Research & Facilities - Overview

The Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering actively conducts research in order to generate new knowledge that will strengthen and support undergraduate and graduate education at Penn State. Our faculty are renowned for their ability to work well and participate in interdisciplinary research with several of the University's consortia, multidisciplinary research with universities across the United States, and also collaborate with many of the academic colleges and research centers within Penn State. Several of our Department faculty members direct such major facilities as the:

Applied Research Laboratory
Center for Acoustics and Vibrations
Computational solid mechanics lab
Electrochemical Engine Center
Engineering Design and Optimization Group
Fuel Cell Dynamics and Diagnostics Laboratory
Gas Dynamics Laboratory
High Pressure Combustion Laboratory
Machine Dynamics Research Lab
Mechatronics Research Lab
Microscale Flow Laboratory
Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
Propulsion Engineering Research Center
PSU Experimental & Computational Convection Lab
Radiation Science & Engineering Center
Reactor Dynamics and Fuel Management Group
Rotorcraft Center of Excellence
Turbulent Combustion Lab
Welding research lab

One facility of particular distinction is the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor located at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center. The Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor is the longest operating licensed university research reactor in the United States and celebrated its 50th anniversary when it went critical for the first time on August 15, 1955. Penn State became the first institution of higher education in the United States to be licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to own and operate its own nuclear reactor. Over the years the Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor has undergone significant improvements that makes it one of the most flexible, state-of-the-art university research reactor facilities in the nation.

Our faculty collaborate with other interdisciplinary programs such as the Materials Research Institute and the Penn State Institutes of the Environment. Departmental faculty leadership is also provided to the Applied Research Lab and Rotorcraft Center for Excellence. In an era when national needs make it a priority for research universities to contribute to the industrial base, the Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering faculty at Penn State have distinguished themselves in applied research.

Here are a few highlights about our research program:

Research Spending Facts and Figures

NSF CAREER Awards

Four NSF ITR Awards

Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education (INIE)

These are only a few of our research successes. Please enjoy browsing our other research projects, research centers and faculty web pages!