Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) at Penn focuses on our high-caliber undergraduate and graduate programs, which combine solid education in the fundamentals with hands-on research into novel problems and applications. Small class sizes allow students to work intimately, and a strong emphasis on analysis prepares students for research as well as for industry. Our students have many opportunities to explore their research interests, including major student-run projects such as Formula SAE, the Electric Car and RoboCup.

For generations, freshmen in mechanical engineering programs across the country have confronted the challenge of wading through a curriculum front-loaded with math, physics, and chemistry, slowly working their way toward the reward of actually applying what they're learning to the design and building of solutions to real-world engineering problems. Mark Yim, Associate Professor and former MEAM Undergraduate Curriculum Chair, describes this previous, passive model of learning in practice-intergrated curriculumwhich students were presented with information and given equations to reach a single right answer, devoid of any context beyond the classroom.