Mechanical Engineering
Opportunities Outside the Classroom
We recognize our students' talents, and you'll enjoy activities for real experience, advanced learning — and fun. We work closely with alumni and private business leaders to continue the cycle of education and service in the engineering community.
Organizations and Clubs
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
AIAA is a professional, on-campus club for those interested in Aerospace. Speakers come to campus and discuss Aerospace related topics. We are associated with the the Dayton-Cincinnati Section of the professional society and participate in activities with them.
AIAA’s mission is to address the professional needs and interests of the past, current, and future aerospace workforce and to advance the state of aerospace science, engineering, technology, operations, and policy to benefit our global society.
Watch an Aero Design Team Slideshow
The Aero Design Team is truly an academic based team. Every year, members from the team take their classroom engineering knowledge and apply it to designing an actual remote controlled airplane model. The team requires students to use their expertise in the aerospace, electrical, manufacturing, and mechanical fields. One of the great advantages of the team is the team’s commitment to using composite materials. Every year, the Aero Design Team builds the competition airplane using composite materials, which makes it extremely strong. The knowledge and experience team members gain from using composite materials is essential for a career in modern aerospace engineering. Many past team members have credited the UD Aero Design Team for helping them obtain permanent jobs.
The UD American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning Engineers Group is a student group within the larger national ASHRAE Organization. UD ASHRAE members attend monthly meetings and learn from industry experts about energy efficiency practices, renewable energy technologies and much more. It is a great networking opportunity because each meeting is comprised of a guest speaker who is knowledgeable about the energy industry. ASHRAE is a great organization to join because many professionals around the world are involved in ASHRAE. "ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world..."
The It Flies club was established with the intent of introducing engineering students to the Merlin Flight Simulator and flight handling of simulated aircraft models. Knowledge will be built from research of existing aircraft, learned information from engineering courses, and creation of new aircraft design. One of the goals of the club is to annually have members, individually or in small teams, compete aircraft models in at least one of two international Flight Handling Competitions: It Flies! USA (held at UD) and It Flies! UK (held at a university in England). This consists of presentations in the morning and model testing by experimental test pilots in the afternoon. The Flight Club is a great opportunity for any engineering student of any level to expand their knowledge of aircraft!
The University of Dayton Jet Flyers Team has competed for the past three years in an annual Aerospace Propulsion Outreach Program competition that is organized and funded by the United States Air Force and Wright Patterson Air Force Base Research Laboratories. Each participating school is given a JetCat P80-SE mini-turbo jet engine and a budget of $15,000.00 to complete the competition task assigned. The schools are given a year to design, build and test their ideas, and at the end of each year (usually in May) all the schools gather at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio to officially test their designs. There is then a poster session on base, where each school can present their designs and strategies. There is also a final written technical report detailing all that was done over the course of the year, including the design, build and testing plans and strategies, as well as test results and data analysis. The first year (2010-2011) competition task was to design, build and test a detachable afterburner onto the P80-SE. The second year (2011-2012) competition task was to design, build and test a detachable thrust-vectoring system onto the engine. The third year (2012-2013) and current competition task is to design, build and test a detachable, exhaust driven fan attachment onto the engine. Each year, UD Jet Flyers has been full of awesome experiences and opportunities, and most importantly, full of good times and lots of fun!
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
UD ASME aims to be the essential professional resource for mechanical engineering students. Our mission is to serve UD's community by applying engineering knowledge in regional and national competitions and throughout the community, as well as communicating the excitement of engineering
Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
The Biomedical Engineering Society hosts speakers (especially from industry) who work in the fields of biomechanics and biomedical engineering, learns more about medicine/anatomy/biomechanics /biomedical engineering, networks with other students and professionals interested in the field, participates in outreach to introduce students in grades K-12 to biomedical engineering, promotes health and wellness in the community, and supports other miscellaneous activities that educate members about the profession.
Solar Splash is partially sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society. It is the World Championship of intercollegiate Solar/Electric boating. Its official name is "an international intercollegiate solar/electric boat regatta," and it takes place over a five day competition. Technical Inspections are done on the first day, and the remainder of the time is occupied by five on-the-water competitive events. Points are earned in 7 categories starting with Technical reports that are submitted before teams arrive at the competition. On-site competitions include Visual Displays and Workmanship. On-the-water events begin with a Sprint and a Maneuverability qualifier. This is followed by an event called the Solar Slalom, which is a combination of speed and maneuverability. The final days are spent in the Sprint and Endurance events. Through Solar Splash the students gain a practical perspective on Solar and Electrical Systems.
The University of Dayton team is one of a few teams that consists of entirely undergraduate students and relies on minimal assistance from professors. This gives our students unprecedented opportunities to take on complex and challenging design problems and see them all the way to fruition. If you're interested in cars and not afraid to get your hands dirty, this is the organization for you.
