Carnegie Mellon University - where bold thinkers do big things

Since its founding in 1900, Carnegie Mellon has been a place where visionaries unite to solve the world’s most challenging problems. At CMU, students are just plain different. They’re bold thinkers. Passionate innovators. And resilient changemakers. They ask complex questions. Share forward-thinking ideas. And attack problems with a nuanced scope. Here, students don’t just imagine the future. They create it. 

The College of Engineering - where creative explorers find their home 

Studying engineering at Carnegie Mellon is different. In the College of Engineering, students build a better world and design the future they want to see. They think critically about problems, work collaboratively to solve them, and maintain a persistent attitude when ideas fail. Engineering students at CMU never linger. They just adapt and begin again. 

This has never been more evident than in the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the College of Engineering. In 1956, Carnegie Mellon researchers created the first artificially intelligent computer program, pioneering a new field that would synthesize an amalgam of technologies to create life-changing solutions for the world at large.  

And for CMU’s engineering faculty, the implications of AI were undeniable; the industry was on the cusp of innovation, and they embraced it completely, recruiting faculty who would create and leverage AI to advance their research, change how engineering is done, and then enrich coursework and train the next generation of engineers on the power of engineering combined with artificial intelligence.

AI and Next-Generation Mechanical Engineering

In the mechanical engineering (MechE) department at CMU, 100% of research faculty work in or with AI and machine learning. That’s not a coincidence - it was done by design. Given CMU’s foundation in AI, it only made sense for the department to recruit faculty who were already researching AI techniques to build bigger and better engineering systems. 

Beyond their individual expertise, MechE professors understand that innovation occurs at the intersection of disciplines. Under the guidance of expert mentors, CMU students have helped advance AI research in core fields like autonomous physical systems, human life assistance, energy and environment, and human + AI design. 

As the mechanical engineering industry continues to evolve, and as AI continues to pervade, Department Head of Mechanical Engineering Jonathan Cagan says engineers must develop fundamental skills in AI to remain technically relevant in the field. 

“AI and machine learning is a new capability that is not going away,” says Cagan. “It is going to help inform engineers how to do their job better. And it is going to be something they need to understand because many of the tools they will use and products they create will be embedded with these methods and these techniques.”

With a foundation rooted in AI and undeniable faculty expertise, the mechanical engineering department at CMU is the ideal place for engineers to master techniques in AI and machine learning. 

Engineers who study at Carnegie Mellon leave with more than just a theoretical concept of AI principles. They learn techniques from the inside out so they can create more efficient and effective devices and systems to solve actual, real-world problems.

Are you ready to define the future of engineering? Join us today. Call 412-501-2150 with your inquiries or send an email to apply@online.cmu.edu.