In Mechanical Engineering, you’ll study the design, build, testing, and practical application of physics principles for the purpose of solving societal problems in innovative ways. In these courses you’ll learn modern engineering methodologies and gain hands-on experience. Graduates from this program will be well prepared for manufacturing and industrial jobs requiring knowledge of automation and mechanical engineering subjects. This major is especially well suited for students who have a keen interest in robotic and mechatronic systems.
In Mechanical Engineering, you’ll study the design, build, testing, and practical application of physics principles for the purpose of solving societal problems in innovative ways. In these courses you’ll learn modern engineering methodologies and gain hands-on experience. Graduates from this program will be well prepared for manufacturing and industrial jobs requiring knowledge of automation and mechanical engineering subjects. This major is especially well suited for students who have a keen interest in robotic and mechatronic systems.
Associate Professor of Physics and Mechanical Engineering
Email:
alex.tsai@avemaria.edu
Phone:
(239) 280-1607
Office:
Henkels 2047
MECH 100 Engineering Statics
MECH 200 Mechatronics
MECH 220 Electric Circuits
MECH 250 Engineering Dynamics
MECH 300 Fluid Mechanics
MECH 310 Mechanics of Materials
MECH 320 Thermodynamics
MECH 330 Mechanisms
MECH 340 Machine Design
MECH 400 Engineering Experimentation
MECH 410 Heat Transfer
MECH 420 Control Systems
MECH 340 Senior Capstone Design
MECH 440 Mechanical Engineering Elective
MATH 151 Calculus I
CHEM 125 General Chemistry I
PHYS 221 Physics I
CHEM 126 General Chemistry II
MATH 250 Calculus II
MATH 251 Vector Calculus
MATH 252 Ordinary Differential Equations
MECH 100 Engineering Statics
MECH 200 Mechatronics
MECH 220 Electric Circuits
MECH 440 ME Elective
CSCI 151 Introduction to Computer Programming
MATH 151 Calculus I
Ave Maria University is launching mechanical engineering as a new major this fall, which aims to teach students the design, build, testing, and practical application of complex systems for the purpose of solving societal problems in innovative ways and in light of the Catholic faith.
Program director, Alex Tsai, Ph.D., P.E., expounded on the value and need for Catholic engineers, saying, “Catholic engineers contribute to society in a healthy way that glorifies God, by developing ethical and moral solutions to the world’s problems.”
AMU Provost Dr. Roger Nutt said, “Ave Maria University was founded by Tom Monaghan to be a place where the brightest Catholic students could receive the best formation in the Catholic tradition. Ave Maria University was also founded to be a comprehensive university. The new program in mechanical engineering brings these aspects of the founding vision to fruition.”
Dr. Nutt continued, “The program in engineering will be rigorous and demanding, and also fully integrated with the University's Catholic liberal arts core curriculum. This is rare in engineering programs, and it will make the graduates of AMU's mechanical engineering program unique among their peers.”
Within the new program, students will cultivate a strong problem-solving mindset to accurately assess the feasibility of a design under given constraints; gain practical experience through hands-on exercises, building mechatronic systems, programming sensors and actuators, soldering, wiring, assembling mechanisms and machines, and analyzing existing systems; create mathematical models of complex physical systems via analytical and empirical methods; and learn the principles of engineering and their integration with the Catholic faith.
This program will be arranged in three major tracks: thermal sciences, machine design and automation, and instrumentation and controls.
The major is especially well suited for students who have a keen interest in robotic and mechatronic systems. Students will learn about engineering modeling, analysis and design, CAD software, sensor and actuator dynamics, programming, and system control. These courses outline modern engineering methodologies, in practical, hands-on ways. Graduates from this program will be well prepared for manufacturing and industrial jobs requiring knowledge of automation and mechanical engineering subjects.
Dr. Alex Tsai is an associate professor of physics and mechanical engineering at Ave Maria University. Before coming to AMU, Dr. Tsai taught mechanical engineering courses as an associate professor at the United States Coast Guard Academy in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The engineering major will launch in the fall 2025 semester. To learn more about course content, email Dr. Tsai at alex.tsai@avemaria.edu. For details on registration, speak with an admissions counselor at 239-280-2556.
5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria, FL 34142
