Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
We are an ABET-accredited department committed to preparing the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders to advance human well-being and improve society. We offer a Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, as well as Master's and PhD programs in both Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering.
Our students benefit from a rigorous curriculum enriched by hands-on experiences accessed through student organizations, design competitions, research assistantships, and internships in industry and government. We support traditional, non-traditional, and transfer students who contribute to the diverse and dynamic learning environment at UAH.
We are located in Huntsville, Alabama, a national hub for aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing with over 500 STEM-focused companies, NASA, and other federal agencies. Our department is closely connected with local industry and government agencies. Many of our students and alumni work with these partners. Others go further afield to design rockets for commerical space exploration, develop batteries for electric vehicles, or advance novel manufacturing technologies.
Our faculty are actively engaged in research across a wide range of disciplines, including:
- Energy conversion, transport, and storage
- Advanced propulsion and plasma science and engineering
- Solid mechanics and materials engineering
- Combustion and turbulence
- Unmanned systems
Their work has local, national, and global impact and is supported by a strong network of collaborators in the Huntsville STEM ecosystem and beyond. Our faculty include fellows of major professional societies such as AIAA, ASME, and TMS, as well as NSF CAREER Award recipients and other distinguised scholars.
We invite you to explore our website, learn more about our programs, and reach out with any questions. We look forward to connecting with you and hope to welcome you to campus soon!
George J. Nelson
Department Chair
Student Spotlight
Evan Unruh
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
It’s called a Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE), and UAH mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) master’s student Evan Unruh says it took him about a year to design and build it through UAH’s Propulsion Research Center (PRC).