Mechanical Engineering: Research Opportunities

Clarkson combines two distinctive strengths that benefit students: personalized teaching and high-powered research. Our real-world learning philosophy includes opportunities for research projects. You can join one of our SPEED teams just for that purpose. Through SPEED (Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design), you can sharpen your skills in creative problem solving, collaboration, communication and leadership through team competitions.

During the senior year, capstone teams bring together all of the components of Clarkson's undergraduate mechanical engineering education as students design, build and test a mechanical device that meets real needs. Imagine how a team of Clarkson mechanical engineering students felt after successfully inventing and building the Zoot Scoot, a mobile cart with a hand controller that can be driven by people with severe disabilities. Opportunities also exist for junior and senior mechanical engineering majors to participate in research projects. For example, a team of seniors took additional wind tunnel data for a project involving drag reduction on a tractor trailer.

Areas in which faculty are pursuing research include composite materials, metal plasticity and fatigue, welding, aerosol droplet behavior, computational fluid dynamics, wind energy, and automobile exhaust energy recovery.

You will do experiments requiring the use of material testing systems, a complete machine shop and welding area, and our motion control and robotics lab. You will also have access to our 7,000-sq.-ft. Multidisciplinary Engineering and Project Laboratory and the Computer and Design Lab equipped with CAD/CAM and GIS; these are located in Clarkson's Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP).