The faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offer graduate programs leading to the M.S., Master of Science in Engineering, and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering. A number of areas of study may be pursued, including aerodynamics, design, dynamics and control, propulsion, and structures. The faculty also offer graduate degree programs in Mechanical Engineering. All of the department’s graduate programs stress a sound foundation leading to a specialized area of study.
Graduate Record Examination. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination; the subject test in Engineering is highly recommended but not required.
MASTER OF SCIENCE
See “Master’s Degrees” for information on the M.S. degree.
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING
See “Master of Science in Engineering” for information on the Master of Science in Engineering degree.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
The Ph.D. degree is conferred upon evidence of excellence in research leading to a scholarly dissertation that is an original contribution to knowledge in the field of aerospace engineering.
See “Doctor of Philosophy” for general requirements.
Program of Study. The program of study must be established no later than the first semester after successfully completing the qualifying examination.
Qualifying Examinations. The purposes of the qualifying criteria are to assess if the student is prepared to continue in the doctoral program and to detect deficiencies in the student’s background that can be corrected by appropriate course work and individual study. Within the first year of graduate studies at ASU, graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering must complete three 500-level, preferably, core courses in the major area of interest, and one 500-level mathematics course; an average GPA of 3.25 or above in this course work is required. Specific qualifying course requirements for each major area are available from the department.
Foreign Language Requirements. None.
Comprehensive Examinations. Written and oral comprehensive examinations are required. The examinations are administered by the program committee.
Dissertation Requirements. A dissertation based on original work demonstrating creativity in research and scholarly proficiency in the subject area is required.
Final Examinations. A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is required.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
The department has established a wide variety of theoretical and experimental research programs in Aerospace Engineering to prepare graduate students for careers with industry, universities, and government agencies The faculty are organized into groups pursuing research topics directly related to general improvement of knowledge in engineering fields or to the application of engineering principles to problems of high national priority.
Some recent and current examples of faculty and student research projects include studies in: acoustic fatigue; aeroelasticity; aerospace vehicle dynamics, guidance, and control; aerospace structures; aerospace vehicle design and performance optimization; aircraft crashworthiness; applied computational methods; atmospheric dynamics and surface layers; biomechanics; boundary-layer transition; combustor modeling; composite materials; concurrent engineering; convection heat transfer in complex flows; finite element techniques; flow-induced vibrations; fracture mechanics; fluid-structure interactions; heat transfer in airbreathing and space propulsion systems; high speed aerodynamics; hydrodynamic stability; hypersonics; laminar flow control; laser diagnostics in combustion and flows; micromechanics; modal analysis; modeling and optimal design of rotor-bearing systems; noise control; nonlinear vibrations and structural dynamics; nonlinear waves and dynamics; perturbation methods; rotorcraft aerodynamics and acoustics; separated and transitional flows; spray combustion; structural optimization; supersonic flows; thermionics; three-dimensional boundary layers; transonic aerodynamics; turbulent flow modeling; turbine cooling; and unsteady aerodynamics.
Experimental investigations are carried out in a number of specialized laboratories and facilities: computer-aided engineering and expert systems laboratory; computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing laboratory; combustion laboratory; composite materials laboratory; direct energy conversion laboratory; dynamics and controls laboratory; heat transfer laboratory; laser diagnostics laboratory; hydrodynamic stability laboratory; stratified flow laboratory; supersonic wind tunnel laboratory; robotics laboratory; thermoscience laboratory; turbulent fluid mechanics laboratory; unsteady wind tunnel facility; and vibrations and dynamics laboratory. Equipment fabrication is supported by the college’s well-equipped development shop with a staff of machinists and electronic technicians.
Computer Resources and Facilities
Aerospace Engineering graduate education and research is supported by an extensive array of college- and university-supported computer hardware and software, in addition to laboratory minicomputers and microcomputers. The ASU Computing Commons is equipped with three IBM RS/6000-590s, one MASPAR, several DEC VAX 5000s, numerous Sun Sparc servers, and many other platforms. Access to these computers is via the ASU Advanced Communications Support System (ACSS) broadband network as well as via dial-in lines. The university also operates microcomputer sites with more than 400 IBM and Apple Macintosh systems.
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
The faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offer graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science, Master of Science in Engineering, and the Doctor of Philosophy with majors in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The courses supporting both majors are offered under the common MAE prefix. See MAE for the courses that support the degree programs in Aerospace Engineering. Additional courses at the 300 and 400 level, which may be used to remove deficiencies, are described in the General Catalog.
Omnibus Graduate Courses: See omnibus graduate courses that may be offered.
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