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Need Advisement?

Students with general queries regarding the Mechanical Engineering programs can visit the ME Department at Jacaranda Hall 4513 or call (818) 677-2187.

Learn More About Advising

Graduate Coordinator

Jamie Booth


Jacaranda Hall, Room 3509
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8332

Phone: (818) 677-5547

Send email

Department Chair

Hamid Johari, Ph.D.


Jacaranda Hall, Room 4513
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8332

Phone: (818) 677-2187

Fax: (818) 677-7062

Send email

M.S. Mechanical Engineering

This program emphasizes design and application in three main areas of specialization: mechanical systems, dynamics and control, and thermal-fluid systems.

Faculty research interests focus on these and other areas including air pollution, bioengineering, composite structures, computational fluid dynamics, energy processes, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, computer-aided design and manufacturing, and mechatronics. Practicing engineers can choose from many elective courses to meet their professional needs.

The Mechanical Engineering Department has multiple design and simulation laboratories as well as a subsonic wind tunnel, a manufacturing facility, an industrial autoclave, and an oven. All laboratories employ advanced Computer-Aided Engineering tools to provide the students with real-world design experiences.

Students receiving a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering will be able to:

  • Understand and apply advanced engineering mathematics, particularly to problems requiring matrix analysis and solutions of differential equations
  • Apply modern computational tools to attain solutions of complex mechanical engineering problems in one of the emphasis areas
  • Demonstrate achievement of the specific learning outcomes assigned to their chosen emphasis area

Requirements for Admission to the Program

  1. General University requirements apply for all applicants.
  2. For admission, a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.0 or higher overall grade point average is required. Applicants with an overall grade point average between 2.5 and 3.0 will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis.
  3. For admission with a baccalaureate degree other than Mechanical Engineering, applicants must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Qualified applicants without a baccalaureate degree in Mechanical Engineering will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis. Additional preparatory coursework should be anticipated.
  4. Approval by the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the department graduate coordinator.
  5. A Statement of Purpose describing the applicant’s educational and career goals as well as two recommendation letters from professional references and applicant’s resume are required.
  6. Foreign students must undertake a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or other acceptable tests as specified by CSUN Office of Admissions for International Students to demonstrate their proficiency in the English language.
  7. To be considered for admission, the grades received in the undergraduate program and cumulative GPA must be available on a four-point letter grade scale of A-F. This admission requirement applies to applicants whose undergraduate (or other) institution does not report course grades in a letter format corresponding to a four-point numerical scale (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0) equivalent to the grading system used at CSUN.
  8. Students interested in the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree program who do not have an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering should contact the graduate coordinator regarding prerequisite requirements. The “Prerequisites” courses or their equivalents (including 400-level courses) are required if they have not been taken previously, but they do not count as part of the M.S. program.

1. Required Core (15 units)

  • Math Analysis
  • ME 501A Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
  • Breadth Requirement
  • ME 530 Mechanical Analysis of Solids (3)
  • ME 575 Applied Heat and Mass Transfer (3)
  • ME 584 Modeling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems (3)
  • ME 590 Advanced Fluid Dynamics (3)

2. Culminating Experience (1 unit) [CR/NC only]

  • ME 698D Thesis (1) or ME 697D Directed Comprehensive Studies/Exam (1)

