Mechanical Engineering at University of California Los Angeles

Mechanical engineering is a broad discipline finding application in virtually all industries and manufactured products. The mechanical engineer applied principles of mechanics, dynamics, and energy transfer to the design, analysis, testing, and manufacture of consumer and industrial products. A mechanical engineer usually has specialized knowledge in such areas as design, materials, fluid dynamics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, dynamics, control systems, manufacturing methods, and human factors. Applications of mechanical engineering include design of machines used in manufacturing and processing industries, mechanical components of electronic and data processing equipment, engines and power-generating equipment, components and vehicles for land, sea, air, and space, and artificial components for the human body. Mechanical engineers are employed throughout the engineering community as individual consultants in small firms providing specialized products or services, as designers and managers in large corporations, and as public official in government agencies.

The mechanical engineer with specialization in Power Systems and Thermal Design is concerned with energy utilization and thermal environment control Design of power and propulsion systems (power plants, engines) and their components is a major activity. Thermal environment control requires the design of thermal control systems having heat pumps, heat pipes, heat exchanges, thermal insulation, and ablation heat shields. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), vacuum technology, cryogenics, and solar thermal energy are other areas to which the mechanical engineer contributes.

Mechanical engineers with a specialization in Mechanical Systems-Design and Control and in Manufacturing are the backbone of any industry. They participate in the conception, design, and manufacture of a commercial product as is found in the automotive, aerospace, chemical, or electronic industries, etc. With specialization in Fluids Engineering, mechanical engineers gain breadth in aerodynamics and propulsion systems which allows them to become ideal candidates for employment in the aerospace and other related industries.