My Discpline

Mechanical Engineering has always had a huge draw on me. I love mechanical things. Things that use joints, pulleys, oil, and combustion have always been fascinating to me. It must of started when my Dad first took me out to his garage to work on his 1965 MGb. Since that day I have loved machines.

Sicnag, "1965 MGB Mk I Roadster (16327892676)" 01/15/2015 via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Students in the mechanical engineering program at the UA learn fundamentals. Dean Baygents has explained several times that UA's engineering program focuses on the fundamentals of engineering. That means there is a heavy focus on math, physics and mechanics. As well, students learn about certain computer programs that are used in the field such as CAD, MATLAB and Excel. This prepares the student for what they might find when they enter the workforce or continue on to grad school. This four year plan explains more about the fundamentals covered at UA for mechanical engineering.

Individuals who earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering go to find work at some of the largest manufacturing corporations in the country. These corporations are Honeywell, Raytheon Missile Systems and Lockheed-Martin among other companies.University of Arizona graduates go on to large corporations where they succeed and do well.

I drawn to the field of engineering for a multitude of reasons. My biggest reason is that I like to work on mechanical things so that I can learn how they work and in turn how to fix them. Getting an old engine to run or swapping out a radiator so that the car my father and I were restoring would not overheat is fulfilling. If my job can come with that same feeling of success, I will be happy to be in this field.

The most exciting leader in the field of mechanical engineering is Christian von Koenigsegg. Koenigsegg is the founder of Koenigsegg Automotive AB. Christian is an innovator in the car industry and he holds a variety of patents from combustion engines to chassis. His cars including his most famous One:1 are full of Christian's innovations.


Here are three academic journals where leading members of the engineering field publish their work;

1. The American Journal of Mechanical Engineering is a leading journal in the mechanical engineering field. It is published by the Science and Education Publishing Co.
2. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications is another journal in the Mechanical Engineering field that has a wide variety of engineering topics published in it like energy studies and thermodynamics. This journal is published by the Science Publishing Group.
3. International Journal of Material and Mechanical Engineering is a journal that covers a lot of previously unpublished work that focuses on materials and mechanical applications of those materials.

Edit:
I read posts from Hannah and Mark about their chosen majors. Hannah is majoring in psychology and her blog post was well written. She did an excellent job of explaining what majoring in psychology is like, what jobs a psych major has open to him or her and she introduced me to some fascinating researchers that are leaders in the field of psychology. Hannah did all of this with a tremendously small amount of words. That's what really impressed me about her post and what is going to push me to get rid of fluff that balloons my posts into essays. I also read Mark's post and he did a great job as well. I really learned a lot from him because he explained his major, political science, in a way that I could understand it. He explained what political science really is beyond its superficial meaning of a study of politics and a stepping stone into law school. Beyond that he explained how a focus in one aspect of political science can influence your career decisions. Mark's post was great and I learned how to meld the answers for two questions into one by providing good explanation that feeds into the question's answer. Well written posts by both Hannah and Mark.