Research
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech performs research involving approximately 170 graduate students, 40 faculty members, and numerous sponsors. Mechanical Engineering is one of the largest departments within the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, known in Virginia and throughout the nation for excellence in education, research and public service. External research support totals over $5 million per year and allows students to conduct research in six centers and approximately 15 labs, which are located in over 12 facilities around the Virginia Tech campus.
Please see the Current Research Projects list and the Areas of Expertise guide for more information.
Faculty Areas of Expertise
Centers
- Center for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems
- Center for Energy Systems Research
- Center for Injury Biomechanics
- Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
- Center for Turbomachinery & Propulsion Research
- Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety
- Vibrations & Acoustics Laboratory
Labs
- Advanced Experimental Thermofluids Engineering Research Laboratory
- Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory
- Biotransport and Optics Laboratory
- Design, Research & Education of Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Laboratory
- EXTREME Laboratory
- High Performance Computational Fluid Thermal Science and Engineering Group
- Hokie Heat Transfer Laboratory
- Intelligent Transportation Laboratory
- Micro/NanoScale Biotic/ Abiotic Systems Engineering (MicroN BASE) Laboratory
- Modal Analysis Laboratory
- Multi-Phase Flow Laboratory
- Performance Engineering Research Laboratory
- Railway Technologies Laboratory
- RoMeLa: Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory
- Rotor Dynamics Laboratory
- Tribology/Biotribology Laboratory
- Unmanned Systems Laboratory
- Vehicle Terrain Performance Laboratory
- Virginia Tech Experimental Computational and Convection Laboratory
- Virginia Active Combustion Control Group/ Reacting Flows Lab
- VT Microelectromechanical Systems Laboratory (VT MEMS Lab)