The manufacturing sector is an engine for economic growth and an important contributor to the country’s economic competitiveness, particularly because growth in the manufacturing sector drives additional activity in other sectors.
In the Department of Mechanical Engineering, manufacturing research is focused not only on developing product, process and system technologies to reduce costs, increase revenue and promote economic growth, but also on developing sustainable technologies in these areas. Some examples of ongoing research efforts include developing predictive modeling tools for total lifecycle-based product designs to reduce material/energy consumption and developing tools and practices to improve performance at the manufacturing systems and supply chain levels. A number of automotive and aerospace manufacturers, as well as their suppliers, and many other manufacturing companies are located within a 100 mile radius from the university. With proximity to industry and strong collaborations with the UK Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM), Institute for Research and Technology Development (IR4TD) and Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky (PEIK), our program, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is well positioned to advance manufacturing research in the Bluegrass and beyond.
Research Centers and Lab Websites
- Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (Jawahir)
- Institute for Research and Technology Development (IR4TD) (Saito)
- Sustainable Machining Research Lab (Jawahir)
- Brazing, Soldering and Heat Exchangers Lab (Sekulic)
- Manufacturing Systems and Supply Chain Lab (Badurdeen)
