of nondimensional parameters is considered. Applications to astrophysics, combustion, and plasma technology are discussed.

243A-B. Linear Systems I, II

(4-4) Kokotovic, Bamieh

Prerequisites: ME 210A (for 243A): ECE 140; and, ECE 230A or ME 243A; and ME 210A.

Same courses as ECE 230A-B.

Internal and external descriptions. Solution of state equations. Controllability and observability realizations. Pole assignment, observers; modern compensator design. Disturbance localization and decoupling. Least-squares control. Least-squares estimation; Kalman filters; smoothing. The separation theorem; LQG compensator design. Computational considerations. Selected additional topics.

244A. Advanced Theoretical Methods in Engineering

(4) Fredrickson, Chmelka, Leal

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 230A.

Methods of solution of partial differential equations and boundary value problems. Linear vector and function spaces, generalized Fourier analysis, Sturm-Liouville theory, calculus of variations, and conformal mapping techniques.

244B. Advanced Theoretical Methods in Engineering

(3) Fredrickson

Prerequisites: ME 244A and consent of instructor.

Same course as Chemical Engineering 230B.

Advanced mathematical methods for engineers and scientists. Complex analysis, integral equations and Green’s functions. Asymptotic analysis of integrals and sums. Boundary layer methods and WKB theory.

250. Advanced Thermodynamics

(3) Milstein

Prerequisites: ME 151A-B.

An extended treatment of the fundamentals of classical thermodynamics, including availability and reversibility, the chemical potential, properties of matter, thermochemistry, chemical equilibrium of real gases and gas mixtures.

251. Statistical Thermodynamics

(3) Milstein

Prerequisites: ME 151A-B.

An extended treatment of the fundamentals of statistical thermodynamics, equilibrium distributions, properties of gases, liquids, and solids.

252A. Computational Fluid Dynamics

(3) Meiburg

Prerequisites: ME 210C or Computer Science 211C or ECE 210C or Mathematics 206C or Chemical Engineering 211C.

Numerical simulation of fluid flows. Basic discretization techniques for parabolic, elliptical, and hyperbolic conservation laws. Stability and accuracy. Diffusion equation, linear convection equation.

252B. Computational Fluid Dynamics

(3) Meiburg

Prerequisites: ME 210C or Computer Science 211C or ECE 210C or Mathematics 206C or Chemical Engineering 211C.

Discussion of appropriate boundary conditions. Nonlinear convection dominated problems, curvilinear coordinates, basics of grid generation. Inviscid flow, boundary layer flow, incompressible Navier-Stokes flows.

252C. Computational Fluid Dynamics

(3) Meiburg

Prerequisites: ME 210C or Computer Science 211C or ECE 210C or Mathematics 206C or Chemical Engineering 211C.

Compressible inviscid flows. Compressible viscous flows. Boundary element methods. Lagrangian and vortex methods.

256. Introductory Robust Control with Applications

(4) Smith, Khammash

Prerequisites: ECE 230A or ME 255A; and ECE 230B or ME 243B (may be taken concurrently).

Same course as ECE 232.

Robust Control theory; uncertainty modeling; stability of systems in the presence of norm-bounded perturbations; induced norm performance problems; structured singular value analysis; H-infinity control theory; model reduction; computer simulation based design project involving practical problems.

260A. Materials Structures and Bonding

(3) Milstein

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Crystal structures (Miller indices, Bravais lattices, symmetry operations). Modeling of atomic bonding, determination and applications of interatomic potentials, atomic basis for elastic moduli. Crystal anisotrophy. Lattice statics and molecular dynamics computations.

262. Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria

(3) Odette, Clarke, Zok

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Materials 201.

Advanced thermodynamics with emphasis on phase equilibria, properties of solutions, and multicomponent systems.

264. Mechanical Behavior of Materials

(3) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Materials 220.

