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>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, Advanced multi-phase turbomachinery<br>Rarefied gas, large fire, and augmented heat transfer, porous media heat and mass transfer<br>Nuclear packaging safety<br>Our program is directed towards preparing motivated students to become professionally competent and capable of independent, self-directed research in one of several sub-disciplines of mechanical engineering, including solid mechanics, materials, structures, advanced manufacturing, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, nuclear and renewable energy, dynamics, robotics, and controls.