IE Graduate Packet

Texas A&M University in Kingsville is a comprehensive state-assisted university which offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The University is located 40 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, 153 miles southeast of San Antonio, and 120 miles north of Mexico. The Colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, and Graduate Studies provide programs to meet the needs of any student.

The University owns 1574 acres, with the main campus on 255 acres. The campus includes 534 acres for experimental farming, 237 acres at the Citrus Center near Weslaco, and another 141 acres adjacent to Baffin Bay for biological and marine research.

The Office of Admissions (361/593-2315) can provide information on entrance requirements, arrange campus visits, and upon request send a copy of the TAMUK Catalog. The Financial Aid Office (361/593-3419) may be contacted for information about housing.

Few professions offer greater challenge and opportunity than engineering. Engineering graduates usually command higher starting salaries than those completing other four-year college programs, and, despite the fluctuating economy, various engineering positions are always available.

Texas A&M engineering graduates have always been in demand, and many are now working in major national and local companies, research institutions, and military installations. Also, many alumni are employed abroad.

The College of Engineering at Texas A&M University offers a comprehensive program of courses leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Natural Gas Engineering. These programs are nationally accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The College of Engineering also offers degrees in Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, and Industrial Technology. The course of undergraduate instruction usually spans four years consisting of two semesters each.

Basic courses outside the engineering curriculum impart a solid foundation in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and the analysis of engineering systems. Engineering design courses in each degree area provide students the methods and techniques to solve the technological problems of today’s society.

Students will find that the College of Engineering's physical facilities—modern classrooms, laboratories, and computer terminals—are among the finest in the state. TAMUK’s ability to maintain small class sizes and a commitment to teaching ensures individual attention while allowing a diversity of programs and courses.

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

The College of Engineering's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering offers several flexible programs leading to advanced degrees in mechanical and industrial engineering. Major areas of concentration are industrial engineering and manufacturing, computer simulation, quality control, statistical analysis, fluid and thermal sciences, design and dynamics of mechanical systems, and material sciences. However, because the degree is tailored to the individual, the course work usually overlaps the boundaries of the major areas. Often, a student can include electives from other departments to fulfill a minor or to enhance the individual's program of study.

The Master of Science degree is a Plan I or Plan II program requiring the completion of 30 or 36 semesters hours of graduate work in engineering, including the thesis on the Plan I program. The Plan I degree is designed primarily for those interested in research or those wishing to work toward a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Thirty semester hours of approved graduate courses, with 18 to 24 semester hours (including 6 hours of Thesis 5306 research) in a major subject area and 6 to 12 semester hours in a minor subject area. The minor may be divided between two subject areas, with 6 semester hours in each.

Thirty semester hours of approved graduate courses, with at least 24 semester hours (including 6 hours of Thesis 5306 research) in a major subject area.

Thirty-six semester hours of approved graduate courses, with 21 to 24 semester hours (including 3 hours of Research Project 5305) in a major subject area and 12 to 15 semester hours in a minor subject area. The minor may be divided between two subject areas, with at least 6 semester hours in each.

MASTER OF ENGINEERING

The Master of Engineering degree is a special program intended to prepare students for professional careers in engineering and to provide practicing engineers with the opportunity for advanced studies. (Students who intend to continue toward a Doctor of Philosophy degree are urged to follow the Master of Science degree with a major in engineering.) The Master of Engineering degree is available in all the college's engineering fields except for computer science.

The Master of Engineering degree requires the completion of 36 semester hours of approved graduate work. At least three-fourths of the hours must be at the 5000 level. Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas may qualify a person to complete this degree in 30 semester hours.

Twenty-one hours of course work must be in the field of engineering; six of those hours must be in the candidate's field of engineering practice. Fifteen of the hours must be at the 5000 level and six may be at the 4000 level. The remaining fifteen hours may be chosen from the fields of engineering, mathematics, science and business administration. The candidate's course work requirements will be approved by the consensus of the candidate and the Master of Engineering Guidance Committee. With the approval of the Guidance Committee, a candidate may be allowed to transfer a maximum of 15 semester hours for degree credit of college course credits usable for graduate studies. The committee will consist of one representative from each of the professional degree areas presently offered by the College of Engineering.

Any holder of a four-year B.S. degree in sciences, mathematics, or engineering from an accredited institution may enter the program. Additional stem work above the 36 semester hours requisite for the degree may be required by the Master of Engineering Guidance Committee to insure that students have sufficient background for the courses in their degree plans.

A research or design project and report will be required. This is defined as a research paper or design project produced as a major assignment in a three-semester-hour graduate 5000 level-course or by completing 3 hours of 5305 Research.

Before the granting of this degree, the candidate will have spent a minimum of four years of full-time, professional activity of an engineering nature and quality acceptable to the Master of Engineering Guidance Committee.

