Mechanical Engineering

Sub-disciplines

• Robotics• Bio Mechatronics • Marine Engineering• Nano Technology• Acoustical Engineering

Robotics

• Robotics is an ever growing field. There is a demand for robots in manufacturing and are ideal for tasks that require monotonous repetition. They are expected to grow as more complex products come to market.

Bio Mechatronics

• Bio Mechatronics is another field growing as there is a demand for replacement organs in the medical field. An example would be an arm replacement of a wounded soldier. The field is also working on a fully functional human heart.

Marine Engineering

• Marine Engineering is expected to grow by 10.9% over the next ten years. This is because the demand for ships is increasing and the need to repair older ships is inevitable. There is also a need for submarines that can travel to deeper depths of the ocean for scientific research.

Nano Tech

Technology is becoming more efficient every day. Not only is it becoming better but also it is becoming smaller. As cameras get smaller and TV’s become slimmer, there will be a demand in Nano technology.

Acoustical Engineering

• Acoustics are vital to good entertainment. New headphones are constantly coming available on store shelves. Structures are also designed for creating the best sound quality such as opera houses.

Young Engineers?

• Young mechanical engineers are prevalent in in the workforce; most beginning tasks include making coffee runs for the senior engineers to designing, calculating and solving mechanical problems . Each business has varying expectations of the “new guys”

Job opportunities

• Job opportunities for this field cover a wide variety of business. Mechanical engineers can work for large automotive companies to small engineering firms. Examples include powertrain engineers at Ford Motor Company.

Opportunities

• Senior engineers can start their own company or move up in their current company. They can move up into management of other engineers rather than doing traditional engineer work.

Specialization Training

• Wayne State can prepare mechanical engineers for the automotive field. Wayne state can help train mechanical engineers to create more efficient power trains or more powerful engines. Even the acoustics in a car, including speaker quality and road noise reduction can be learned at WSU

Technology drivers

• Alternative energy is a large driver in ME. Wind turbines to long lasting car batteries are being developed.

• As more complex vehicles are being produced there is a greater demand for advanced robots to perform these difficult manufacturing tasks.

Citations

• American Society Of Mechanical Engineers. (10, 2013 04). Engineering standards news and resources for engineers . Retrieved from https://www.asme.org/

• Enterdyne Engineering. (n.d.). Five fascinating sub-disciplines of mechanical engineering. Retrieved from http://www.enerdyneengineering.com/mechanical_engineering_sub_disciplines.asp