ME Vision Statement

Strategic Objective

To be the foremost Mechanical Engineering Department.

5 Year Goal

To be, and to be recognized as being, in the top five public Mechanical Engineering Departments.

Mission

The mission of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin is threefold:

• Educate the next generation of leaders in the Mechanical Engineering profession.
• Create, explore, and develop innovations in engineering science and technology.
• Provide beneficial service to the local, state, national, and international communities.

Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

Mechanical Engineers develop engineering systems to transform energy, materials, and information to meet the needs of humanity. The needs of humanity include the basics of sustenance, shelter and health. They also include the desire for security, association and communication, and pursuit of knowledge and skill.

Mechanical Engineering emerged as a new field during the Industrial Revolution, and, today, it is the broadest and most versatile of the engineering professions. The work of Mechanical Engineering spans the full spectrum of modern technology and produces the many products and machines that meet human needs. Given the diversity of these needs, Mechanical Engineering is ideally positioned as a practical profession and is marked as a field that is a bastion for beneficial creative endeavors.

The Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin has tremendous intellectual breadth. Besides strength in the traditional Mechanical Engineering areas of Thermal Fluid Systems and Mechanical Systems and Design, this Department also has vigorous programs in Material Science and Engineering, Operations Research, Biomedical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Nuclear and Radiation Science. This breadth allows the Department to provide an exceptional and exciting interdisciplinary environment for its academic community and makes it possible to address the diversity of human needs on a large scale.

Strategic Plan for the UT Mechanical Engineering Department

The strategic plan is focused on a core belief in Leadership and Innovation.

Core

Leadership and Innovation

The plan emphasizes and values Creativity, Novel Application of Fundamental Engineering Science, Interdisciplinary Activities, Community of Scholars, Development of Future Leaders, Professionalism, and Excitement in Discovery.

• Values
• Creativity
• Novel Application of Fundamental Engineering Science
• Interdisciplinary Activities
• Community of Scholars
• Development of Future Leaders
• Professionalism
• Excitement in Discovery

Long Term Strategy

This plan is a living instrument and will be updated yearly by faculty review.

Five Year Strategy

In the next five years, the Department will concentrate on enhancing and developing four major thrusts. They are:

1. A Community of Scholars
2. Future Leaders in the Profession
3. Creativity and Innovation
4. Interdisciplinary Activities