Concepts of stress and strain. Deformation of metals, polymers, and ceramics. Elasticity, viscoelasticity, plastic flow, and creep. Linear elastic fracture mechanics. Mechanisms of ductile and brittle fracture.

265. Composite Materials

(3) Odette, Clarke, Zok

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Same course as Materials 261.

Stress and strain relations in composites. Residual stresses. The fracture resistance of organic and inorganic matrix composites. Statistical aspects of fiber failure. Composite laminates and delamination cracks. Cumulative damage concepts. Interface properties. Design criteria.

271. Finite Element Structural Analysis

(3) McMeeking

Prerequisite: ME 219.

Same course as Materials 240.

Definitions and basic element operations. Displacement approach in linear elasticity. Element formulation: direct methods and variational methods. Global analysis procedures: assemblage and solution. Plane stress and plane strain. Solids of revolution and general solids. Isoparametric representation and numerical integration. Computer implementation.

273. Dislocation Mechanics

(3) Beltz

Prerequisite: ME 230; concurrent enrollment in ME 275.

A rigorous review of classical dislocation theory with the intention of understanding its behavior in real materials (as it affects mechanical and electrical properties) as well as how it is used to construct solutions to elastic boundary value problems.

275. Fracture Mechanics

(3) Odette, McMeeking

Prerequisite: ME 219.

Same course as Materials 234.

Analytic solutions of a stationary crack under static loading. Elastic and elastoplastic analysis. The J integral. Energy balance and crack growth. Criteria for crack initiation and growth. Dynamic crack progagation. Fatigue. The micromechanics of fracture.

285. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

(3) McLean

Prerequisite: ME 152A.

The ocean-atmosphere system. Air-sea interaction. Governing equations for rotating system: conservation of mass, momentum and energy. Ocean surface waves: generation, spectral characteristics. Internal waves. Geostrophic motion. Rotating boundary layers: Ekman dynamics. Tides. Kelvin waves.

291A. Physics of Transducers

(3) Soh

Prerequisite: graduate standing.

Recommended preparation: ECE 220A (may be taken concurrently).

The use of concepts in electromagnetic theory and solid state physics to describe capacitive, pierzoresistive, piezoelectric and tunneling transduction mechanisms and analyze their applications in microsystems technology.

292. Design of Transducers

(3) Turner

Prerequisites: ME 291A and ECE 220A; graduate standing.

Design issues associated with microscale transduction. Electrodynamics, linear and nonlinear mechanical behavior, sensing methods, MEMS-specific fabrication design rules, and layout are all covered. Modeling techniques for electromechanical systems are also discussed.

501. Teaching Assistant Practicum

(1-4) Staff

Normally required of students serving as teaching assistants. No unit credit allowed towards advanced degree.

Practical experience in the various activities associated with teaching, including lecturing, supervision of laboratories and discussion sections, preparation and grading of homework and exams.

503. Research Assistant Practicum

(1-4) Staff

Will not count as unit credit towards M.S. or Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering.

Practical experience in the various activities associated with research, including experimental work, theoretical work and analyses, and assisting department faculty and other professional researchers in their duties.

596. Directed Research

(1-12) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Not applicable to course requirement for M.S. and Ph.D. degree. S/U grading.

Experimental or theoretical research undertaken under the direction of a faculty member for graduate students who have not yet advanced to candidacy.

597. Individual Study for Ph.D. Qualifying Examination

(1-12) Staff

Prerequisite: graduate standing.

No unit credit allowed toward advanced degree. Maximum of 12 units per quarter; enrollment limited to 24 units per examination. Instructor is normally student’s major advisor. S/U grading.

Individual studies for Ph.D. qualifying examination.

598. Master’s Thesis Research and Preparation

(1-12) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of thesis advisor.

No unit credit allowed toward advanced degree.

For research underlying the thesis and writing of the thesis.

599. Ph.D. Dissertation Research and Preparation

(1-12) Staff

Prerequisite: consent of dissertation advisor.

No unit credit allowed toward advanced degree.

For research and preparation of the dissertation.