What is Mechanical

Engineering?

• Finding creative solutions to difficult problems!

• Perhaps the broadest of all the engineering disciplines.

• Working with motion, energy, forces, and materials.

• Concerned with analysis, design, manufacture and operation of areas such as:

Energy DefenseEnvironment Health & BioManufacturing Transportation

Mechanical Engineering Is…

SourceL: http://www.discoverengineering.org/Engineers/mech_engineering.asp

• Almost every industry needs mechanical engineers.

• The curriculum is sufficiently broad so students can take various career paths upon graduation.

• You might find the subject both exciting and challenging.

Why Mechanical Engineering?

“Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was.”

-Theodore Von Karman

• Design– Product Design– Machine Design– System Design

• Manufacturing, Process Development & Quality

• Maintenance and Operations• Research and Development• Project Management• Testing• Sales or Technical Sales• Management

What type of jobs do ME’s have?

• Design (Product, Machine and System Design)– Machines that manufacture and package all varieties of products – Rotating equipment - pumps, compressors, blowers,

turbomachinery – Internal combustion engines – Storage tanks, piping systems and pressure vessels - reactors,

heat exchangers, boilers – Sports equipment, consumer goods and products (everything

from golf balls to soda cans to roller coasters)– Material handling equipment - conveyers, robots, production

lines– Vehicles - cars, trucks, heavy equipment, buses, aircraft, ships– Electric power generation equipment– Oil well drilling and extraction equipment– Energy methods – fuel cells, wind power, hydroelectric, nuclear,

geothermal, wind power, biomass, hydrogen, solar

• Analysis– Equipment failures to improve performance and reliability – Heat transfer, vibration, sound

What can Mechanical Engineers do?

• Fabrication– Coordinate fabrication of equipment – Develop improved fabrication techniques and methods

• Testing– Test quality, performance, safety, and reliability of products,

equipment, processes• Research and Development• Sales

– Work as technical salespersons for companies that manufacture various products and equipment

– Work as a general salesperson for companies• Maintenance and Operations

– Keep various plants and processes operating at optimum performance

– Operations supervision and management• Other

– Medical School, Law School, Business School, etc.– Management

What can Mechanical Engineers do?

Mechanical EngineeringMajor Areas of Research

• Acoustics and Dynamics• Automation and Mechatronics• Bioengineering• Computer Aided Design• Fluid Mechanics• Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Heat Transfer, Combustion and Energy Systems

• Manufacturing• Mechanics of Materials• Tribology• Nuclear Engineering

• Automotive & OEM Suppliers• Construction Equipment• Construction Companies • Ship & Railroad Companies• Airplane Manufacturing• Power Generation • Nuclear• Alternative Fuel • Energy • Utility Companies• Oil and Gas Companies• Chemical Companies • Environmental• Pharmaceutical & Health Care• Biomedical • Sports Equipment Mfg.• Computer-Aided Design

What Industries Hire ME’s?• Automation • Robotics• Electronics Industries• Appliance Manufacturers• HVAC & Refrigeration• Toy Manufacturing• Furniture Manufacturing• Paper Industry• Food & Beverage Industry• Telecommunications• Amusement Parks• National Labs• Aeronautical (NASA, etc.)• Government Agencies• Academia (Teaching)• Financial Companies• Consulting Companies

Our 2007-2008 Graduates Are At:

•Automotive:Ford, General Motors, Toyota, BMW, Honda, Elan Motorsports Tech.

