Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

The Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (MME) department and associate Industrial and Professional Advisory Committee (IPAC) initiated an Engineering Career Seminar series to bring insight to students about the work and technologies for engineers, particularly MME engineers in local industries and to develop relations between students and faculty with engineers in industry.  Several engineers from Boeing Defense and Space, St Louis, visited campus on November 4 for a panel presentation and discussion about the work and technical challenges of various engineering disciplines in the fixed-wing aircraft industry.  Several of the panelists were SIUE Engineering alumni or current interns.   About thirty engineering students heard about typical engineering assignments, technical challenges and advice for careers from the eight Boeing panelists.  The students and faculty were able to get answers to specific questions about work expectations, career paths and internship opportunities in a Q and A session during the seminar.  One of the students in attendance said it was helpful to actually hear from working engineers and to hear what engineers actually do on a daily basis.  Another student remarked that the seminar was definitely informative and was helpful to solidify his thoughts on the type of work he wants to do in industry.

Engineers of Various Technical Disciplines from the Boeing Defense and Space Co., St. Louis Hold a Panel Discussion on Careers at the November 4^th Engineering Career Seminar

The MME Engineering Career Seminar series was kicked off previously in October with a plant tour and engineering panel discussion at Amsted Rail Co. in Granite City, IL on 11 October.  Several Amsted Rail production engineers introduced about fifteen MME students to the design and production casting operations for producing railroad carriage assemblies.  The engineers presented information on ongoing engineering projects for quality control and process automation as well at insights to internship and co-op opportunities at Amsted Rail.  On October 28 several members of the IPAC and MME team presented a seminar on mechanical and mechatronic engineering in the petroleum industry at Phillips 66, refrigeration system and manufacturing industry at True Manufacturing O’Fallon, MO and aerospace industries from their personal career experiences in those industries. 

The MME/IPAC team plans to continue the Engineering Career Seminar series in the spring semester.  In addition to seminars, the team will be working to maintain and develop interaction between the students, faculty and local industry engineers in casual exchanges, design reviews and, possibly, contracted engineering projects.