Mechanical Engineering
The baccalaureate program in mechanical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.
FACULTY Professors Mehta (chair), Abou-Hanna, Elbella, Fakheri, Hurt (emeritus), Johnson, Morris, Okamura (emeritus), Wessler (emeritus), Zietlow; Associate Professors Deller (emeritus), Henderson, Kim, Nair, Peterson (emeritus), Podlasek, Reyer; Assistant Professors Timpe, Vafaei; Temporary Assistant Professors Moeckel, O'Connor.
Mission
The mission of the Mechanical Engineering Department is to produce mechanical engineering graduates who possess the acumen, competence, and skills needed to enter, succeed, and lead in professional practice and/or graduate school. The goal is to provide a learning and nurturing environment that stimulates faculty and students to collaborate in solving practical problems, motivates lifelong learning, and helps them reach their highest potential.
The program educational objectives of the department are that alumni meet the following goals within 3 to 5 years after graduation from the mechanical engineering program:
- Are in professional practice or are pursuing advanced studies in mechanical engineering or related fields.
- Are using their educational foundation to engage in lifelong learning
- Are involved in local, regional, national or international practice to meet global technological and societal changing needs.
Mechanical engineering is the broadest and most versatile of the engineering professions. It utilizes a combination of human, material, and economic resources to translate ideas and theories into realistic problem solutions that satisfy the needs of society. Problems are solved in such varied areas as energy, environment, robotics, assistance for the handicapped, and air, land, sea, and space vehicles.
Mechanical engineers are particularly concerned with the application of the sciences of mechanics and energy to the generation, utilization, and conservation of energy, and to the design of mechanical systems which control forces, motions, and the flow of materials. No two mechanical engineers do exactly the same thing. Their specific careers are the result of choices depending on personal interests and the changing needs of society.
The breadth of mechanical engineering is illustrated by the organization of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), which supports mechanical engineers engaged in many areas. Some of these areas are: applied mechanics, bioengineering, dynamic systems and control systems including robotics, fluids engineering, heat transfer, materials, management, aerospace, air pollution control, diesel and gas engine power, gas turbines, computer and microprocessor applications, and solar energy.
Mechanical engineers are employed in a variety of service and product industries, in government, and in education. Many are self-employed as consultants. The undergraduate program also offers a particularly broad technical background for persons wishing to enter graduate programs in business, law and medicine.
The faculty believes that engineers must be firmly grounded in the fundamentals of their field and the supporting areas of mathematics, communication, and the sciences, so that graduates will be able to adapt quickly to the rapid changes occurring in our technological society. Therefore the curriculum has been designed to stress the basic tools of knowledge and practice essential to launch one’s professional career and a lifelong process of continued learning.
The spectrum of mechanical engineering includes innovation and creation, research, design and synthesis, analysis, development, evaluation, production, and the marketing of machines, systems, and processes. Central to this activity is the design process which leads to the creation of solutions to real-world problems. Therefore the mechanical engineering curriculum integrates design experiences into all levels of the program and into a majority of the professional courses. This culminates in a required comprehensive design experience which is satisfied by a yearlong senior project and by the selection of a technical elective identified as satisfying this requirement in the program.
The Bradley Core Curriculum courses serve not only to meet the objective of a broad education, but also to meet the objectives of the engineering profession. Therefore, BCC courses must be planned to reflect a rationale or fulfill an objective appropriate to the engineering profession and the university's educational objectives.
Student chapters of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) are sponsored by the department to support and encourage the professional development of the students. A national honorary society for mechanical engineering students, Pi Tau Sigma, is also represented.
In addition to the specific requirements listed for the College of Engineering and Technology, a minimum grade point average of 2.25 in mechanical engineering courses must be achieved for graduation.
Students wishing to pursue graduate study in mechanical engineering may refer to the graduate catalog where course work leading to the MSME degree is described.
Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Concentration
Mechanical Engineering with Energy Concentration
Mechanical Engineering Major
*The Bradley Core Curriculum (BCC) courses must be selected from an approved list for each category. They may be taken in any sequence, not necessarily in the semester indicated. In addition to the eight Areas of Inquiry, students are required to take two courses with Writing Intensive (WI) tags.
**ME 410 and 411—Enrollment in ME 410 and 411 is restricted to mechanical engineering students who are within three semesters of graduation from the program.
†Departmental policy regarding approved technical electives is available in the department office.
Freshman Year
First Semester
- CHM 110 General Chemistry - 3 hrs. (BCC – NS1)
- CHM 111 General Chemistry Lab - 1 hrs.
- ME 101 Foundations of ME - 2 hrs.
- MTH 121 Calculus I - 4 hrs. (BCC – QR1)
- Area of Inquiry: Fine Arts - 3 hrs. (*BCC - FA)
- Area of Inquiry: Writing 1- 3 hrs. (*BCC – W1)
16 hours
Second Semester
- CE 150 Mechanics I (Statics) - 3 hrs.
- CHM 112 Engineering Chemistry - 3 hrs.
- ME 102 Engineering Design Graphics - 2 hrs.
