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Undergraduate Course Catalog 2006-2007

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, David W. Watt
Associate Professor: Gregory P. Chini, John Philip McHugh, May-Win L. Thein, Igor I. Tsukrov
Affiliate Associate Professor: Donald M. Esterling, Vladimir Riabov
Assistant Professor: Brad Lee Kinsey
Affiliate Assistant Professor: Timothy Upton
Instructor: Gerald 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 the students to utilize the skills they have learned in their courses and to learn how to function in an engineering team. The seven 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 thirteen 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. Seven 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, excluding BET, and from the following 500 level courses, ENE 520, ESCI 501 and ECE 543. Three of the seven technical electives must come from the prescribed lists: A) engineering practice; B) mathematics; C) advanced engineering topics. These lists are available in the mechanical engineering office. All students must take one course from each list. Two of the remaining four technical electives can be used for studying a focused area such as a foreign language, or a preprofessional program, or a minor, with mechanical engineering 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   -  
MATH   426   Calculus II   -   4  
ME   441   Engineering Graphics   4   -  
General Education Elective/Technical Elective       -   4  
General Education Elective       4   -  
ENGL   401   First-Year Writing   -   4  
CHEM   403   General Chemistry   4   -  
PHYS   407   General Physics I   -   4  
Total       16   16  


Sophomore Year

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


Junior Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
CS   410   Introduction to Scientific Programming   4   -  
ME   608   Fluid Dynamics   3   -  
ME   603   Heat Transfer   -   3  
ME   627   Mechanics III   3   -  
ME   643   Elements of Design   -   3  
ME   646   Experimental Measurement and Data Analysis   -   4  
ECE   537   Introduction to Electrical Engineering   4   -  
ME   670   Systems Modeling, Simulation, and Control   -   4  
Technical Electives (2)       3-4   3-4  
Total       17-18   17-18  


Senior Year

Abbreviation Course Number Title Fall Spring
ME   705   Thermal System Analysis and Design   4   -  
**ME   755   Senior Design Project I   2   -  
ME   756   Senior Design Project II   -   2  
ME   747   Experimental Measurement and Modeling   4   -  
Technical Electives (4)       3-4   9-12  
General Education Electives (2)       4   4  
Total       17-18   15-18  

*MATH 525 and MATH 526 (Linearity I and II) may be substituted for MATH 527 and MATH 528 and a MATH technical elective

**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.

By midsemester of their junior year, interested students should consult the chair of the mechanical engineering department.


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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