PSMES

Dear Mechanical Engineering Graduate,

The Mechanical Engineering Program wants to establish a closer connection with its alumni. I am inviting you, as an accomplished graduate and friend of the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Program, to participate in a new alumni group we are creating to support the most important initiatives and activities in the Program. This new affiliate program group will formally be known as the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Society (PSMES) and will be composed of Penn State mechanical engineering alumni. In addition, it will be entitled to representation on the Penn State Engineering Society (PSES) Board of Directors and the Penn State Alumni Association.

By now you should have received our Fall 2003 Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering News magazine that described several of the new initiatives we are undertaking in the area of curricular reform. For many years, we have been striving to improve the quality of our Mechanical Engineering Program. Our faculty are working diligently to ensure that our students are graduating with a thorough understanding of the mechanical engineering principles as well as the skills and training needed to succeed in today's changing and complex job market. Input from you, our alumni, is most important in helping us continue to provide our students with the knowledge and training they need. An active alumni group would serve as a link between the Program and professionals who are working in the "real world" mechanical engineering profession. With your help we will maintain Penn State 's reputation for excellence in mechanical engineering education, and ensure that our curriculum always keeps pace with an ever-changing society.

Another important need for the Program is to recruit top students into our undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Although we've had good success in recent years, I am concerned that many prospective students do not know the full and rich range of opportunities for mechanical engineers, or they may be unaware of the excellent education provided by our Department. This is where you could be of considerable help to us, by drawing upon your own professional experiences and being able to convey to prospective students (and sometimes their parents) the value of your mechanical engineering degree from Penn State.

In addition, we have many alumni return to University Park campus to tour Reber Building and reminisce about what it was like when they attended Penn State . These chance encounters are important to helping us not only preserve our heritage and history, but to continue our long tradition of excellence. We want to help facilitate interactions between faculty-alumni, alumni-to-alumni, and student-alumni and have already hit the ground running by expanding our web site to include a special section that is completely dedicated to our alumni to help promote your news and your successes. We look forward to continuing to improve services available to better meet the needs of our alumni.

These are only a few of the ways that alumni input will help us to identify ways to strengthen and enhance Penn State's national reputation for excellence in mechanical engineering education. I am very excited about establishing this group and have invited your participation because of your demonstrated success and interest in the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Program. In addition, we are seeking enthusiastic individuals with leadership abilities to serve on the Board of Directors of the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Society. You are welcome to self-nominate for a Board position or may nominate someone else on the return form provided below. Whether you are interested in a Board position or just want to be involved, I hope you may be able to accept my invitation and will complete and return the form (click here for printable form) to:

The Pennsylvania State University

Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering

Att: Dr. Karen A. Thole, Head of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering

137 Reber Building

University Park , PA 16802

In April we will begin the process of organizing the on-line voting for the Board of Director positions. It is our goal to have the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Society formed by mid-May.

Questions? Please call 814-865-2519 or you may e-mail us at: Alumni@mne.psu.edu.