•Energy, Oil, Gas:BP, BP Exploration (Alaska), Citgo, Schlumberger, Southern Company, Georgia Power, General Electric, Shell, Suez Energy North America

•Commercial & Consumer Products:Cooper Industries, General Mills, Clorox Company, International Paper, Procter & Gamble, Snap-On, National Instruments, Patterson Pumps

•Construction Equipment:John Deere, Caterpillar, Kubota Tractor Corporation

•Aerospace & DefenseNASA, Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp, Rolls Royce, Northrop Grumman, Harris Corp, NAVSEA/Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Advanced Armament Corp, NAVAIR

•Military:Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army

•BusinessErnst & Young LLP, Bank of America, CarMax, Deloitte and Touche

•Automation and RoboticsInnotec Automation, Rockwell Automation, Advanced Automation, Factory Automation

•Engineering Services & Consulting:Dean Oliver International, McKenney's Mechanical Contractors & Engineers, Patterson & Dewar, Babcock & Wilcox, Jordan & Skala Engineers Inc, O'Brien & Gere, Turner Construction, Slingshot Product Development

•HVACTrane, Underwood Air Systems, Carrier - Division of United Technologies

•Chemicals:Air Products, Air Liquide, Eastman Chemical Company

•Environmental: Enercon Services Inc

Alumni Profile• Shannon• BSME from GT in December, 2007• NAVSEA at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in

Portsmouth, VA

Recent Job Assignments• Spent 3 weeks on the USS Ronald

Reagan installing and modifying their hydraulic systems

• Worked with a ship in Guam about se-curing their crane while it was in repair

• Worked with a ship had an elevator that came out of the tracks and the elevator was stuck a few stories up

Job Description • Works on hydraulics and auxiliary machinery on

aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. • Machinery includes: aircraft elevators, weapons

elevators, catapults, arresting gear, conveyor belts, the anchor windlass, and steering mechanisms.

Alumni Profile• Orion, BSME and BSPHYS • Graduated December, 2007 • College Knowledge: Provides

Tutoring Services to K-12 Students– Started his own company, College

Knowledge, while at Georgia Tech– Won GT’s Ferst Leadership & Entrepreneur Scholarship Award– Activities at Georgia Tech

• Directed 3 movies for Campus Fest• Astronomy Club Treasurer • Worked as a tutor for OMED• Participated in Oxford Study Abroad• Did ME undergraduate research• Worked for GTRI• Involved in ASME• Had summer internship in Canada designing an acoustics tool

for a professor at UGA in the EAS department• President of ORGT (Outdoor Recreation at GT)

Future Plans • Starting his MSME at

Stanford University in Fall 2008

• Plans to study microscopic properties of renewable energy devices like fuel cells and solar cells

Alumni Profile• Josh• Graduated Summer 2005• Bell Helicopter in Texas

Job Description • Airframe designer for Armed

Reconnaissance Helicopter; • Designs the fuselage, tailboom,

and landing gear. • Use 3D CAD software (CATIA) to

build 3D models of helicopter parts.

• Specializes in a variety of parts including: carbon fiber, fiberglass, sheet metal, castings, forgings, and machined.

Best Parts of Job • Using creativity to solve

engineering problems. • I have a lot of control on

helicopter functionality, maintainability, and aesthetics.

• It is very rewarding to see the parts I design being installed on the helicopter.

Activities at Georgia Tech• Woodruff School Student Advisory

Board (President)• Freshman Activities Board • GT Swimming and Diving • Search Committee to find new ME

School Chair• ME School Undergraduate Curriculum

Committee. • Won a school spirit scholarship in my

junior year. • I would like to stress that I got

involved in my major more than the school (like school-wide spirit organizations) and that that worked out best for me.

Alumni Profile• Alison, BSME Summer 2008• Currently at Grad School at Stanford

Future Goals • MSME @ Stanford with

a focus in Biomechanics. • I want to invent a medical

device and start a company. • However, I plan to work with a

medical device company first.

Advice to Students • You don’t have to know what you want to

do with the rest of your life when you're 17!

• Look into all your options and start out studying something as broad as you can (for example, I liked science and math and chose ME).

• If you want/need advice on a career choice, don't be afraid to ask someone to talk about what they do! You'll be surprised to see how nice people are if you are kind in return.

Undergraduate Research at GT I worked in a tissue engineering research lab on working towards building an artificial blood vessel that could be implemented into the human body. The first part was to understand the tissues that already exist in the body (in particular, collagen) and how the tissue grows and remodels under stress & change.