Price Faculty of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering is a broad and diversified engineering discipline. It is concerned with the application of the fundamental principles and laws of nature to the conception, design, manufacturing and operation of all kinds of mechanical devices and systems.

Our faculty and staff
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A formula one style race car sits on a lift in a work space inside the Price Innovation Centre

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Mechanical engineers are required to understand the laws of mechanics and energy, the effects of forces on solids and liquids, the flow of heat through substances, the properties of engineering materials, the manufacturing processes and the design approaches.

The work of mechanical engineers can be seen in everything that makes human life more comfortable. This includes designing and building transportation vehicle such as aircrafts and cars, air conditioning and ventilation for human comfort, and saving lives by contributing significantly to improving the medical technology. In reality, it would be almost impossible to find an object, device or a system in everyday life that is in some way has not involved a mechanical engineer.

Programs of study

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers programs tailored to aspiring engineers, mid-career professionals and cutting-edge researchers alike.

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Master of Science/Engineering in Mechanical Engineering

The department of mechanical engineering offers programs of coursework and research leading to Master of Science and Master of Engineering degrees. While both programs offer graduate-level training in the field, the MEng program is industrially-oriented and aimed at practicing engineers who wish to continue their studies on a broad basis, while the MSc degree is attained through coursework and thesis.

Undergraduate student resources

As a Mechanical undergraduate student, you can take advantage of opportunities and supports from academic focus areas to student groups.

Mechanical engineering options and streams

Students in the Mechanical Engineering program have the opportunity to choose 5 technical elective courses, based on their interests. Each technical elective course focuses on a specific application or field of mechanical engineering. Students can choose to take a variety of electives from different fields or can focus their electives on a particular field to complete an Option or Stream within the Mechanical Engineering program. Further information on each Option (consisting of 5 elective courses) and Stream (consisting of 3 elective courses) is included below.

Aerospace option and stream

Both an Aerospace Option and an Aerospace Stream are available within the Mechanical Engineering Program. The aerospace option and stream provide students with a background in aerospace engineering, including topics such as aerodynamics, aerospace structures, aerospace materials, and Gas Turbine Propulsion Systems. The Aerospace Option and Stream prepare students for future careers in aerospace engineering.

Materials stream

The Materials Stream prepares students to understand, analyze and implement a wide range of materials in their designs, such as composite materials, aerospace materials, biomaterials, nanomaterials and more. Students also analyze the materials manufacturing processes, corrosion, as well as the fracture and failure of materials.

Solid mechanics stream

The Solid Mechanics Stream includes courses focused on advanced structural design, finite element analysis, vibration, dynamics and more. This stream will prepare students to apply advanced solid mechanics analysis skills to a broad range of applications.

Thermofluids stream

The Thermofluids Stream includes courses focused on heating ventilation and air conditioning, internal combustion engines, renewable energy, numerical heat transfer simulation, the design of thermal systems and more. This stream prepares students to analyze thermofluid problems for a diverse range of applications.

Manufacturing stream

The manufacturing stream provides students with exposure to automation, robotics, computer numeric control, computer integrated manufacturing, manufacturing planning, quality control and more. The manufacturing stream prepares students for a career in manufacturing and production engineering.

Graduate student resources

Our graduate students have access to various state-of-the-art research facilities with strong connections to the industry and the research programs are led by well-established professors and adjunct professors.

Finding a graduate studies advisor

Before submitting an application for admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, you must first find a faculty advisor who will accept you into their research group. The advisor will initially review your academic background, research intent, previous experience and CV and may grant tentative acceptance into the program.

To find an advisor prior to application, you must contact a faculty member whose research area aligns with your own interests. Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty members, and links to their research areas, can be found on the faculty and staff page. Please contact faculty members by email, and include the following: 

  • A current CV including publications, posters and conference participation; honours, awards and acknowledgements; and jobs pertaining to the field
  • Copies of all post-secondary transcripts
  • A one-page statement of research intent summarizing your proposed research project. If you have several research interests, please customize your statement for each faculty member you are interested in working with.

If you do not hear back in about eight weeks, that professor may not be interested in your application at this time.

Please note that tentative acceptance from an advisor does not guarantee admission into the program.

Research

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is the home to several state-of-art laboratories and facilities, with strong connections to industry. We have a Tier I Canadian Research Chair (CRC) in Aerospace Materials, a Tier II CRC in Applied Mechanical Design and a NSERC/Manitoba Hydro Industrial Associate Chair in Alternative Energy.

Research areas

Applied Mechanics and Design

The faculty in the Applied Mechanics and Design Group are concerned with the analysis and conception of machine and structural components. Active research is performed in Biomechanics, Nano-mechanics, Experimental Stress Analysis, Vibrations and Acoustics, Kinematics and Dynamics of linkage and Mechanisms, Finite Element Method and Computer Aided Design. 

