The Mechanical Engineering program at UVic is energetic and forward looking. Its focus is on research in leading edge and information technologies, such as robotics and advanced manufacturing, mechatronics and embedded systems, energy conversion systems, thermofluids, advanced materials and computational mechanics.

Mechanical engineering is present wherever engineered systems interact with the physical world. This broad applicability assures its place as a vibrant core discipline, increasingly focused on integrating the exploration of fundamental solid and fluid mechanics with computer aided design/manufacture and embedded sensors and control.

Mechanical engineers are involved with the development of leading edge systems in areas such as clean energy, biomedical devices, transportation, aeronautics and aerospace, robotics, and optics, in turn propelled by fundamental mechanical engineering research into composite, ceramic and metallic materials, nanotechnology, and computational analysis and intelligent design software.

Facilities

The Department of Mechanical Engineering, together with the associated Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) and the Centre for Advanced Materials Technology (CAMTEC), has excellent research facilities. These include extensive computational hardware and software, an advanced manufacturing laboratory with a four axis machine centre, a two axis lathe, a coordinate measuring machine, a comprehensive robotics and vision technology laboratory, a versatile material testing machine, crystal growth and characterization facilities, a spray research apparatus, a water channel with laser Doppler velocimetry, a cryofuels laboratory, an adaptive optics laboratory, and a transportation fuel cell systems laboratory. The laboratories are well equipped with state-of-the-art measuring equipment.

Financial support

Normally graduate students are provided with financial support from faculty research funds for the first year. Subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funding, financial support may be renewed. Graduate support can also be provided through various sources such as teaching assistantships, University of Victoria Fellowships and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS). Refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies site for additional funding information. All eligible students are encouraged to apply for funding from provincial, federal and external sources.