Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering

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Grades - Exomoiosi (SIS) Candidate Students

Candidate Students General Information History What is ME and MSE? Vision and Objectives Acquired Skills and Employment Opportunities Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) are among the broadest engineering disciplines; the objectives of these fields are to utilize the scientific principles of physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology for the analysis, design, development, optimization, and production of components, machines, processes and systems. The profile of the engineering field has changed so dramatically over the years that it is no longer an easy task to define a “typical” mechanical engineer. Indeed, the level of education afforded to the mechanical engineer of today permits him or her to work in diverse areas ranging from research, design, development, consulting, fabrication, processing, testing, and characterization to operation, planning, marketing, sales and management. In fact, as they mature professionally, many mechanical engineers move from the more technical environment of design and development to the more business-oriented environment of operations, sales and management. Thus, it is perhaps more appropriate to talk about a typical career path rather than a typical mechanical engineer. In recognition of the diversity of the mechanical engineering discipline, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering aims to foster the appropriate learning environment for its students that will allow them to meet their educational aspirations and pursue their career goals in Cyprus. The single feature that characterises and distinguishes engineers from other professionals is design, and that could entail design of machinery (Mechanical Engineering), design of major highways (Civil Engineering), design of electronic materials/devices and systems (Materials Engineering and Electrical Engineering), and many others. In order for design to have practical significance, however, it must culminate in the production or fabrication of a device, structure or system. Fabrication of any product, however, requires the selection of the appropriate materials. In fact, materials selection is so important from both engineering and economic perspectives that it constitutes an integral and often the most important component of engineering design. If one also takes into account the fact that the rapid technological advancements of recent years have brought into the forefront novel materials like composite and smart materials that allow the design of materials with enhanced properties and characteristics, then one appreciates that the term “modern mechanical engineering design” entails the design of not only a product or a structure but also the material itself. Thus, it is logical that a Department that combines the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering will be able to arm its graduates with the necessary tools to effect complete engineering design beginning with the preliminary stages of design of not only the product or structure but also of the appropriate material and culminating in the last stages of production. In our Department therefore, integrated with the field of Mechanical Engineering is the field of Materials Science and Engineering. Materials Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary field that has only recently come into the forefront of technology. The stature of the field has grown from that of a support field to that of an independent engineering discipline when it became evident that the activities in various materials categories such as metals, ceramics and polymers have a lot of common features among them involving both their processing and experimental characterization techniques as well as the micromechanical (numerical and analytical) methodologies for the assessment of their properties. Materials Science and Engineering, therefore, has emerged from the integration of these activities. Materials Science and Engineering may be defined as the field of study of the structure and properties of different materials that has the objective of appreciating the relationships between the structural characteristics, processing techniques, and properties of a certain product. Materials Science and Engineering is the utilization of the accumulated knowledgebase for the purpose of effecting specific design, synthesis, control and modification of appropriate materials for engineering and general technological applications. The interdisciplinary nature of the field has its foundations in the fact that one needs to appreciate both the underlying scientific foundations of the pertinent materials – beginning from their fundamental building blocks at the nanoscopic level to their macroscopic behaviour – as well as the specific mechanics characterising their applications. Thus, it is a very broad field attracting scientists and engineers that come from a wide range of educational and research backgrounds such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering. Moreover, it has been observed that, in the recent years, many leading Universities throughout the world are offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Materials Science and Engineering. This trend will continue as more countries realise the importance of the field in the achievement of innovative and ambitious technological goals.