3. Electives (15 units)

  • A. Thesis Plan
    • ME 696 Directed Graduate Research (6)
    • Three elective courses (9 units) relevant to the thesis topic and approved by the thesis faculty committee chair.
  • B. Comprehensive Exam Plan
    • Five elective courses (15 units) with at least three courses (9 units) selected from a single emphasis area.
      • Emphasis Areas
        • Mechanical System Design
          • ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
          • ME 532 Mechanics of Polymers (3)
          • ME 536 Mechanical Design with Composites (3)
          • ME 630 Computer-Aided Design of Machinery (3)
          • ME 686A Advanced Modeling, Analysis and Optimization I (3)
          • ME 686B Advanced Modeling, Analysis and Optimization II (3)
          • MSE 527/L Mechanical Behavior of Materials and Lab (2/1)
        • System Dynamics and Control
          • ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
          • ME 503 Biomedical Instrumentation (3)
          • ME 515 Dynamics of Machines (3)
          • ME 520 Robot Mechanics and Control (3)
          • ME 522 Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (3)
          • ME 684 Design and Control of Dynamic Systems (3)
        • Thermal-Fluid Systems
          • ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
          • ME 583 Thermal-Fluids System Design (3)
          • ME 593 Compressible Flow (3)
          • ME 595 Advanced Measurements (3)
          • ME 670 Advanced Topics in Thermodynamics (3)
          • ME 675A Conductive and Radiative Heat Transfer (3)
          • ME 675B Convective Heat and Mass Transfer (3)
          • ME 683 Energy Processes (3)
          • ME 692 Computational Fluid Dynamics (3)

Total Units Required for the M.S. Degree: 31

Please refer to the CSUN Catalog for course descriptions.

Course Catalog

Areas of Emphasis

Student Learning Objectives

  • Students will identify the characteristics of advanced machine design, and be able to investigate design problems using analytical techniques.
  • Students will apply modern computational tools for the solution of complex mechanical design problems. 
  • Students will develop and assess system level design using advanced methodologies, including optimization.

Faculty  

 
Peter L Bishay ME Faculty
Dr. Peter L Bishay

Research Interests:

Structures and Materials, Applied Mechanics, Biomechanical Engineering, Computer-Aided Engineering Design

Website

Jamie Booth ME Faculty
 Dr. Jamie Booth

Research Interests:

His research seeks to examine the extraordinary mechanical properties of natural systems, uncovering key principles which facilitate the design of novel, multifunctional, engineering materials. He is particularly interested in the modeling of fracture in complex systems for enhancement of toughness and adhesion.

Website

Melih Papila ME Faculty
 Dr. Melih Papila

Research Interests:

Advanced composite manufacturing techniques

Website

Maya Pishvar ME Faculty
 Dr. Maya Pishvar

Research Interests:

Novel Composite Fabrication techniques and multifunctional composites

Website

Christoph Schaal ME Faculty
Dr. Christoph Schaal

Research Interests:

Wave propagation, Nondestructive testing, Composites, Experimental mechanics, Robotics

Website

Natalie Schaal ME Faculty
Dr. Natalie Schaal

Research Interests:

Frictional Sliding on Heterogeneous Interfaces and Engineering Education Research

Website

 

Student Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to select mathematical models for the development of complex dynamic systems within physical domains
  • Students will apply control theory and modern simulation techniques to analyze and modify systems’ behavior
  • Students will design feedforward and feedback controllers to meet system and tracking requirements

Faculty  

 
Nhut Tan Ho ME Faculty
Dr. Nhut Tan Ho

Research Interest:

Human Systems Integration, Design of Automation, Human Automation Teamwork Curriculum reform and design, Change management

Website

Vidya K Nandikolla ME Faculty
Dr. Vidya K Nandikolla

Research Interests:

Dr. Vidya Nandikolla’s research is in robotics, autonomous system, biomedical modeling and control, hybrid control techniques, mechatronics and assistive robotics. Currently she is focusing on the following hands on research projects: (1) model, design and develop a multiple DOF mobile robotic hand with dexterous gripper system, (2) develop kinematics and dynamics of the robot for path planning and navigation, (3) integrate the BCI hybrid control to the autonomous smart wheelchair, and (4) develop the BCI pattern recognition machine learning model for a robotic system.

Website

Stewart P Prince ME Faculty
Dr. Stewart P Prince

Research Interests:

Automotive Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Robust control systems

Website

Tohid Sardarmehni ME Faculty
Dr. Tohid Sardarmehni

Research Interests:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Optimal Control Theory and Application

Website

 

Student Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to evaluate and analyze behavior of fluid flow and energy transfer in multidisciplinary engineering processes.
  • Students will further develop their problem-solving skills to examine complex thermal-fluids problems using experimental, analytical or advanced computational techniques.
  • Students will be able to utilize appropriate design and analysis methodologies to investigate and improve thermal-fluid systems.

