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Process improvement engineers work in a variety of industries to identify and develop ways to streamline production and boost efficiency. A process improvement engineer will often collaborate with other engineers and technical personnel, suppliers and others, and must have excellent communication skills.

Mechanical design engineers work in companies across a wide range of manufacturing industries, often developing consumer goods, medical devices, automobiles and automotive parts, and more. They must apply engineering principles to ensure their designs use appropriate materials, meet industry and safety standards, and can be manufactured cost-effectively.

Automation engineers work to improve the efficiency and safety of manufacturing operations by designing and programming automated equipment. They must have both mechanical expertise and electrical controls knowledge and may find themselves developing anything from large welding robots to food packaging equipment.

At the Branam Innovation Center (BIC) you’ll be able to practice innovation and bring your creations from concept to reality. This 16,200-square-foot open workspace is where teams huddle ahead of intense competitions, clubs unveil new innovations, and individual students tweak their latest projects. 

Every mechanical engineer needs to know “How’s that made?” and we bring everyone into the machine shop—beginning with EM103 Intro to Design freshman year, and again in their junior year for ME317 Design for Manufacturing. This is where you’ll learn about what you can do with saws, drills, lathes, and mills. We also have welding equipment and a plasma cutter, and offer a “Shop Badge Level I” opportunity for students who have very little experience and want to learn more in a small group (4 students/instructor). Then you’ll be ready to learn more on your own.

Our manufacturing lab contains most of our automated machine tools (Computer Aided Manufacturing, or CAM tools). One of our most popular electives, ME520 CAD/CAM, uses this lab to teach students about the various tools--you can get one-on-one training on the machines, as well. A large bed foam router supports our competition teams’ needs in creating molds for composite shells, and laser cutters allow us to create “links” for the EM121 Statics Link competition (freshman year).

Get hands-on experience in our newly renovated Materials Lab. We use this lab for courses such as Materials Engineering and for course projects in ME Laboratory. It’s also used extensively for independent projects. Here, you can use digital microscopes to examine the effects of heating and quenching on the structure and strength of metals. Or use tensile testing equipment to find out just how much load that material can handle before it breaks, as well as machines to see how the material stands up to sudden impacts.