Mechanical Engineering

Dear Students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

All of our classes will be taught through remote access till the end of the semester. The department is fully prepared for this. We will make sure that the material of all classes is fully covered, and your studies remain a meaningful experience.

You have already received or will soon receive detailed information from your instructors. For all classes, lectures will be recorded and posted on Canvas. Instructors will hold virtual office hours though Canvas or other means. All instructors will be available through email and other means they may select. 

Some adjustments are, of course, inevitable. This, in particular, concerns labs and projects. In some labs, the hands-on component will be replaced by recorded demos. Alternative assignments will be introduced in others. The projects will be adjusted to avoid the need of coming to campus and face-to-face interaction between the team members. You will hear details from the course instructors.

The situation is evolving. Further adjustments will be necessary as we learn what works and what doesn't. If you have any problems, concerns, or suggestions on how to improve things, please email the ME department chair, Dr. Oleg Zikanov at zikanov@umich.edu. 

One of four departments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Department of Mechanical Engineering offers accredited and nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Automotive Systems Engineering. Our curriculum offers comprehensive and rigorous education rich in design, research, and interdisciplinary opportunities leading to successful careers in industry, government, higher education, and non-profit organizations both in southeast Michigan and worldwide.

History:

• 1959: UM-Dearborn's first students enroll in three degree programs, including Mechanical Engineering.
• 1963: The Mechanical Engineering master's program begins.
• 2011: The Bioengineering undergraduate program begins.
• 2016: The Bioengineering master's program begins.
• 2017: The PhD in Mechanical Sciences and Engineering program begins.
• 2017: The Automotive Systems Engineering master's program joins the department.
• 2019: The D.Eng. in Automotive Systems and Mobility begins.

A Link between Nature and Engineering - Medical Applications of the Tardigrade

“As an engineer, I have great respect for nature — there really is no better designer. Living things are extremely complex organic machines that got optimized in such a beautiful way over a long period of time. Tardigrades seem to have harnessed nature’s way of preserving cells."

Dr. Nilay Chakraborty has been working towards improving the process of cell preservation, which has not seen a drastic shift in the last 40 years. The tardigrade is a microscopic organism that is able to use compounds within its body to transform its cells into a glasslike suspended state to protect from hazardous conditions, before turning back to normal when it is safe. Harnessing this method of cellular preservation would greatly improve our capabilities to preserve cells without the very high toxicity levels of current cryogenic preservation.

To these ends, Dr. Chakraborty began first using compounds such as those in the tardigrade along with conventional cryogenic technology to achieve the same levels of cell preservation while cutting down on the toxic side effects. But more recently his focus is on moving away from the expensive and hazardous limitations of cryogenics. He has had early success in experiments coating cells with compounds similar to the tardigrade's, leaving them in a similar state of suspension. When the layering was removed, the cells returned to normal functioning. These advancements are still in an early stage, but early results seem to be very promising for practical applications in the future.

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