Faculty  

 
Hamid Johari ME Faculty
Dr. Hamid Johari

Research Interests:

Aerodynamics, Turbulent Mixing, Parachute Systems

Website

Shadi Mahjoob ME Faculty
Dr. Shadi Mahjoob

Research Interest:

Biomechanical Engineering, Energy Systems, Heat Transfer, Combustion

Website

Abhijit Mukherjee ME Faculty
Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee

Research Interest:

Boiling and two phase flow, Micro Scale Heat Transfer, Fuel Cells, Renewable Energy Systems

Website

Vinicius Maron Sauer ME Faculty
Dr. Vinicius Maron Sauer

Research Interest:

Energy Systems, Heat Transfer, Combustion, Propulsion and Power

Website

 

Recent Thesis Projects

  • Analysis and Design of Periodic Composite Beams with Piezoelectric Elements
  • Damping and Actuation of Composite Laminates with Embedded SMA Wires
  • Design of a Robotic Arm Manipulator using Hybrid BCI
  • Development of a Seamless Composite Skin for a Twist-Morphing Wing
  • Development of Omnidirectional Robot Using Hybrid Brain Computer Interface
  • Dual-Periodic Lattice Beams for Wave Guiding and Vibration Attenuation
  • Dynamic Analyses of Laminated Composite Beams with Delamination
  • Effectiveness of an Autonomous Vehicle Using Solar Energy for a Custom Battery Pack
  • Experimental and Computational Analysis of Morphing Composite Laminates with Embedded Shape Memory Alloy Actuators
  • Human Machine Interface for Hybrid-Brain Computer Interface Omnidirectional Mobile Semi
  • Autonomous Robot
  • Machine Learning using Brain Computer Interface (BCI) System
  • Metallographic investigation of plastic deformation on aluminum alloys under different loading conditions
  • Reliability Analysis of Smart Composite Structures Using Artificial Neural Networks
  • Sharp Leading Edge Symmetric Airfoils in Low Reynolds Number Flow
  • The exploration of tough multiscale lattice geometries
  • Variation in strength of bioinspired adhesive microstructures due to interfacial defects
  • Vision based Mobile Robot Learning and Integration of Trust Technology using AI
  • Computational Investigation of Air Cooling through Channels with Jet Impingement and Ribbed Target Surfaces in the Presence of Cross Flow Cooling
  • Tracking of Scattered High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Schlieren Images Using Iterative Learning Control and Wavenumber Filtering
  • Investigation of a Novel Transducer Design for Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing of Additively Manufactured Metal Components

Spring 2021

Christian Aguilar 

Development of a Seamless Composite Skin for a Twist-Morphing Wing

James Martinez

Reliability analysis of smart composite structures using artificial neural networks

Arshak Amirbekyan

Analysis and Design of Periodic Composite Beams with Piezoelectric Elements

Fall 2020

Bryan Ghoslin

Development of Omnidirectional Robot Using Hybrid Brain Computer Interface

Sina Kashkuli

Numerical Investigation of Thermal Transport in Metal Foam Filled and Rib Structured Channels Employing Single Jet Impingement

Kevin Matsuno

Machine Learning using Brain Computer Interface (BCI) System

Daniel Medina

Design of a robotic arm manipulation using Hybrid BCI

Financial Support

Resources

Need Advisement?

Students with general queries regarding the Mechanical Engineering programs can visit the ME Department at Jacaranda Hall 4513 or call (818) 677-2187.

Learn More About Advising

Graduate Coordinator

Jamie Booth


Jacaranda Hall, Room 3509
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8332

Phone: (818) 677-5547

Send email

Department Chair

Hamid Johari, Ph.D.


Jacaranda Hall, Room 4513
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8332

Phone: (818) 677-2187

Fax: (818) 677-7062

Send email

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