Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Faculty

N. Andarawis-Puri, C. T. Avedisian, D. L. Bartel, R. Barthelmie, G. P. Bewley, R. Bhaskaran, L. J. Bonassar, J. F. Booker, N. Bouklas, J. Burns, J. R. Callister, M. E. Campbell, D. A. Caughey, L. R. Collins, P. R. Dawson, O. Desjardins, D. C. Erickson, M. Esmaily, G. Falco, S. Ferrari, E. M. Fisher, A. R. George, M. Haji, M. Hassani, G. Hoffman, C. Hui, B. J. Kirby, H. Kress Gazit, S. Leibovich, M. Y. Louge, D. G. MacMartin, M. P. Miller, F. C. Moon, A. Moridi, C. Nunez, M. A. Peck, P. Pepiot, E. Petro, S. L. Phoenix, S. B. Pope, R. Rand, H. Ritz, F. Royer, A. Ruina, W. Sachse, T. Sands, D. Savransky, R.F. Shepherd, M. Silberstein, S. Sobhani, Z. Tian, M. Ulinski, M. C. H. van der Meulen, A. Van Paridon, Z. Wang, Z. Warhaft, . Yeo, C. H. K. Williamson, A. Zehnder, K. M. Zhang

Mechanical Engineering:

Offered by the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Contact: 125 Upson Hall, (607) 255-1805, or visit the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering website.

The Mechanical Engineering major is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

This major is designed to provide a broad background in the fundamentals of the discipline as well as to offer an introduction to the many professional and technical areas in which mechanical engineers work. The program covers both major streams of mechanical engineering.

Mechanical systems, design, and materials processing is concerned with the design, analysis, testing, and manufacture of machinery, vehicles, devices, and systems. Other topics covered are engineering materials, computer-aided design, vibrations, dynamics and control systems. Particular areas of concentration are robotics, vehicle engineering, space systems and biomechanic.
Engineering of fluids, energy, and thermal systems is concerned with the efficient conversion of energy, aerospace and surface transportation, the environmental impact of engineering activity (including pollutants and noise), aeronautics, and the experimental and theoretical aspects of fluid flow, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and combustion. Specific areas of concentration include aerospace engineering, energy and the environment, and thermo-fluids engineering.

During the fall semester, sophomores who plan to affiliate with the mechanical engineering major take ENGRD 2020 (also MAE 2020 ) as an engineering distribution course. ENGRD 2210 (also MAE 2210 ) is required for the major (but not required to affiliate). The Sibley School supports students who have unusual requirements, but delays or substitutions must be discussed with and receive approval from their major advisor.

The major requires 10 courses (beyond ENGRD 2020 already mentioned) plus six major program electives, which include three major-approved electives, one senior design elective, one math elective, and one technical elective.

Students must complete the courses required for the Common Curriculum plus the major requirements outlined below for a minimum of 128 total credit hours.

Required courses:

Design requirement:

Each Mechanical Engineering student must complete a senior design elective. One way of satisfying this requirement is to take a 3+ credit section of MAE 4291 , directed by a faculty member as an individual or team exercise. The other option is to take a 4-credit senior design elective course (MAE 4021 , MAE 4121 , MAE 4131 , MAE 4161 , MAE 4221 , MAE 4231 , MAE 4341 , MAE 4351 , MAE 4441 , MAE 4641 , MAE 4721 , or MAE 4861 ).

Electives:

Students should use the flexibility provided by the major electives, advisor-approved electives, and liberal studies distribution electives to develop a program to meet their specific goals.

M.E. major program electives:

M.E. students must complete any three upper-level major-approved electives totaling at least 9 credits. The major-approved electives are listed below. Students may choose to focus on one subject area, or may select major-approved electives from several different areas.

Aerospace engineering:

Biomechanics:

MAE 4640 - Orthopaedic Tissue Mechanics (crosslisted)
MAE 4650 - [Biofluid Mechanics] (crosslisted)
MAE 4660 - Biomedical Engineering Analysis of Metabolic and Structural Systems (crosslisted)
MAE 5680 - Soft Tissue Biomechanics (crosslisted)

Energy and the Environment:

Engineering Materials:

Mechanical Systems and Design:

Thermo-fluids Engineering:

Vehicle Engineering:

Note:

* Students who took MAE 3780 as a required course (see above) may not use it again as a major-approved elective.

