The department currently offers the master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in mechanical engineering. The department does not have a language requirement for the Ph.D. degree.The program of courses and research for both the master’s and doctoral degrees is tailored to the background, needs and interests of the individual student.<br><br>Current areas of research include:<br>Smart, active, and soft materials: sensing and actuation, stimuli-responsive shape-programmable matter, artificial muscles, biomimetic and soft robotics<br>Advanced manufacturing and materials processing: 3D printing and bioprinting, laser processing, composite materials and structures, tribology and surface science, micro-nanomanufacturing, Micro-nanoscale transport, energy conversion and storage<br>Theoretical and computational mechanics: micromechanics, multi-scale modeling of material electrical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties, continuum mechanics<br>Experimental mechanics: in situ microscale mechanical testing, plasticity and fatigue of high-strength, light-weight alloys<br>Elasticity, dynamics, and control of structures: fluid-structure interaction, atomic force microscopy<br>Data-driven and nonlinear control, bioinspired sensory integration<br>Advanced multi-phase turbomachinery, Rarefied gas, large fire, and augmented heat transfer, porous media heat and mass transfer<br>Nuclear packaging safety