About A Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University.
We are living in a time of unprecedented change. As technological innovations create extraordinary opportunities to improve the human condition, they also challenge us to ensure that innovation serves society broadly and responsibly. Mechanical engineering stands at the center of this transformation, enabling advances in robotics, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, materials, healthcare, and sustainability that address society's most pressing challenges. At Northwestern, we are helping to create a better future through world-class research, innovation in teaching and learning, and a collaborative culture that prepares the next generation of engineers to lead discoveries in fields we cannot yet imagine.
Our department builds on Northwestern Engineering's historic strengths in mechanics and materials, design and manufacturing, and robotics and biosystems, while driving the cutting edge of emerging fields. We are particularly excited about Embodied AI, where advances in artificial intelligence are combined with physical systems that can perceive, learn, adapt, and interact with the world. Our faculty and students are helping define this frontier by developing next-generation materials, manufacturing technologies, robots, and human-machine systems that seamlessly integrate intelligence with the physical world.
Our leadership in these emerging areas is reflected in major national centers that ensure fundamental research translates to new technologies and workforce development. Northwestern Mechanical Engineering is proud to lead the NSF Human AugmentatioN via Dexterity (HAND) Engineering Research Center focusing on dexterous manipulation and to serve as a key partner of NSF Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing, Moving from Evolution to Revolution (HAMMER), an Engineering Research Center advancing the future of manufacturing. Outside the lab and classroom, our students get to engage with transformative ideas and “whole-brain engineering” through extracurricular activities and our vibrant student organizations. From designing race cars and building autonomous robotic systems to developing sustainable technologies and launching rockets into space, students gain hands-on experience that prepares them to lead at the forefront of engineering innovation.
Our department’s outstanding reputation comes from our extraordinary community of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and partners who share a commitment to excellence, innovation, and service to society. Our faculty include internationally recognized scholars, members of the U.S. National Academies and their international counterparts, recipients of the highest honors in science and engineering, and leaders of transformative research initiatives. Our alumni have shaped industry, academia, and government through influential careers as entrepreneurs, executives, laboratory leaders, and faculty at many of the world's leading institutions. Together, they foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and intellectual rigor that enables our community to tackle the most challenging problems of our time.
Whether you are a prospective student, researcher, industry collaborator, alumnus, or friend of the department, I invite you to explore our programs, discoveries, and community. We are excited about the future of mechanical engineering and the opportunities ahead, and we invite you to join us in shaping that future.