The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) is the largest in the Swanson School, with more than 40 primary faculty whose expertise spans advanced manufacturing, energy and power systems, solid and fluid mechanics, smart materials, robotics, controls, acoustics, computational engineering, and nanotechnology.
Faculty are active researchers who bring current work directly into the classroom, and the department emphasizes critical thinking and hands-on problem solving at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Learn more about our faculty and their work through the spotlight series.
Congratulations to our Spring 2026 graduates!
Where a Classroom Meets Community
In Pitt course Innovating for Public Impact, students learn to understand a real-world problem before rushing to solve it
Listening for Trouble
Pitt team field-tests fiber-optic sensors for spent-fuel canisters at Idaho National Laboratory
Juan José Mendoza-Arenas Found a New Use for an Existing Mathematical Tool
His paper on quantum turbulence was named Editor’s Choice
Pitt Prototype Puts Potholes on Notice
Startup Silly Surfacing collaborates with Pitt’s IDEA Lab and the Innovation Works’ Robotics Factory to develop, prototype, and demonstrate a pothole-filling robot
Pitt ranks No. 24 among the nation’s public universities, says U.S. News & World Report
Engineering jumps 11 places to No. 46
Pitt’s G. Paolo Galdi Elected a Foreign Member of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic
Plugging In, Tuning Up, and Taking Third
Three years after converting its Formula SAE car to electric power, Panther Racing posted its best finish in team history
A “RARE” Opportunity
Tatsuya Sakurahara helps organize international PSAM conference in Pittsburgh, illuminating new research pathways for Pitt students in his RARE Lab
Swanson School of Engineering Launches “Leadership Conversations”
Rory A. Cooper opens speaker series with story of building HERL into a lasting research enterprise
Amin Salehi-Khojin Named Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Pitt
News
Where a Classroom Meets Community
The University of Pittsburgh’s Liz Caruso teaches students to embrace uncertainty. In her course Innovating for Public...
Listening for Trouble
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering have partnered with Pittsburgh startup...
Juan José Mendoza-Arenas Found a New Use for an Existing Mathematical Tool
A paper from the lab of Juan José Mendoza-Arenas illustrating an extraordinary example of mathematical efficiency was...
Pitt Prototype Puts Potholes on Notice
For Pittsburgh drivers, city officials, and repair crews, potholes are a seemingly endless source of frustration. For...
Events
MEMS Department Seminar Series: Dr. Vaibhav Yadav
Host: Tatsuya Sakurahara Dr. Vaibhav Yadav, Distinguished Staff Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory Topic - Can...
MEMS Department Seminar Series: Prof. Craig Arnold
Host: Mostafa Bedewy Prof. Craig Arnold, Susan Dod Brown Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton...
MEMS Department Seminar Series: Assoc. Prof. Xiang Yang
Host: Juan Jose Mendoza Arenas Assoc. Prof. Xiang Yang, Kenneth K. & Olivia J. Kuo Early Career Professor, Penn...