James Madison University

Research

The research areas of the School of Engineering faculty reflect a broad range of expertise that cut across a variety of engineering disciplines (from mechanical engineering to civil/environmental engineering to biomedical engineering to materials engineering, etc.). Most of the areas of research expertise of the faculty center around sustainable development technologies, whether those are energy-related, like fuel cells, renewable energy, alternative fuels, etc. or related to automotive, biomedical, environmental, and materials research problems. A strength and uniqueness to our School of Engineering is the breadth of research areas that students can get exposed to and these research areas transcend a variety of engineering disciplines but also allow students to work in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects, which bring together knowledge from many engineering and scientific disciplines.

Student Projects

Having a curriculum that strongly integrates problem-based learning with an emphasis on balancing theory and practice, our students are exposed to a variety of projects that equip students with real-world practical skills in problem solving, team work, project management, communication skills, etc. Students projects begin from the first engineering course (ENGR 112) and continue every semester till senior year. A unique feature of our program is the six course design sequence, which is the spine of the program (a course every semester) and offers students the opportunity to not only learn and apply engineering design in a variety of contexts, but also provides instruction in sustainable engineering design concepts and practices encompassing the four pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, economic, and technical) as well as creative problem solving, thinking and communication skills, project management, technical writing, decision making, etc.