All candidates in both programs of study must pass a comprehensive examination consisting of an oral defense of the candidate's design/research project and related areas.

ADMISSION:

Admission to any of the graduate programs in the College of Engineering requires a baccalaureate degree, adequate course work in the field of interest, and a satisfactory score on the GRE aptitude test.

FINANCIAL AID:

Financial aid is available through fellowships, scholarships, grants, student loans, and work-study. All inquiries concerning financial aid and requests for applications should be addressed to the Director of Financial Aid, Texas A&M University, Campus Box 115, Kingsville, Texas 78363, (361) 593-3911. Off-campus employment is also available in cooperation with industries, businesses, concerned citizens, and the Texas Employment Commission. In addition, the College of Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering offers a limited number of graduate assistantships. Interested students should apply directly to the Chairman of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. (Application form is attached.)

AREAS OF RESEARCH:

Industrial Engineering is a new (Fall 1990) graduate program. Research in the Industrial Engineering Program falls into the following major areas: engineering operations/operations research and manufacturing systems engineering. Some research in robotics/automation and systems engineering / simulation modeling is being conducted in conjunction with Mechanical Engineering. Future research will be pursued (with MEEN and EEEN) in integrated manufacturing and production systems; management engineering and controls; general industrial engineering; operations research and systems analysis; engineering statistical analysis; and robotics/automation, neural networks, and expert system applications.

One research project currently being considered is the use of neural networks to conduct shape recognition with solid models. This work will deal with the recognition of morphological features from solid models represented in boundary form. This feature information is useful in applications that include developing process plans, numerical code generation, finite element mesh generation and mechanical system design.

Another research project involves the reliability prediction of aircraft parts for safe and cost-effective maintenance.

Department faculty (IE & ME) are also working to define research pertinent to the Maquiladora companies in McAllen, TX / Reynosa, Mexico and Brownsville, TX / Matamoros, Mexico. This work is in conjunction with the A&M South Border Region Graduate Engineering Degree Program.

Research Areas: computer simulation; Manufacturing production and inventory control; engineering design; quality assurance; time and motion study; ergonomics; biomechanics.

Research Areas: Environmental conscious design and manufacturing, computer integrated manufacturing, decision support system, information technology in manufacturing, and reliability and quality control.

Research Areas: Reliability; optimization; modeling; production management; inventory management.

Research Areas: Operations Research, discrete-event simulation, supply chain modeling.

Research Areas: Computer integrated manufacturing, real-time reliability assessment, intelligent process control.

LABORATORIES, CENTERS, PROGRAMS

EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

· Optima/3 real-time data acquisition and control processor for robotic systems and nonlinear control
from Systolic Systems, Inc.

· Seven 128 MB SUN SPARC Station 20 Systems, and ten 20 MB 486 AT microcomputer systems
in the Engineering Graphics, Design, and Simulating Lab

· Hecht Nielsen Corporation Balboa neurocomputing coprocessor system (16MB, 40 MHZ)
used in 486 AT system

· Three Hecht Nielsen Corporation ANZA Plus memory-mapped boards used in 386/486 AT systems

· Image Processing Toolbox: Advanced tools for manipulation and analysis
of images and two dimensional signals

· Symbolic Math Toolbox: Integrated tools for symbolic mathematics and variable-precision
arithmetic, based on Maple V software.

· Statistics Toolbox: Tools for statistical data analysis, modeling, and simulation

· Neural Net Developer Library.

· GeneHunter^TM Genetic Algorithm Excel 5 Add-In and Developer’s Library

· CNAPS Server Dev .Env./512 (SUN) System which includes the following:

· CNAPS Server II/512 -- A parallel fixed point arithmetic computer Server configured with 512 processors.
(16 MB of Data Storage)

· CNAPS-C -->C=

· CNAPS Programming Language (CPL) -- CNAPS assembler

· CNAPS Debugger -- tools for source level symbolic debugging

· QuickLib Foundation Library

· Neural Network Source Code -- Two classifiers are provided.

· CNAPS-BuildNet -- Software development tools and utilities

· OEMLib CNAPS/VME Library Interface library for the CNAPS/VME

· CNAPS/VME512 E 16 MB of data storage, Direct I/O

· CNAPS/PC128 4 MB of data storage

· Staubli/Unimation Industrial Robot RX 90 CS7 which includes the following:

· Robot Arm

· Controller

· Options:

· Hand I/O cable (5 meters)

· Module 32 I/32 O (board & cables only)

· Standard with Wyse/DEC Terminal V+ extensions

· Analog I/O board

· Supplementary CPU 030-4MB

· Vision for 2 cameras w/o cameras

· MODULAR VISION SYSTEM which includes:

· MVS IM-PCI Base System

· Tower, Power Supply, etc.

