Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Penn State! On this web site you will see what makes this one of the nation's largest and most successful engineering departments. Our mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering faculties are renowned for their scholarship and teaching abilities. Among the approximately 50 tenured and tenure-track faculty members, six have won university-wide teaching prizes, two hold endowed positions, four have been recognized as distinguished professors, 17 hold the rank of fellow in one or more professional societies, 22 provide editorial service or oversight to technical journals, and 14 are textbook authors.

There is over $20 million in research annually being conducted in the department. We provide leadership to many of the College's research and teaching centers, including the Center for Acoustics and Vibration, the Electrochemical Engine Center, the High Pressure Combustion Lab, the Learning Factory, the Leonhard Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education, the Mechatronics Research Lab, the Gas Dynamics Lab, the Propulsion Engineering Research Center, the Radiation Science and Engineering Center, the Reactor Dynamics and Fuel Management Group, and the Structural Dynamics and Controls Research Lab.

Our student groups are also highly successful. We always turn out one of the largest and most energetic student teams at meetings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Through the auspices of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) we field highly competitive teams in the annual Formula Car and FutureTruck contests. These students groups, as well as the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Graduate Student Association (MNEGSA), sponsor design contests, faculty/student luncheons, tutoring sessions, seminars with outside speakers, workshops with recent graduates, and social events. All of this goes a long way toward making Penn State a great place to live and work.

The same can be said of our hometown of State College, Pennsylvania. Some of you who are exploring this web page may be contemplating a move to State College for graduate studies, a new job, a sabbatical visit, or a collaborative engineering venture. This is an excellent place to raise a family and enjoy life. The local schools are first-rate. The university is a magnet to popular speakers and the best performing artists in the world. The Penn State men's and women's sports teams are a source of great enjoyment and pride. The university is ringed by a nice mix of high tech companies, farms and woodlands, and yet we are only a few hours away from the major urban centers of the mid-Atlantic.

Enjoy your virtual visit. We hope to see you on campus soon!