Yuejian Chen

  • Vehicle System Dynamics
  • Fault Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Health Management
  • Scientific Machine Learning

Phillip Ferguson

  • Applied dynamics, navigation and control for satellite systems
  • Innovative sensing and actuation systems for space
  • Testbeds for space environment simulation and technology validation 

Xihui (Larry) Liang

  • Mechanical System Dynamics
  • Condition Monitoring; Fault Diagnostics and Prognostics
  • Engineering Reliability, Optimization and Maintenance 

Yunhua Luo

  • Bone Composition, Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Fracture Risk
  • Micromechanics of Composite Materials and Biological Tissues
  • Image-Based Finite Element Modeling for Material Characterization, Design and 3D Printing

Igor Telichev

  • Orbital Debris
  • Impact Mechanics
  • Fracture Mechanics 

Jay Wang

  • Mobile Robotics and Autonomous Systems
  • Machine Learning for Robotic Control
  • Field Robotics and Autonomous Navigation

Nan Wu

  • Structural Health Monitoring
  • Structural Repair and Enhancement 
  • Energy Harvesting
  • Nano-technology 

Manufacturing and Production

The faculty in the Manufacturing and Production Group is concerned with: the design and operation of automated systems and control systems; and planning, design and operation of production, services and socio-technical systems. Active research is performed in Teleoperation and Robotics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Virtual Design and Manufacturing, Manufacturing Systems Modeling and Simulation, Process Development and Modeling, and Robotics. The faculty members with their research interests are listed below.

Matt Khoshdarregi

  • Advanced Manufacturing, Machining Systems
  • Industrial Robotics and Automation
  • Precision Control Systems

Ahmad Naser

  • AI-driven Advanced Manufacturing
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Smart Sustainable Production
  • Computational Intelligence

Qingjin Peng

  • Integrated CAD/CAPP/CAM systems
  • Virtual Manufacturing, Reverse Engineering
  • System Modeling and Simulation

Nariman Sepehri

  • Teleoperation and Robotics
  • Control Systems, Systems Modelling and Identification
  • Actuators and Fluid Power

Material Science and Engineering

The faculty in the Material Science Group is concerned with the behaviour of engineering materials. Active research is focused on Deformation Studies, Joining of Aerospace Materials, Acoustic Emission, Phase Transformation in Solids, Wear and Wear Protection, Processing of Polymer Composites, Durability, Interfaces in Polymer Composites, and Thermomechanical Processing and Microstructural Characterization of Metallic Alloys. 

Chuang Deng

  • Materials modelling and simulation
  • Nanocrystalline and amorphous metallic alloys
  • Grain boundary engineering
  • Yielding and plasticity in low-dimensional nanostructures 

Raghavan Jayarman

  • Polymer and composite processing/intelligent processing of polymer composite structures
  • Durability of composites/damage in composites
  • Interfaces in polymers and composites/composite joining and bonding
  • Novel composite materials/natural fibre – bioresin based biocomposites/smart materials
  • Structure – processing – property – service relationship studies in materials 

Olanrewaju A. Ojo

  • Thermomechanical processing and microstructural characterization of metallic alloys
  • Processing-microstructure-property relationship studies in nanostructured materials and process development
  • Optimization and physical metallurgy of joining of aerospace alloys 

Malcolm Xing

  • Tissue engineering
  • Nanomedicine
  • Biocomposites for implantation
  • Biointerface
  • Gene/stem cell therapy 

 Guozhen Zhu

  • Nanomaterials and nanostructures
  • Electron microscopy
  • Microstructure-mechanical properties of nanostructured materials 

Thermofluids and Energy Systems

The faculty in the Thermofluids and Energy Systems is concerned with application of heat and work to engineering problems, the behaviour of fluids when subjected to pressure gradients and energy systems. Active research is performed in Alternate Energy, Multiphase flow with droplets, Combustion, Supercritical Flow Stability, Aerodynamic Optimization, Particle Motion and Accretion in Complex Flows, Steam Condenser Modelling, Transport Phenomena in Porous Media, Two-phase flow, Experimental Fluid dynamics, and computational fluid dynamics.

Eric Bibeau

  • Alternative energy and modeling of biomass energy conversion systems
  • High velocity kinetic turbines, icing of wind turbines
  • Anaerobic digesters 

Madjid Birouk

  • Droplet and spray vaporization and combustion
  • Jets in cross and turbulent flow
  • Optical diagnostics

Vijay Chatoorgoon

  • Aerospace engineering
  • Acoustic wave propagation
  • Supercritical flow stability 

Scott Ormiston

  • Steam condenser modelling
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Film condensation in the presence of a non-condensing gas 

Mark Tachie

  • Experimental fluid dynamics
  • Turbulent flows over rough surfaces
  • Laser doppler velocimetry, particle image velocimetry 

Bing-Chen Wang

  • Computational fluid dynamics, turbulence modelling
  • Large-eddy simulation, direct numerical simulation
  • Environmental fluid mechanics, transport phenomena 

Contact us

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Room E2-327 Engineering and Information Technology Complex
75 Chancellors Circle
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada

mech.undergrad@umanitoba.ca
mech.gradprogram@umanitoba.ca
204-474-7358
204-275-7507