U of M: Department of Mechanical Engineering: Mission.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota offers undergraduate and graduate education of the highest quality in mechanical and industrial engineering, conducts significant basic and applied research in selected areas, and provides professional service to the appropriate constituencies of this major land grant university.

In teaching we seek to encourage our students to discover their individual talents, inspire them to work up to their potential, and prepare them for lifelong learning and successful lifetime careers. Our undergraduate education shall provide for study in the basic sciences, the liberal arts, and engineering analysis and design in accordance with national standards and be innovative in content and approach. In particular, our undergraduate program should benefit by enrichment from our research activities and ties to industry and our maintaining a strong co-op program with its opportunities for actual engineering experience. Our graduate program should combine innovative research with a coherent plan of study and provide opportunities for full- or part-time students seeking masters and doctoral degrees. We recognize that because of our urban setting and size, some students may find it difficult to develop the satisfying, personal attachments to our department and university that come more easily at smaller, more intimate institutions. Accordingly, we must be conscious of the needs to create a departmental atmosphere that overcomes these handicaps and build on the benefits that accrue from our rich surroundings.

Research is an integral part of graduate education. While our research program should be broad in scope it cannot cover all aspects of mechanical and industrial engineering. Rather, we should select research foci based on such factors as faculty members' capabilities and interests, long-range importance to mechanical and industrial engineering, leadership potential within the department, the ability to provide supporting facilities, potential for enriching the undergraduate curriculum, and relevance to regional needs. Furthermore, these focus areas should be chosen with regard to the obligation to obtain adequate, stable financial support and be confined to a size and scope within the means of available resources. We encourage collaboration among faculty and programs that crosses disciplinary and departmental boundaries. Our research programs should be in the forefront of their respective areas and we should regularly measure their productivity in terms of technological impact and the quality and originality of publications, patents, and graduate degrees granted. It is expected that our graduates will be among the teachers and technological leaders of the future.

Our service obligations include participating in university self-governance, providing leadership for professional organizations, and giving professional advice and counsel at the local, state, national, and international levels. In addition, we have the responsibility, in a state-supported land grant institution, to serve as a creative font and information resource for the citizens, government, and industry of the state of Minnesota.

Balancing the demands of these responsibilities is a challenge. We must remember that our undergraduate and graduate students are our first responsibility. In serving their needs we must:

encourage, recognize and reward excellence among students, staff, and faculty
be selective and set priorities, recognizing that choices often entail difficult and painful decisions
be sensitive to the concerns of students, their families, citizens and their elected officials who, through taxes and tuition, pay a significant fraction of our salaries
seek and use assessments from the organizations that employ our students as guides for evaluating and improving our teaching and research programs
use our limited resources efficiently
recognize our responsibility for financial and behavioral accountability
continually seek ways to maintain a safe, pleasant and productive work and study environment

Through our individual and collective efforts we can maintain and improve our position as one of the leading mechanical engineering departments in the nation.