· 1.44 MB 3.5 floppy drive

· 4X CD-ROM

· 1.3 GB tape drive

· 101 key Keyboard

· Windows 3.11 Installed

· Mouse

· Necessary cables

· MS-DOS 6.22 Installed

· Microsoft C/C++ Compiler

· Dell 5133/GXMT, Mini Tower Base Pentium Systems (5), 32MB Memory, Dell Ultrascan 17HS Color Monitor, 1.6GB EIDE Hard Drive.

Individual or group research on advanced problems conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Maximum credit six semester hours.

One or more advanced topics. May be repeated for a maximum of six semester hours.

Deterministic/stochastic systems with static/dynamic models. Use of forecasting techniques. Practice of inventory management, manual, and computerized procedures, and MRP. Case studies in inventory systems management. Prerequisite: Three hours undergraduate production and Inventory Control or equivalent.

Deterministic/stochastic sequencing problems with static/dynamic models. Problems involving single and multiple facilities (flow shop, job shop). Problems involving different measure of effectiveness, solution techniques (optimizing, heuristic). Industrial scheduling problems. Prerequisite: IE 5313 or consent of instructor.

Quantitative procedures for optimization techniques; steepest ascent/descent; gradient methods. Nonlinear problems such as quadratic programming, geometric programming, convex programming, separable programming, etc. Prerequisite: Six hours of undergraduate operations research or equivalent and graduate standing.

Extreme value distribution, multivariate normal distribution, simple and multiple regression analyses, analysis of variance, time series analysis a survey of nonparametric statistics, chi square, t, and F distributions. Prerequisite: Undergraduate course in Applied Methods in Engineering Statistics or the equivalent.

Introduction to simulation, a survey and application of computer languages suitable for Monte Carlo simulation of random processes, model construction, advantages and shortcoming of simulation techniques, programming with simulation languages.

Study of the structure and the function of Musculo-Skeletal system of human body, Kinetic and Kinematic models, Link Segment Diagrams and 3-D static modeling. Applying Bio-instrumentation to determine the human performance, work capacity and muscle strength evaluation. Biomechanical considerations in machine control and work place design.

The application of ergonomic principles to the work environment. Design of the system to fit and interact with the human operator. Collection and utilization of anthropometric data in the design of workstations, tools, safety equipment, and VDT workstations. Study of the interaction between human operator and the environment including the effect of noise, improper lighting, vibration, heat and cold on physical and mental performance.

Static maximal flow, max flow/min cut theorem, feasibility theorems, minimum cost flow problems, multicommodity flows. Application of networks an graphs to transportation, assignment, plant layout, routing, and tree problems. Dynamic flow concepts. Prerequisite: Six hours undergraduate Operations Research or equivalent and consent of instructor.

Sources of information, prediction and judgment, subjective probability bidding policy. Statistical decision theory including utility functions, risk and uncertainty, min-max, and Bayes strategy. Prerequisite: IEEN 5329 or equivalent and graduate standing.

Reliability analysis with emphasis on the exponential, Weibull, gamma, log normal, and extreme value distributions; reliability of systems, redundancy; maintainability and availability. Prerequisite: IEEN 5313 or consent of instructor.

Continuation of Engineering Economic Analysis including funds flow, utility, price changes, investment, growth, replacement, taxes, capital budgeting, and managerial economics. Prerequisite: Three hours undergraduate course in Engineering Economic Analysis or equivalent and graduate standing.

Overview to the fundamental principles and concepts underlying CAD/CAD/CAE systems. Emphasis on three dimensional parametric and feature-based CAD/CAM system. Introduction to the concurrent design approach – design for manufacturing, design for assembly, design for reliability, design for maintainability are introduced. Applications of artificial intelligence in CAD/CAM system. Enhancement of student’s application and development skills of CAD/CAM software.

Advanced systems concept of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Advanced System, definition of manufacturing and its various levels, planning and control of product movement through the production system, successful use of Automation, Robotics, Just-In-Time Manufacturing, and Knowledge Based Systems. Prerequisite: MEEN 5303.

Waiting lines with deterministic or stochastic demand and service times. Arrival and service time distributions; queue discipline; system state equations; solution by analytical and simulation methods; applications. Prerequisite: Six hours of undergraduate operations research or equivalent and graduate standing.

Nonlinear Optimization: Convexity, Kuhn-Tucker conditions, theory of duality. Linear and combinatorial optimization. Dynamic optimization. Prerequisite: Six hours of undergraduate operations research or equivalent and graduate standing.

Theory of linear programming including the simplex method, duality, sensitivity analysis, decomposition principles, the transportation problem, and integer programming. Prerequisite: IEEN 5335 or equivalent.