Mechanical Engineering

Education That Leads to Success!

Classes and Labs Taught by Professors (Not by Teaching Assistants)

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Great Career Opportunities
Multiple Job Offers

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State-of-the-Art Industrial Robotics Laboratory

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  • At LSSU we strive to equip our students and to provide a learning environment that maximizes success both in their studies and in their future careers.
  • Since a typical LSSU engineering class has about 15 students, you will have the chance to work closely with your instructors, all of whom are full-time faculty members, rather than graduate student assistants.
  • Recognizing that learning comes through doing as well as listening, all LSSU engineering programs are designed to include a significant amount of engineering practice along the way.
  • The emphasis in the curriculum is to provide a solid background in the core subject matter of the Mechanical Engineering discipline, including solid mechanics, thermal-fluids engineering, and controls, all of which find wide application across many industries and other fields of human endeavor.
  • The Robotics and Automation concentration, almost unique at the undergraduate level, prepares students for rewarding careers in the burgeoning fields of industrial automation, service robots, and mobile robotics.
  • The Vehicle Systems concentration focuses on the performance of surface vehicles of all sorts, whether on the road, terrain, rails, or even the sea, addressing such phenomena as handling, acceleration, ride, roll stability, pulling power, and noise and vibration.
  • All LSSU engineering students participate in a senior project.

Why Students Choose LSSU

  • Emphasis is on preparing you to solve real-world engineering problems.
  • You will participate in multidisciplinary, industrial or research based senior engineering design projects which emphasize teamwork, communications, project management, customer relations and ethics.
  • You will learn numerous software packages for CAD, CAM, finite element analysis, programmable logic controllers, robots and technical analysis.
  • Cooperative education opportunities are available.

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The Mechanical Engineering bachelor’s degree program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org

Concentrations:

  • Vehicle Systems
  • Robotics and Automation
  • General

A minor in Mechanical Engineering is available for non-engineering students.

Student and Professor with Robot

Meet our Robots

  • Staubli: One of the fastest and most accurate articulated robots with six degrees of freedom.
  • Adept: Made by the only U.S. robot manufacturer and one of the most widely used selective compliance articulate robot arm (SCARA) type robots fitted with machine vision
    systems and cameras.
  • Fanuc: From the Arcmate family with six degrees of freedom built by one of the world’s largest robot manufacturers.
  • Motoman: One of the three largest robotics companies and one of America’s fastest-growing companies.

Concentrations

Vehicle Systems Concentration

The Vehicle Systems concentration focuses on the performance of surface vehicles of all sorts, whether on the road, terrain, rails, or even the sea, addressing such phenomena as handling, acceleration, ride, roll stability, pulling power, and noise and vibration. You’ll analyze vehicle performance using analytical skills and simulation, test for it using modern instrumentation, sensors and a vehicle dynamometer, and design for it using a perspective on vehicle dynamics phenomena that draws on analogies between different modes of transport.

You’ll learn how to project vehicle performance through analytical skills and computer simulation, how to test using modern instrumentation, and how to design for it using a perspective of the vehicle as a complete system. As you progress, you’ll develop a competence with specific sub-systems and parts.

With a Mechanical Engineering degree career opportunities are wide open including such areas as product design, component design, automotive systems design and testing, packaging and manufacturing design, process design, and product and/or process development.

Student taking the robotics option you will find companies that are involved in robotics and automation specifically seek out LSSU graduates.

For those who take the vehicle systems option will be prepared for a future in one of the surface vehicle industries: Automotive, Rail, On-Highway (Heavy Trucks), Off-Road & Recreational, Agriculture & Construction, and other industries.

Facilities

Starting out on the Right Foot!

Freshmen students get their first robotic experience with LEGO Mindstorms®.

Vehicle Systems Option

You’ll learn how to project vehicle performance through analytical skills and computer simulation, how to test using modern instrumentation, and how to design for it using a perspective of the vehicle as a complete system. As you progress, you’ll develop a competence with specific sub-systems and parts.

LSSU students test vehicle components in one of a variety of labs.

Robotics and Automation Option

The Robotics and Automation Laboratory has over $1 million in robotics equipment. Courses in systems integration and machine vision, automated manufacturing systems, and robotics engineering prepare you for robotics careers in the fields of applications, design, software, equipment development, and controls. Students work with Karel and V+ software, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and application of C programming concepts.

Robotics and Automation Laboratory

Staubli and Adept robots share rotary index tables and a roller conveyor system in an L-line set-up controlled by V+ programming and PLCs.

Senior Projects – Real World Experience

All engineering students are required to participate in a senior project sequence. Whether you choose to participate in a team on an industrial or research project, or as an individual at a cooperative work site, you will grow both professionally and personally as you work with professionals in the field.During a typical senior project, you’ll develop your technical and communication skills, manage budgets, and work with practicing engineers. The senior project experience is designed to give you the tools you need to be prepared for “real life” and allow you to be successful in your career.

Career Choices

Technical Areas

  • Aerodynamics
  • Biomedical
  • Energy Conversion
  • Heat Transfer
  • Materials and Structures
  • Noise and Vibration
  • Product Design
  • Robotics and Automation
  • Systems Design

Industries

  • Aerospace
  • Automotive
  • Chemical
  • Consulting
  • Defense Contractors
  • Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC)
  • Manufacturing
  • Medical
  • Nuclear Power
  • Renewable Energy
  • Transportation