Engineering departments combine

Pitt’s School of Engineering has a new department this year, as two existing departments… Pitt’s School of Engineering has a new department this year, as two existing departments merged in order to increase the resources available to students.

The new Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, now the largest in the School of Engineering, took the place of the mechanical engineering and material science departments at the beginning of the semester.

Minking Chyu, former chair of the mechanical engineering department, is now the chair of the new department. Chyu said the new changes are not only a combination of the departments, but they also offer students new opportunities.

“Basically, we had two very comparable departments,” he said. “We combined them, but we also expanded.”

The merger, which is not yet fully implemented, will allow Pitt to hire several new faculty members and expand the research and job opportunities that are available to students, Chyu said.

According to a Pitt press release, the new department will encompass new research on nanomanufacturing that will take place at Pitt’s new Gertrude E. and John M. Petersen Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, which was dedicated on Sept. 29.

Though the departments merged, no degree program will be lost, meaning students can still attain degrees in either mechanical engineering or material science, the release said.

The changes will create an integrated curriculum for the two majors for the first two years. It will also add several new courses.

Chyu said the new department also would be helpful in securing job opportunities at local companies for students.

“We will reinforce our commitment to serve some manufacturing companies in the region,” Chyu said.

The new department’s size will make it a more viable and reputable source of engineers for local companies, he said.

Chyu said the new and expanded job opportunities would allow students to get jobs at companies like U.S. Steel and Westinghouse Electric Company.

He added that it would simultaneously help the local economy, specifically the local metal industry, which has struggled to compete with foreign companies.