Message from the Chair

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the William B. Burnsed, Jr. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering where we offer our students an enriching learning experience fostered by a team of dedicated faculty and staff.  Our students’ potential employers in the area include Airbus, Austal USA, Ingalls Shipbuilding, etc.

Our BS degree in Mechanical Engineering is ABET accredited.  Within this degree, undergraduate students have an opportunity to select a concentration in either Aerospace or Biomedical Engineering.  Our students also have the option of pursuing a minor in many programs such as Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, General Business, Music, etc.  Well-qualified students may apply for the ABM (Accelerated BS to MS degree) program which allows them to complete both BS and MS degrees in 5 years.  Paid summer research opportunities are also available through the university-funded SURF program.

Our graduate students can pursue an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering or a Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering.  Many of our graduate students have been supported through graduate assistantships to assist a faculty member with teaching related tasks while conducting research alongside our faculty in different areas such as Advanced Composite Materials, Flight Dynamics, Medical Imaging and Devices, Cell Mechanics, Biomechanics, Additive Manufacturing, Computational Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, etc.  We continue to strive to increase the number of graduate assistantships offered to attract talented graduate students.

I invite you to take a moment to explore our website for more information about our programs.  Please feel free to contact me at vphan@southalabama.edu if you have any questions.

Anh-Vu Phan
Professor and Interim Department Chair