Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing engineering involves designing, analyzing, and applying manufacturing methods and processes so that quality products can be produced at a competitive cost. It is the manufacturing engineer who is most responsible for the efficient production of quality products. Manufacturing engineering is one of the fastest growing engineering disciplines and is making a significant impact on the United States' ability to design and manufacture a high-quality product that competes in a global marketplace.

Miami's program in manufacturing engineering is one of only 19 such programs in the nation to be accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Miami student passage rates on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam (the first of two exams for professional licensure) are significantly above the national average. In recent years, Miami's senior manufacturing engineering students have achieved over a 95 percent passage rate on the FE exam.

Industry has a pressing need for manufacturing engineers because the technology required to manufacture products has become increasingly sophisticated. Businesses need people who can use computers to design and manufacture products in ways that increase productivity, improve quality, and reduce costs.

Distinctive Features at Miami

CIMS Laboratory: The CIMS (Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems) Laboratory is an interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art lab environment that provides Miami students with advanced technologies and methodologies.

Work experience: Students can participate in summer internships and co-op programs.

Hands-on laboratory experience: Students receive in-depth laboratory experience in materials, testing, computer graphics, statistical process control, microprocessors, CAD/CAM, and process and product design.

Design projects: Open-ended/team-oriented projects that often lead to multiple solutions are integrated throughout the four-year program.

Your Program of Study

Engineering science courses are fundamental to all engineering disciplines. Static and dynamic modeling, strength of materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and electric circuit analysis are some of the areas studied.

Manufacturing engineering courses give you an in-depth study in modern methods of designing and manufacturing quality products. These courses prepare you to select appropriate materials, processes, and methods to manufacture a quality product at a competitive cost.

Engineering design is integrated throughout the curriculum. You learn to develop engineering thinking, which combines art and science, intuition and logic, and observation and experimentation. You will come up with a solution for an engineering problem, investigate the process and raw materials needed, and build a working model.

Senior Design Project represents the culmination of design integration within the curriculum. This is a capstone, year-long experience in which seniors select and complete open-ended projects, many of which involve working with industry. Students work in teams, select and define a manufacturing problem, conduct research, develop and evaluate solutions, present chosen designs, and implement the final design. Past projects for local industries and businesses have included designing a quality control lab and work stations for the disabled.

The program leads to the Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering.

Work Experience

To gain practical work experience in an area related to manufacturing engineering, you can participate in our summer intern program or in our co-op program. Interns have a single work assignment and complete the degree in four years. Co-op students alternate periods of school with periods of employment and complete the degree in five years.

Typically, students perform basic engineering studies in the areas of statistical quality control, manufacturing processes, economic justification, engineering process design, and CAD/CAM.

Laboratories and Computing Facilities

Miami offers laboratory experience in CAD/CAM, robotics, computer graphics, computer-controlled manufacturing systems, statistical process control, microprocessors, electronic instrumentation, and materials testing. Facilities also include equipment dealing with precision measurements, manufacturing processes, digital controls, and automatic control systems.

Student Organizations

Through honorary and professional organizations, students develop leadership skills, interact with professionals in their field, and take part in educational activities which have significance beyond the campus. Student organizations available at Miami include:

• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Association of Women in Computing (AWC)
• Omega Rho - Operations research honorary
• Paper Industry Management Association (PIMA)
• Sigma Pi Sigma - Physics honorary
• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
• Society of Physics Students (SPS)
• Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• Student National Technical Association (SNTA)
• Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI)
• Women in Math, Science, and Engineering

After You Graduate

Our graduates typically work as manufacturing engineers in areas such as quality control, tool design, production engineering, computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), or plant facilities engineering.

After gaining industrial experience, graduates can enter the field of technical management in positions such as production engineer, quality control manager, manufacturing engineer, operations manager, plant manager, and project engineer.

Some companies that have hired recent graduates include Black & Decker, G.E. Appliances, General Motors, and NASA.

Continuing education in an engineering field is also an option. Graduates often study manufacturing, mechanical, or industrial engineering.

Our placement records consistently show that more than 90 percent of the program's most recent graduates are placed in positions appropriate to their major. Entry-level salaries for these graduates are among the highest at Miami University and are comparable to salaries of engineering graduates nationwide ($43,200 in 2000).

Graduating seniors are encouraged to take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination given by the Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. This is the first of two examinations leading to a license as a professional engineer.

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the Manufacturing Engineering major, please contact:

Dr. Osama Ettouney, Chair
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
56 Engineering Building
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2650
ettounom@muohio.edu
www.eas.muohio.edu/egr