Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Nagi G. Naganathan, Chairperson
Abdollah A. Afjeh, Graduate Director
Graduate students enrolled in the Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department (M.I.M.E.) may pursue the following degree programs: Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering Science. The guidelines and procedures for the Master's and Doctoral programs in the M.I.M.E. department are listed in greater detail in the M.I.M.E. Graduate Handbook.
M.I.M.E. Department Research Focus Areas
The current research focus of the department is in the following areas:
Computational and Experimental Thermal Sciences: The Computational and Experimental Thermal Science research focus group encompasses broad research activities. These include research in such areas as computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer, tribology, flow stability and transition, vortex dynamics, drag reduction, microgravity flows, thermal systems simulation, biofluid flow dynamics, turbulent boundary layer characterization, experimental methods using hot wire/film anemometry, laser Doppler velocimetry, particle image velocimetry, flow visualization techniques as well as thin film heat flux gauge research.
Mechanics, Materials and Design: The objectives of the Mechanics, Materials and Design focus group are to conduct research that will advance the engineering knowledge base and lead to new processes and products in the broad areas of mechanical systems, dynamic systems and control, and mechanical design. More specifically, the research thrust of this group includes but is not limited to the dynamic behavior and control of mechanisms, machines, mechanical systems, processes, structures, smart materials, biomechanics, fatigue and fracture mechanics, noise and vibrations analysis and control, intelligent control of mechanical systems, design methodology and machine dynamics. An additional goal of this group is the codification of research results to place them in a form useful for professional practice. Research methods include a blend of techniques involving mathematics and computer simulation as well as physical experimentation.
Manufacturing Processes and Systems: The Manufacturing Processes and Systems focus group deals with research that will deepen the understanding of processes, machinery and systems that comprise modern manufacturing, and will make both the local and the state manufacturing bases more competitive by increasing the rate of innovation and responsiveness to changing needs. Faculty members in this research focus group have expertise in and conduct research to create, develop and expand the engineering foundations of processing methods for current and future engineering materials and of manufacturing methods and systems for making useful products from these materials. The emphasis is on research employing a blend of experimental, analytical and computational efforts directed toward developing economically competitive and environmentally compatible technologies. Included, but not limited to, are methodologies for integrated product, process and production system development and innovative fabrication and assembly techniques. Current key strength of the faculty in this focus area is their work on integration and rapid modeling of flexible manufacturing systems, intelligent shop floor control, real-time manufacturing system simulator, CAD/CAM integration, advanced machining, rapid prototyping and environmentally conscious manufacturing.
Productivity, Quality and Management Systems: The Productivity, Quality and Management Systems focus area is concerned with larger scale integrated problems with a variety of tightly and loosely interconnected components. These components generally involve people, information, machinery and materials. Improved understanding and modeling of production and service systems ultimately will lead to better system design and operation, and consequently, higher system performance. The faculty in this research focus group have expertise in quality engineering systems via reliability and process control modeling, new and improved costing, scheduling, routing, facility planning, material handling, logistics, distribution, information and human-machine integration systems. Techniques involving operations research, simulation and/or stochastic modeling are applied to optimize systems. The emphasis is on both manufacturing and service systems, incorporating the complete product/service life cycle.
Master of Science Programs
Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Science in mechanical or industrial engineering, or a closely related field, from an accredited engineering program. If the baccalaureate degree is in a non-engineering or science area, students may be required to complete prerequisite courses without graduate credit.
The plan of study must include 30 hours of course work selected from those approved for graduate study (5000 level or above). A minimum of twelve (12) hours must be in the student's focus area of study. The majority of these hours normally will be in Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) courses. Forty percent of the minimum requirement of 30 hours exclusive of thesis or project must be in 6000-level courses. Up to nine of these hours may be thesis or up to six hours may be project.
Six (6) or more hours must be in approved courses in advanced mathematics. An individual student may be required to complete more than the 30-hour minimum to satisfy prerequisite deficiencies specified as provisional admission conditions and/or to fulfill educational requirements or the program as specified by the adviser or committee.
Inaddition to the above course requirements, all students are required to enroll and participate in Graduate Seminar (MIME 6930 or equivalent) each semester. The department, for satisfactory completion as well as enhancement of degree objectives, may specify additional credit or non-credit requirements.
The plan of study for the M.S. degree must be filed before sixteen (16) hours of academic coursework have been completed. For full-time students this normally will require that the plan of study be filed before registration for the second term.
Doctoral Degree Program
A satisfactory doctoral degree plan is developed jointly by the student and the Dissertation Adviser, subject to the approval of the Graduate Director.
A minimum of 15 credits of regular departmental courses taken for a letter grade beyond the M.S. degree are required for the doctoral degree program. Twelve (12) credits must be departmental courses. Students entering the direct doctoral program with a Bachelor's degree must complete 27 credits of regular departmental courses of which at least 15 credit hours must be at the 6/8000 level. Project credits may not be counted towards the 27 credits of regular, letter-grade course work. All required courses are numbered at the advanced graduate level as determined by the department.
Other courses taken may include courses not listed as departmental courses, independent study courses, and courses taken S/U. In addition to the above course requirements, all students are required to enroll and participate in the Graduate Seminar (MIME 8930 or equivalent) each semester. The department, for satisfactory completion as well as enhancement of degree objectives, may specify additional credit or non-credit requirements.
For transfer credit, students should refer to the general policies of The University of Toledo Graduate School.
Doctoral Degree Candidacy
Doctoral candidacy requires satisfactory performance on the doctoral qualifying examinations, filing an approved doctoral program plan, selection of an academic adviser, formation of a doctoral dissertation committee, and maintaining good academic performance as specified in the M.I.M.E. Department Graduate Handbook.
When the above requirements have been met, the student may file his/her application for doctoral candidacy. The department requires that the application be filed within one year of the time the qualifying examination is passed. Doctoral students must have established candidacy for the doctoral degree before presenting and defending dissertation research.
Doctoral Dissertation
After the student and the adviser have agreed on a dissertation topic, the student must write a dissertation proposal. The student will present the proposal to the Doctoral Dissertation Committee and successfully defend his/her dissertation proposal.
The Doctoral Dissertation Committee must consist of at least five members. The chairman of the examination will be the candidate's principal adviser. The other members usually will be the co-adviser (if any), faculty members or experts in a related field with at least one committee member outside the department. The signatures on the candidate's dissertation indicating approval of the dissertation research represent the final certification of its adequacy.