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Undergraduate Course Catalog 2008-2009

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

» http://www.ceps.unh.edu


Mechanical Engineering (ME)

» http://www.unh.edu/mechanical-engineering/

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Chairperson: Todd S. Gross
Professor: Kenneth C. Baldwin, Barbaros Celikkol, Barry K. Fussell, Todd S. Gross, Robert Jerard, Joseph C. Klewicki, James E. Krzanowski, M. Robinson Swift
Affiliate Professor: Donald M. Esterling
Associate Professor: Gregory P. Chini, Ralph W. Draper, Brad Lee Kinsey, John Philip McHugh, May-Win L. Thein, Igor I. Tsukrov
Affiliate Associate Professor: Vladimir Riabov
Assistant Professor: Christopher M. White, Martin M. Wosnik
Affiliate Assistant Professor: Gary Lapham, Timothy Upton
Instructor: Gary Sedor

The Mechanical Engineering Program at UNH is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone (410) 347-7700.

Mission
In support of the University and college missions, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is dedicated to educating the highest quality engineering professionals and leaders. Our graduates will be prepared to creatively solve engineering problems through the use of analysis, computation, and experimentation. The students completing our program should be well-informed citizens who have the ability to grow intellectually and are able to solve new, challenging problems with self-confidence. It is our intent to maintain a general and flexible curriculum that prepares students for both industrial practice and graduate education.

Educational Objectives
The goal of the UNH mechanical engineering program is to produce graduates that are good professionals and good citizens who 1) skillfully apply the fundamental principles of mathematics, science, and engineering; 2) solve engineering problems by integrating strong design, analysis, and experimental abilities with excellent communication skills; 3) successfully contribute to their respective corporate, government, or academic organizations; 4) demonstrate continuous growth by assuming positions of leadership in their profession, or by becoming successful entrepreneurs; by successfully completing advanced degrees and professional education; 5) are broadly educated citizens of society with an understanding of the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context; and 6) demonstrate a high level of personal and social integrity through their ethical behavior and service to their peers, employers, communities, the nation, and the world.

Mechanical engineering is a challenging profession encompassing research, design, development, and production of aerospace vehicles, underwater vessels, instrumentation and control systems, nuclear and conventional power plants, and consumer and industrial products in general. The profession also makes contributions through more fundamental studies of material behavior, the mechanics of solids and fluids, and energy transformation. Additional information can be found at the mechanical engineering Web site.

 

The Program

The program begins with courses in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and computer aided design. The department has a four-semester mechanics thread, a four-semester thread in the thermal/fluid sciences, and a three-semester thread in systems and controls. Modern experimental methods are taught in a two-semester course starting in the junior year. The two-semester senior design project requires students to utilize the skills they have learned in their courses and to learn how to function in an engineering team. The five technical electives offered in the program give the students the opportunity to focus on advanced technical areas of their choice.

With their advisers’ assistance, students should plan a program based on the following distribution of courses that totals not less than 128 credits. The outline that follows is typical only in format. Within the constraints of satisfying all the requirements and having all the necessary prerequisites, schedules may vary because of scheduling needs or student preference. Some mechanical engineering elective courses may not be offered every year.

The curriculum has eleven elective courses. These should be selected in consultation with a departmental adviser to lead to a balanced program that addresses chosen areas of interest. Five of the elective courses are selected from groups four through eight of the University’s general education requirements, with the Group 7 general education course being either ECON 402 or EREC 411. One of the elective courses must be selected from the biological science listing of Group 3 of the general education requirements.

Five technical elective courses of at least three credits each are required. They may be selected from 600-700 level courses in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, except for one course that may be selected from one of the following 400-500 level courses: ME 442, ME 542, ENE 520, ESCI 501, and ECE 543.  Two technical electives can be used for studying a focused area such as a foreign language, professional program, or minor, with department approval.

Some programs may require additional elective courses to reach the minimum of 128 credits required for graduation. Other programs may exceed 128 credits to include all the required courses.

To enter the junior-year courses in the mechanical engineering major, students must have at least a 2.00 combined grade-point average for the following group of courses: PHYS 407-408, ME 503, ME 525, and ME 526.

In order to graduate in the mechanical engineering major, students must have at least a 2.00 grade-point average in all engineering and science courses, including required technical electives normally taken as department requirements after the start of the junior year. The option of repeating required engineering, science, and technical elective courses normally taken after the start of the junior year may be exercised in only one of the following: 1) one course may be repeated twice; and 2) a maximum of two courses may be repeated once.


Freshman Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
MATH   425   Calculus I   4   -  
*CHEM   405   General Chemistry   4   -  
ME   441   Engineering Graphics   4   -  
General Education Elective       4   -  
MATH   426   Calculus II   -   4  
PHYS   407   General Physics I   -   4  
English   401     -   4  
General Education Elective       -   4  
Total       16   16  

*CHEM 403 and CHEM 404, General Chemistry, may be substituted for CHEM 405.



Sophomore Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
General Education Elective       4    
**MATH   528   Multidimensional Calculus   4   -  
PHYS   408   General Physics II   4   -  
ME   525   Mechanics I   3   -  
Technical Elective       3-4   -  
**MATH   527   Differential Equations   -   4  
ME   503   Thermodynamics   -   3  
ME   526   Mechanics II   -   3  
ME   561   Introduction to Materials Science   -   4  
Total       18-19   14  

**MATH 525 and 526, Linearity, may be substituted for MATH 527 and 528, and a technical elective course.



Junior Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
ME   608   Fluid Dynamics   3   -  
ME   627   Mechanics III   3   -  
ECE   537   Introduction to Electrical Engineering   4   -  
CS   410   Intro to Scientific Programming   4    
General Education Elective       4   -  
ME   603   Heat Transfer   -   3  
ME   643   Elements of Design     3  
ME   646   Experimental Measurement & Data Analysis   -   4  
ME   670   Systems Modeling, Simulation, & Control   -   4  
Total       18   14  


Senior Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
ME   705   Thermal System Analysis and Design   4   -  
ME   747   Experimental Measurement & Modeling   4   -  
***ME   755   Senior Design Project I   2   -  
Technical Elective       3-4   -  
General Education Elective       4   -  
ME   756   Senior Design Project II   -   2  
General Education Elective       -   4  
Technical Elective       -   3-4  
Technical Elective       -   3-4  
Technical Elective         3-4  
Total       17-18   15-18  

***TECH 797, Undergraduate Ocean Research Project, may be substituted for ME 755 and ME 756



Mechanical Engineering Minor

The minor, administered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is open to all students of the University and offers a broad introduction to mechanical engineering.

Students must complete a minimum of six courses as follows: ME 441, ME 525, ME 526, ME 627, ME 503, and ME 608. Electrical and Computer Engineering majors should take the following courses: ME 441, ME 523, ME 526, ME  503, ME 608, and ME 561.


Materials Science Minor

The minor, administered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is open to all students of the University and offers a broad introduction to materials science.

Students must complete at least 18 credits and a minimum of five courses as follows: ME 561 (required); ME 760 (required); and ME 730 (required); and two additional courses from the following: 731, 744, 761, 762, 763, and 795 (materials).

By midsemester of their junior year, interested students should consult the minor supervisor, James E. Krzanowski, Department of Mechanical Engineering.


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