The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offers programs of study leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Approximately 130 graduate students work with award-winning faculty on a wide range of research topics including: aeroacoustics, aerospace manufacturing and materials, autonomous systems, biomechanics and biomaterials, combustion, experimental and computational fluid mechanics, finite element method, hypersonics, manufacturing, robotics and controls, smart materials, sustainability, unmanned aerial vehicle, and vibroacoustics.
Research Areas
Several major centers and research consortia are affiliated with the department to provide the facilities needed for our student research projects. A sampling of these research areas include:
- Aerospace technology through the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium and EPSCoR programs. Research awards are competitive and often involve working with NASA on research methods for future NASA missions
- Next-generation manufacturing through the Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing. ISM seeks to create products, processes and systems designed to significantly enhance manufacturing productivity, efficiency and quality – pioneering new manufacturing standards which respect the planet’s resources
- NSF Pandemic Environmental Surveillance Center for Assessing Pathogen Emergence (NSF ESCAPE). This center will focus on environmental surveillance by combining social science, engineering, bioinformatics and risk modeling to assess pathogen emergence
- The Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky (PEIK) was created to broaden power and energy education programs at the University of Kentucky through the development of new courses and undergraduate and graduate certificate programs, as well as offering professional development/continuing education programs to current engineers who require additional education to address current power and energy issues
Research Discipline Areas
- Control Systems
- Fluid Mechanics
- Heat Transfer and Combustion
- Manufacturing Processes and Systems
- Mechanics and Materials
- Vibrations and Acoustics
Strategic Research Focus Areas
- Aerospace
- Autonomy, Robotics and Controls
- Bioengineering and Biomechanics
- Energy and Power Production
- Sustainable Manufacturing
Our faculty conduct multi-disciplinary research cutting across these discipline and strategic areas with collaborations throughout the Pigman College of Engineering and other colleges at the University of Kentucky and around the world.
