Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering
The Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering offers students the opportunity to explore the design and manufacture of machines, aircraft, vehicles beyond the earth's atmosphere, and the structure and properties of engineering materials.
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About MMAE
Materials engineers are producing new and better materials that are revolutionizing the way we work and live. Whether developing energy materials for fuel cells or producing smart materials behind advanced sensors, our materials engineers are shaping innovations that are changing the world for the better.
The department's undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and materials science and engineering are all accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.
Our ABET-accredited programs will prepare you to excel in a wide range of industries that require optimization, processing, and selection.
Click below to view our annual ABET-accredited program data:
Fast Facts: Why MMAE?
Graduate Fellowships
We are accepting applications for full and partial graduate fellowships for the 2024–2025 academic year. We encourage students who have applied for a graduate degree program in the MMAE department to apply for these funding opportunities!
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We're Hiring!
Our department is running faculty searches for a tenure-track position in autonomous systems and urban mobility and for a teaching faculty position. We also have postdoc and Ph.D. student opportunities available. Consider being a part of this expansion at Chicago's only tech-focused university!
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Welcoming New Faculty
The MMAE department is excited to welcome a new faculty member. Assistant Professor Douglas Carter is an expert in experimental turbulent flows, particle-turbulence interaction, noise generation of separated flows, particle tracking velocimetry, and high-speed flows.
Events
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Transmitting Safety: Taking on the Cybersecurity Threats to Transportation
Frank Gunsaulus Faculty Fellow in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Boris Pervan: In positioning navigation and timing, any type of surface vehicles—ships, cars, trucks, trains, transportation...
$6 Million NASA Funding Toward Fully Uncrewed Aircraft Systems
Boris Pervan, Frank Gunsaulus Faculty Fellow in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and director of the Center for Assured and Resilient Navigation in Advanced Transportation Systems (CARNATIONS) at...
Ph.D. Student Conducts Research That Takes Flight
TRANSCRIPT Nickolas Payne (Ph.D. MAE Student): I’m looking to explore a technology that improves the performance of electric airplanes and to validate it. Improving the lift capability of air foils...
Faculty Research
Our faculty research includes topics in emerging areas such as robotics, fluid dynamics, design, materials science, green energy, transportation, biomechanics, and space systems.
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Student Research
Participate in breakthrough research with our mechanical, materials, and aerospace engineering faculty, applying real-world applications and working on projects that will address the biggest issues facing our local and global communities.
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Student Organizations
Our students have the opportunity to gain real-world experience and develop professional skills through student-run organizations, department workshops, seminars, and networking events.
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Min-Lin Tsai is a Raymond H. Springer Endowed Fellowship recipient.
Min-Lin Tsai (Ph.D. MAE Student)
As a 2024 Brooke Owens Fellow, Naia Lum will be an intern at Draper Laboratory.
Naia Lum (ME, M.S. ASR 4th Year)
Chloé Benz says Illinois Tech directly prepared her for a job developing cutting-edge autonomous driving technology.
Chloé Benz (M.S. Autonomous Systems and Robotics ’22)
Seth Graham’s NASA internship helped land him a job at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Seth Graham (ME/M.Eng. MAE ’22)
Dance and activism help Neil John work toward a career in sustainability
Neil John (ME 2nd Year)
A childhood obsession with space pushed Brandon Lloyd to Illinois Tech's aerospace engineering program and a stellar job at NASA.
Brandon Lloyd (AE ’08)"When I visited campus, I felt that I fit into the student population well. I enjoyed our nerdy conversations and jokes and felt at home immediately. I knew I would be getting a top-notch engineering education here where I could be research and internship focused. I found at other universities it was one or the other."
"Illinois Tech is a good choice for anyone looking for a more personal education. Small class sizes allow professors to tailor lectures for the students present. Professors are very approachable and always have office hours, as do teaching assistants. There are many research opportunities on campus, plus faculty and student organizations are very willing to help in searching for internships."
“At Illinois Tech, I have had some of the best teachers of my entire academic career. I am always so impressed by the depth of knowledge of the faculty.”
"My peers at Illinois Tech have been some of the greatest supporters and sources of information when pursuing opportunities. They have helped me reach my full potential, and I in turn have tried my best to do the same for them. It’s great to be at a school where you are surrounded by people who are all prioritizing and advocating for their education and career."
Faculty Research
Our extraordinary faculty members are dedicated to our students, passionate about world-class research, and make it possible for us to offer top-ranked programs.
Seebany Datta-Barua
Leon L. Shaw
David R. Williams
Kevin W. Cassel
Ankit Srivastava
Carrie M. Hall
Matthew Spenko
Sumanta Acharya
Boris S. Pervan
Louis N. Cattafesta III
Amir Mostafaei
Scott T. M. Dawson
MMAE in the Media
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Aerospace Testing International interviewed David Williams, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, to discuss his pioneering work using active flow control in an aircraft with no tail.
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Inside GNSS featured the CARNATIONS center as one of two U.S. Department of Transportation centers focused on assured positioning, navigation, and timing.
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NCTV17 filmed Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Matthew Spenko and his team demonstrating the drone technology they developed for the XPRIZE Rainforest competition. The team traveled to the Amazon rainforest in July 2024 to participate in the competition finals.
Contact Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering
Department Type
AcademicCollege
Armour College of EngineeringOffice Location
Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering
John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center
10 West 32nd Street, Room 243
Chicago, IL 60616