Welcome to Mechanical Engineering at SDSU!
The Department is the vibrant home to about 1200 undergraduate and graduate students, several active and award-winning student clubs and organizations, multiple teaching and research laboratories, internationally-renowned faculty who are dedicated teachers committed to the success of students while leading cutting-edge research in the fields of bioengineering, design, energy, manufacturing, materials, mechatronics, and robotics and control by employing advanced experimental and computational techniques, and dedicated and committed staff. Mechanical engineering is the broadest of all the engineering disciplines. We innovate the technologies at small and large scales that will impact healthcare in the next generation. We imagine, design and build the energy systems for stationary and mobile applications that are efficient, clean, and promote a sustainable environment. We develop and process the advanced materials that will realize the extreme demands of the technologies of the future. We develop robots and human-machine interfaces that will drive the technologies of the future with ever increasing safety and efficiency. In short, we imagine, create, design, and build technologies that impact all aspects of our life. Our undergraduate curriculum builds on the basic sciences as the foundation with the practical understanding of a broad range of engineering subjects through a combination of theoretical and hands-on learning culminating in a year-long capstone design experience where students work in teams on projects often sponsored by industries, while emphasizing ethical and professional responsibilities. Students have the opportunity to develop additional expertise in a specific area by taking electives and/or conducting faculty-supervised independent research. Most of our students benefit from work experience through internships and find job placement before they graduate. Graduate studies emphasize further course work and independent research in our multiple laboratories.
New Faculty


Dr. Zahra Nili Ahmadabadi
Dr. Zahra Nili, Assistant Professor, SDSU Mechanical Engineering, specializes in the areas of robotics and artificial intelligence with a focus on multi-agent coordination and nonlinear motion planning for mobile robots and unmanned air vehicles, useful in surveillance and exploration missions.

Dr. Elisa Torresani
Dr. Elisa Torresani, Assistant Professor, SDSU Mechanical Engineering, specializes in understanding the fundamentals of sintering and developing constitutive models of sintering which enable the prediction of the macroscopic and microscopic behavior of porous bodies (shape distortion, density distribution, grain growth, etc.)
Faculty Research Highlights

- Dr. Sung-Yong (Sean) Park has been awarded a NSF CAREER grant of $500,000 for his work on Optofluidic Solar Indoor Lighting Towards Sustainable Buildings
- Dr. Kevin Wood receives $231,000 grant for his research on next-generation batteries
- Dr. Amneet Bhalla is PI on a $500,000 grant in support of his work on the development of software infrastructure for the simulation of multiphase fluid-structure interactions.

Dr. Sung-Yong (Sean) Park has been awarded a NSF CAREER grant of $500,000 for his work on Optofluidic Solar Indoor Lighting Towards Sustainable Buildings.

Dr. Wood's research on next-generation batteries is supported by a grant ($231,000) from Belenos Clean Power Holdings. Dr. Wood is also a co-PI on a $2.8M grant from the California Energy Commission.

Dr. Bhalla is PI on a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in support of his work on the development of software infrastructure for the simulation of multiphase fluid-structure interactions.
Students
Senior Design Project Team Selected as Semi-Finalist in NASA Moon to Mars Prospecting Challenge
An interdisciplinary Senior Design Project Team is one of 12 teams from around the country selected to be semi-finalists in the NASA Moon to Mars Prospecting Challenge.

SDSU Mechatronics received awards from Virtual 2020 International RoboSub Competition
The SDSU Mechatronics team were awarded 5th place for best team video and 4th place overall in the virtual portion of the 2020 International RoboSub Competition.

Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
BMES Chapter at SDSU welcomes all individuals who share the purpose of the BMES in promoting development, and education in biomedical engineering and all allied scientific fields.