A graduate student arranging settings in a mechanical engineering experiment.

Research

The Department of Mechanical Engineering pursues research in cutting-edge laboratories. It supervises graduate students in six strong research areas: aerospace engineering; biomedical engineering; solid mechanics and design engineering; advanced materials and manufacturing engineering; thermal and fluids engineering; and dynamics, controls, automation and robotics.

Principal research areas

The department focuses on diverse research areas that address today’s most pressing challenges. From advanced materials and manufacturing to robotics, energy systems and fluid dynamics, our research drives innovation through interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world applications.

Professors and graduate students work together in state-of-the-art labs to develop solutions that support sustainable development, improve industrial processes and advance emerging technologies.

You can contact professors listed on this page for thesis supervision.

Aerospace engineering
Advanced materials and manufacturing engineering
Biomedical engineering
Dynamics, controls, automation and robotics
Solid mechanics and design engineering
Thermal and fluids engineering

Aerospace engineering

Overview

Aerospace engineering focuses on the design, analysis and operation of aircraft, drones, uncrewed aircraft systems and related flight technologies. It includes aerodynamics, flight stability and control, propulsion, structural design, fluid–structure interactions, advanced materials, vibrations, dynamics and control systems. These areas draw on core strengths in mechanical engineering, including fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, materials, thermodynamics, robotics and mechatronics.

Advanced materials and manufacturing engineering

Overview

Advanced materials and manufacturing processes are vital to the creation of new products. Research primarily focuses on developing, modelling, fabricating and studying a broad range of functional and structural materials, including fibre composites, metal matrix composites, high-entropy alloys and advanced coatings, as well as manufacturing processes for them. 

Biomedical engineering

Overview

Biomedical engineering connects engineering, life sciences and medicine to develop technologies for health and clinical applications. The field includes biomedical devices, biofluids, bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, cardiovascular mechanics, implants, rehabilitation engineering, tissue engineering and surface engineering. Within mechanical engineering, these areas build on expertise in mechanics, materials, fluid dynamics, design, instrumentation and modelling.

Biomedical engineering professors are members of the Ottawa–Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering. This multidisciplinary institute combines graduate research resources from uOttawa and Carleton University as well as expertise from medical professionals. 

Dynamics, controls, automation and robotics

Overview

This field supports the development of intelligent machines, autonomous systems, robotic platforms, advanced instrumentation and high-performance engineered systems. The department has expertise in mechatronics, robotics, sensing, instrumentation, system dynamics, control systems, automation and applications ranging from biomedical devices to aerospace and industrial technologies.

Solid mechanics and design engineering

Overview

This field is the foundation for analyzing, designing and optimizing mechanical systems and materials. It includes stress analysis, deformation, failure, fatigue, fracture and material response, and uses analytical, computation and experimental methods. These tools are applied to increasingly complex materials and structures in areas such as biomedical devices, aerospace systems, energy technologies, manufacturing and resilient mechanical design. 

Thermal and fluids engineering

Overview

Thermal and fluids engineering plays a central role in aerospace systems, biomedical technologies, clean energy systems, advanced manufacturing, environmental systems and industrial processes. It addresses how fluids, heat and energy behave in systems ranging from aerial vehicles to biomedical devices, power generation and high-performance propulsion technologies. The department has broad expertise in this field, with research strengths in aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, combustion, thermal management, sustainable energy systems and advanced fluid-flow modelling.