- MTH 122 Calculus II - 4 hrs. (BCC – QR2)
- PHY 110 University Physics I - 4 hrs. (BCC – NS2)
16 hours
Sophomore Year
First Semester
- CE 250 Mechanics II (Dynamics) - 3 hrs.
- ME 351 Engineering Materials Science I - 3 hrs.
- MTH 223 Calculus III - 4 hrs.
- PHY 201 University Physics II - 4 hrs.
- Area of Inquiry: Speech - 3 hrs. (*BCC – OC)
17 hours
Second Semester
- CE 270 Mechanics of Materials - 3 hrs.
- ECO 100, 221 or 222 - 3 hrs. (*BCC – SB)
- ME 273 Computational Methods in ME - 3 hrs.
- ME 301 Thermodynamics I - 3 hrs.
- MTH 224 Differential Equations - 3 hrs.
15 hours
Junior Year
First Semester
- ECE 327 Fundamentals of EE I - 3 hrs.
- ME 302 Thermodynamics - 2 hrs.
- ME 303 Instrumentation and Measurement - 3 hrs.
- ME 308 Thermodynamics of Fluid Flow - 4 hrs.
- ME 341 Engineering Systems Dynamics - 3 hrs.
- Area of Inquiry: Writing 2 - 3 hrs. (*BCC – W2)
18 hours
Second Semester
- ECE 328 Fundamentals of EE II - 3 hrs.
- ME 344 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines - 3 hrs.
- ME 403 Mechanical Engineering Systems Lab - 2 hrs.
- ME 415 Heat Transfer - 3 hrs.
- ME 441 Mechanical Control Systems - 3 hrs.
- Area of Inquiry: Global Perspectives - 3 hrs. (*BCC – GP)
17 hours
Senior Year
First Semester
- IME 301 Engineering Economy - 3 hrs.
- ME 342 Design of Machine Elements - 3 hrs.
- **ME 410 ME Senior Project I - 2 hrs.
- Approved Elective - 3 hrs.
- † Approved Technical Elective - 3 hrs.
- † Approved Technical Elective - 3 hrs.
17 hours
Second Semester
- **ME 411 ME Senior Project II - 2 hrs.
- Area of Inquiry: Multidisciplinary Integration- 3 hrs. (*BCC – MI)
- Area of Inquiry: Humanities - 3 hrs. (*BCC – HU)
- † Approved Technical Elective - 3 hrs.
- † Approved Technical Elective - 3 hrs.
- † Approved Technical Elective - 3 hrs.
17 hours
Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Concentration
Biomedical Engineering integrates physical, chemical, mathematical, and computational sciences and engineering principles to study biology, medicine, behavior, and health. It advances fundamental concepts, creates knowledge from the molecular to the organ-system level, and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for improving health. For engineering students who would like to have education in this expanding field, the Mechanical Engineering Department offers a Biomedical concentration that is embedded within the traditional Mechanical Engineering program. This concentration will require an additional one or three credit hours for graduation (134 or 136 credit hours).
The biomedical engineering concentration requires the complete Mechanical Engineering curriculum with the following exceptions:
- Students have the option to take either Engineering Chemistry (CHM 112 - 3 hrs.) or General Chemistry II (CHM 116 - 4 hrs. and CHM 117 -1 hr.).
- Biomedical Concentration requires the following Technical Electives:
- BIO 230 Human Anatomy and Physiology – 3 hrs.
- BIO 231 Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab – 1 hr.
- ME 280 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering – 3hrs.
- Approved mechanical engineering biomedical electives† – 6 hrs
- Approved mechanical engineering technical elective† – 3 hrs.
The biomedical concentration program advisors may recommend that students take some of these courses earlier in their degree program than the last year. Students will work closely with their advisor in choosing the proper time and order for their coursework.
Mechanical Engineering with Energy Concentration
Energy is the lifeblood of industrial economies and is essential for economic growth in developing countries. Today, some of the biggest engineering challenges are related to the production and efficient utilization of limited energy resources. This concentration prepares students to identify and analyze strategies to produce energy and to utilize energy resources in more economically efficient and environmentally friendly ways.
In emerging industrial economies, the demand for new energy sources is growing at over 50 percent per decade, while in more mature growing industrial economies the growth is in the neighborhood of 10 percent per decade despite massive efforts to conserve. This has stimulated the demand for engineers and creative engineering solutions. Energy production resources are often not located in areas of the world with high energy demand, thus energy production and utilization have huge geopolitical implications. Accordingly, engineers must be cognizant of the robust set of governmental rules and regulations associated with the development of engineering solutions to our energy needs.
Students selecting the Energy Concentration within Mechanical Engineering can elect courses related to solar energy, energy management, renewable energy, nuclear energy, electrical generation power plant design, energy conservation, and energy production.
For engineering students who would like to have education in this area, the Mechanical Engineering Department offers an Energy Concentration that is embedded within the traditional Mechanical Engineering program. This concentration will require no additional hours for graduation.
The energy concentration requires the complete Mechanical Engineering Curriculum with the following exceptions:
- Energy Concentration requires the following Technical Electives:
- Approved mechanical engineering energy electives† – 12 hrs
- Approved mechanical engineering technical elective† – 3 hrs.
This is the official catalog for the 2016-2017 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.