What is mechanical engineering?
As the name implies, mechanical engineers have always been involved with
engines, machinery and manufacturing. The early devices were built by ingenious
mechanics, men of ideas possessed with the know-how to reduce these ideas
to practice. Many mechanical engineers also are involv
ed in design, and
they play a dominant role in a wide variety of industries, including transportation,
power generation, heating and air conditioning, agricultural and process
machinery, consumer products and a wide variety of precision engineering
enterprises (optical, prosthetic devices, instruments and the like).
Only in the last century, mechanical engineering has been largely based on the sciences of mechanics and thermodynamics. Engineers use mathematics and computers to analyze and synthesize complex systems. Mechanical engineering students at VCU will first acquire a strong foundation in physics and mathematics, followed by engineering courses in design, control and measurements that will enable them to design, fabricate, control, operate, test and maintain present as well as yet-to-be-invented machines.