BEC focuses on commercial building energy efficiency programs. We work with local utilities on building energy benchmarking and analysis. Regular utility energy assessments and energy audits are conducted by members of the BEC.
Sustainable Engineering Scholars
The Sustainable Engineering Scholars is a group of engineering students who are interested in using their engineering skills to work towards a more sustainable future. The group works on different projects throughout campus and the community. Some examples of SES activities include helping with the coordination of the UD GreenHouse Effect, teaching young children about renewable energy at TechFest and Kid’s Day at the Greene, and cooking an organic meal. The program was originally started to connect students interested in sustainability in an effort to retain engineering students. SES is a tight-knit group, with about 30 members currently, but is always looking to welcome new students who may have an interest in sustainability.
Pi Tau Sigma
PI TAU SIGMA members are chosen on a basis of sound engineering ability, scholarship (upper 35%), personality, and probable future success in their chosen field of Mechanical Engineering. There are three grades of membership: Honorary, Graduate, and Active. Honorary members are technical graduates actively engaged in engineering work; or members of mechanical engineering faculties. Graduate membership is conferred upon persons who would have been eligible had Pi Tau Sigma been established earlier in schools not having chapters, or upon those continuing graduate study. Active members are selected from the junior and senior mechanical engineering classes at their respective schools whose mechanical engineering curriculum must be accredited by ABET.
Tau Beta Pi
Tau Beta Pi was founded in 1885 to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their alma mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as undergraduates in the field of engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in the engineering colleges.
Wheels for Kids, a service organization, receives donated bikes, refurbishes them, and then gives the refurbished bikes to elementary and middle school children during the annual Wheels for Kids' spring event. A majority of our work consists of teaching volunteers how to fix and repair bikes and then to use those skills to repair the bikes we receive through donations.
Flyer Innovations
Flyer Innovation brings together students from all different backgrounds and majors to help explore everyday problems. Members can form teams to build off of their innovative ideas. These groups then have the opportunity to tackle various college level competitions. We encourage creativity and innovation by continuously giving our members the tools and resources necessary to make even the most simple project idea or innovation become reality.
Beyond the Classroom
Bachelor's Plus Master's Program (BPM)
The BPM program makes it easy to earn an M.S. degree by linking your University of Dayton undergraduate and graduate programs. Interested University undergraduate students must have a 3.0 grade point average and apply for the BPM program during their undergraduate program. They should also apply directly to the graduate program of their choice. If accepted, students can apply up to two courses taken at the graduate level during their undergraduate years to both their undergraduate and graduate programs. This reduces the number of required classes for an M.S. degree from 10 to 8. In addition, the cost of tuition for BPM students is about 2/3 the normal cost of tuition during their first 12 months of their M.S. program.
Career Services
UD Career Services provides excellent career-related resources, programs, services and opportunities that build confidence and job-search skills. Talk with our School of Engineering Career Services' representative.
Engineering Co-op & Internship Office
Take your engineering experience to the next level and find your passion with co-op and internship opportunities. All engagements are paid positions and provide invaluable engineering work experience integrated into the student's academic plan. In one academic year, over 450 undergraduates accepted engineering placements that resulted in $6.2M paid directly to the undergrads.
CORE Program
The Core Program offers an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum consisting of a sequence of courses that fulfills many University general education requirements. The courses address a common theme, "Human Values in a Pluralistic Culture" and are coordinated, so students experience the integrated character of liberal arts.
Education Abroad
Expand your horizons — study abroad for a summer, a semester or during a year-long program. Experience international service or international academics — designed for engineers.
The Ethos Center
In the ETHOS service program, students help integrate technology with global cultures and communities. The emphasis is placed on ideas and implementation of appropriate technology, sustainable development and service-learning through technical immersion, integrated classroom work, collaborative research and on-campus activities.
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
The FE Exam is typically the first step to obtaining a Professional Engineer (P.E.) license.
Handshake: Student Employment
The search for a job just got easier! Handshake is a free online service that simplifies the job search process for on-campus employment, internships, co-op positions and full-time work after graduation. You can research companies, search for openings, read job descriptions, submit your résumé, schedule interviews, and register for career events.
Honors Program
The University Honors Program offers rigorous and expansive educational experiences for our academically accomplished students and provides unique learning opportunities beyond the normal college experience, enriched courses taught by top professors and an inspiring, collaborative camaraderie with fellow students.
Integrated Learning Living Communities
Want to have fun, make friends and earn higher grades? Then join an integrated learning-living community (ILLC).
Multi-Ethnic Engineers Program
Reach your full potential through this integrated program that creates an optimum learning environment and supports minority engineering students financially, fundamentally, practically and intellectually.
Women Engineering Program
Share and explore technical interests with other women engineering students and build personal and professional relationships that will last a lifetime.