>> I remember it was in grade two I decided that I wanted to be a mechanical engineer.
>> I'm a car guy.
I have been fascinated by how they have changed the society completely.
>> When I started my own career here at Michigan, I had been thinking about what is the most important cell type to study.
>> I study materials that are often not thought of as typical engineering materials or engineered materials.
>> When I was looking at career options I really wanted to be a part of global solutions.
>> As a mechanical engineer I feel that it is my responsibility to serve the society.
That is what I want to do as an individual.
That is what I want to train my students how to do.
>> Our department is an exceptional department.
Our faculty are outstanding scholars who work on cutting-edge research.
At the same time they are very serious about teaching and educating the next generation of leaders.
>> U of M has a very rich tradition in manufacturing.
Being so close to the heartland of manufacturing I want to see U of M play a central role in
bringing people back because we are providing technologies, providing know-how, and also our students.
>> Mechanical engineering has played a very important role in maintaining our leadership
in the field of automotive engineering for a century.
Still, they need to be safer, more efficient and less polluting.
>> The fundamental principles that we teach in mechanical engineering were founded on energy transfer processes.
And we're trying to move those to more sustainable and renewable energy carriers.
>> We can apply principles of mechanics to address key questions and challenges in biology and medicine.
>> Design in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan has been an area of leadership for us.
We have been pioneers in research and implementation of design.
>> One main focus of our research is we want to do high-impact research.
Now, high impact to science, as well as high impact to the society.
>> We have faculty who work on the additive manufacturing processes, trying to improve them.
Trying to take them to the next level, in terms of the quality and the types of materials
that you could use for manufacturing.
We have people working on smart manufacturing.
Really trying to leverage 21st century technology, especially in the IT sector.
Things like data science, artificial intelligence, and bringing them to bear on manufacturing
to improve profitability, improve throughput.
>> Computation, communication, control are at such a point that we can fundamentally
change how cars are operated.
With all these new technologies, they can be augmented by a robot driver, either working
side-by-side with a human driver, or completely taking over the control in certain cases.
>> The energy sector is incredibly dynamic and changes from year to year, so we have to stay current.
There is a clear demand from the students to be educated on this really critical issue.
We've brought on new faculty that have research in other core areas of sustainable energy,
which includes alternative fuels, sustainable fuels, but also importantly includes wind energy,
solar energy and other renewables.
>> We have been interested in mechanobiology, which basically is how cells interact with
the surrounding environment.
And we also have faculty members working on tendon mechanics, bone mechanics, rehabilitation robotics
So there are a lot of faculty members within this department who are working very closely
with people in the medical school and biology departments and tackle some key questions.
>> Going forward Mechanical Engineering intends to remain the leaders in the field of design,
in particular by conducting research and remaining at the forefront of identifying where the
customer and the societal needs are, how to educate our students, giving them the tools
to solve these needs, and then finally, developing an ecosystem that helps us translate our solutions
to actual products that actually meet the needs of the society.
>> We have the benefit of our longstanding and excellent tradition, and I think because
of that, we are drawing already the best students.
>> We are very strong in teaching students the fundamentals, that is the mechanical science and mechanics.
At the same time, we also have pioneered a curriculum that covers a series of team-based classes.
>> The engineering education that we provide at Michigan and in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
is meant to prepare students for a lifetime of contribution and service to
the society after they graduate from here.
At the same time we want to make sure that we build diversity to our ecosystem here because
intellectual diversity, diversity of perspectives is essential as our students get trained to
address these global challenges and global problems.
>> We absolutely can't do it alone, and so mechanical engineers, as we train them, need to be able to interface with other disciplines.
>> I love my job.
I think a lot of my colleagues love their jobs.
I don't want a student to come here because somebody told them, you're good at math, be an engineer.
I want students to come here because they're excited about engineering, design, helping people,
solving the world's problems, making society better.
That's what engineers do.
>> We are not afraid to push our students to the limits because we believe that they've
come here because this is an excellent place.
And so we want to make sure that we make them leave here believing and knowing that they are the best of the best.