PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION IN A HIGH TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT

For all degree programs in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, major emphasis is on: establishing a rigorous foundation in the fundamentals of applied science and engineering; developing the ability to confront challenging, open-ended situations; and cultivating the skills to effectively communicate proposed solutions.

The Research/Design Project: A Team Effort for Meeting an Open-Ended Challenge. The theme of each research or design project is linked to an issue of national importance. The general direction of the research is first defined by the faculty member, then each faculty-graduate student team develops a specific strategy, which is continuously reassessed during the course of the project. Faculty in our department typically meet with their students several times a week on an individual basis and usually with their entire group once a week. This frequent contact with faculty is essential in attaining one of our major goals: to develop the student’s ability to confront new, open-ended situations and to formulate effective approaches. Irrespective of which career path our graduates eventually take, ranging from basic research to applied design or development, development of this ability will be crucial to success in meeting the flexible and diverse demands in the years ahead.

Development of Student Communication and Advocacy Skills. The ability to effectively present and advocate proposed and completed projects is an integral part of our graduate program. Most faculty have several team projects, involving a number of graduate students. At weekly group meetings, students have the opportunity to briefly present their findings and develop effective communication techniques. Many of our research groups are interdisciplinary, involving faculty and graduate students not only from different sectors of our Department but also from other science and engineering departments at the University. The experience gained in presenting to a diverse group of colleagues with intersecting interests is another important dimension of effective communication. A number of our graduate courses, term projects allow the student to explore an area of interest related to his/her major research or design project, again providing the opportunity to enhance communication skills.

Visibility for Student Projects: Communicating Advances in Engineering to Colleagues in this Country and Abroad. At the outset, a research or design project is defined in such a manner that it will generate original findings, with the intent of publishing in a journal of international stature, typically with the graduate student as the lead author. Preceding or in parallel with formal publication is the opportunity to present findings at a national meeting of, for example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or the American Physical Society. This experience affords the opportunity to get to know colleagues from government labs and industrial concerns. Depending upon the nature of the project, additional opportunities may involve presentations to representatives of agencies and industries, either at Lehigh or at another site. Finally, visitors to our Department and typically to our computational and experimental laboratories, are interested in getting to know our projects and the students associated with them, providing yet another means for presenting findings to representatives from outside Lehigh.

On the left, you will find descriptions of typical faculty-student teams and their respective project experiences. Virtually all faculty in our Department are involved in these types of projects and we encourage you to get to know all of them in your area of interest.