Mechanical and Automation Engineering

Introduction

    The Department was established in 1990 with one class of enrollment every year (two classes every year since 1992). Currently, the department has a student body of over 500 in eight different classes. The young/dynamic faculty group is composed of one professor eleven associate professors, six assistant professors (all with a doctoral degree), and one lecturer (with a master degree)。
    Since 2003, the Department has instituted its graduate school with an enrollment of 20 per year. The establishment of the graduate school is a direct result of the booming research activities as engaged by the faculty and student body.
    The Department concentrates its research in the areas of automatic control technologies, manufacture technologies, energy engineering, and recenthy, mechanical-electrical integration The teaching philosophy of the Department is to cultivate future mechanical engineers with both theoretical and practical background as well as researchers for future advanced study. Along with the goal of teaching, the courses offered by the Department are basically concentrated on theoretical knowledge, and further enhanced by hand-on practices.Therefore, the department has been heavily working on the stimulation of students’ potential in terms of practical capabilities in mechanical engineering as well as academic researches. As a result, students are constantly encouraged to participate in various research activities assisted by the Department faculty members. Due to the efforts of the Department, the graduates of this Department have shown professional proficiency at work and have gained high recognition from the industry.

Teaching and Research

    The mechanical engineering courses are taught based on both the conventional theories and experimental training, also are enhanced by some practical courses such as automatic control and applications of computer technologies. Other than teaching, the faculty members of the Department are also heavily engaged in the cooperative researches with the industry, government, and educational institutes, such as National Science Council, Ministry of Education, Kaohsiung City Government, and other civil sectors ; and fruitful results are usually realized. The research areas in process include cogeneration, energy engineering, IC packaging, precision manufacture for aero-space industry, electrical automobiles, fuel-saving car, and solar-power car technologies.

Curriculum and Facility

    The elective courses of this department are grouped into four different specific areas: (1) Solid Mechanics: Dynamics, Advanced Material Mechanics, Vibrations, Composite Materials, and Advanced Machine Design. (2) Thermal-Fluid Engineering: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Advanced Fluid Mechanics, Thermal hydraulics, Aerodynamics, Gas Dynamics, Jet Propulsion, and Computational Fluid Dynamics. (3) Design and Manufacture: CAD/CAM, Machine Design Practice, Finite Element Methods, Robotics, and Cutting Technologies. (4) Control: Dynamic System Analysis, Electrical-Machinery, Pneumatic and Hydraulic Engineering, Micro-Process Technologies, Instrumentation and Measurements, and Digital Control. Other than the courses listed above, students can also take course from Industrial Electronics, Japanese, Industrial Management, C Language Programs, Advanced Engineering Mathematics (III), and Special Topic Seminars. The University library has a fine collection of books and periodicals on mechanical engineering. The students of the Department also have an access to various administrative assists such as computer graphics and other softwares. Currently, the research facilities of the Department include one machine shop and eleven laboratories designated for Material Science, Solid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, Fuel cell, Control, Pneumatic Hydraulics, Electronic IC Packaging, CAD/CAM, and Precision Manufacturing.

Career Development

    Based on the professional knowledge through theoretical and practical training, the graduates of this Department are well capable of performing professional activities in the employment of mechanical engineers, researchers, and managerial staffs as described below:
    (1)Production Department: Planning of Production Process, Production Control, Quality Control.
    (2)Factory Management, and Facility Maintenance.
    (3)Design Department: Designing of Machinery Production, and Factory Facilities.
    (4)R&D Department: Performance Test/Analysis/Assessment/Improvement of Products, Development of Product Innovation﹐and Market Investigation.
    (5)Integrated Logistic Support Department: Storage, Packing & Transportation﹐Facility Construction﹐Technical Information﹐Maintainability, Reliability and safety. Other than professional career, the graduates of this Department are also engaged in pursuing advanced (master and doctoral) degrees in related fields domestically or overseas.
　

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