** MAE 5210 is a 1 credit course; if it is used as a major approved elective, an additional major approved elective course or courses must be selected, so that the total number of credits toward major approved elective requirements is 9 or greater.

Math elective:

Each student must complete an approved upper-level math course taken after MATH 2940 . Currently, the approved courses are , *ENGRD 2700 , *CEE 3040 , ENGRD 3200 , *BTRY 3010 , and CS 2800 . Starred courses also satisfy the probability and statistics requirement.

Probability and Statistics Requirement (effective for May 2019 graduates and beyond):
Significant probability and statistics coursework is required for graduation from the Mechanical Engineering Program.
Students must take 1 course that fulfills the probability and statistics requirement. That course can also be used as a math elective (MathE), OR a technical elective (TechE), OR an advisor approved elective (AAE), as indicated below.

Courses currently approved to satisfy the probability and statistics requirement:

ENGRD 2700 - Basic Engineering Probability and Statistics (MathE OR TechE OR AAE)
CEE 3040 - Uncertainty Analysis in Engineering (MathE OR TechE OR AAE)
CS 4750 – Foundations of Robotics (TechE OR AAE)
ENGRD/ECE 3100 – Introduction to Probability and Inference for Random Signals (MathE OR TechE OR AAE)
BTRY 3010 - Biological Statistics I
ECON 3110  - MAE will also accept a satisfactory score (4 or 5) on the CEEB Advanced Placement Exam in Statistics as fulfilling the Probability & Stats requirement, but this does not also fill the math elective.
The combination of CS 2800 -Discrete Structures (MathE OR TechE OR AAE) with CS 4850 -Mathematical Foundations for the Information Age (TechE OR AAE). You must take both of these classes to satisfy the probability and stats requirement.

ECON 3110 - Probability Models and Inference for the Social Sciences (crosslisted)

Technical elective:

The technical elective may be any course at an appropriate level, chosen from engineering, math, or science (physics, chemistry, or biological sciences). Appropriate level, typically 2000+, is interpreted as being at a level beyond the required courses of the college curriculum. Courses in biology and society(BSOC), economics, business, and organizational behavior are not accepted; advisors may approve such courses as advisor-approved electives.

MAE 4980 may not be used as an M.E. major program elective.

Advisor-approved electives:

To maximize flexibility (i.e., the option for study abroad, Co-op, internships, pre-med, and flexibility during the upper-class years), the Sibley School faculty recommends that students delay use of advisor-approved (AA) electives until after the third semester. Students must seek advisor approval before taking an AA elective. Advanced placement credit may not count as an AA elective. Up to 6 credits of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) courses numbered 3000 or above or co-listed in an academic department are allowed as AA electives.

Students must document AA electives approved before MAE affiliation within a month of affiliation as an M.E. student. Because these courses should help develop and broaden the skills of the engineer, advisors will generally accept the following as approved electives: One introduction to engineering course, engineering distribution courses, courses stressing oral or written communication, upper-level engineering courses, advanced courses in mathematics, and rigorous courses in the biological and physical sciences. Advisors are likely to approve courses in business, economics, and language that serve the student’s educational and academic objectives. In other cases, a student’s interests might be better served by approved electives that expand the major, or other parts of the curriculum, including the liberal studies requirements. Students can receive per-approval or verify if their courses can be automatically approved by contacting the MAE Undergraduate Office at mae_undergrad@cornell.edu.

Other considerations:

It is recommended that the liberal studies distribution electives include studies in history of technology, societal impacts of technology, history, foreign languages, ethics, communications, political science, aesthetics, economics, and/or architecture.

The Sibley School facilitates its students to spend a semester or year abroad at foreign universities with which the college has an exchange agreement, such as the Ecole Centrale de Paris.

The Engineering Communication requirement of the common curriculum is satisfied by MAE 4272 .

A limited set of second- and third-year courses is offered each summer under the auspices of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions and the Engineering Cooperative Education Program.

Preparation in Aerospace Engineering:

There is no separate undergraduate major in aerospace engineering, but students may prepare for a career or graduate program in this area by majoring in mechanical engineering and taking courses from the aerospace engineering minor, for example, spacecraft technology, introduction to aeronautics, and aerospace propulsion systems. It is also possible to prepare for a career or graduate program in aerospace engineering through appropriate course selection in other majors, for example: electrical and computer engineering, engineering physics, or the physical sciences. Subjects recommended as preparation for aerospace engineering endeavors include thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structures, vibrations, feedback controls, applied mathematics, chemistry, and physics.