Graduate Student Orientation September 2009

1. Graduate Student OrientationSeptember 2009 Dr. Edward Hensel Professor and Department Head Dr. Wayne Walter Professor Welcome to RIT Design by Amy Hortop

2. Topics to Be Covered • About the ME Department • Welcome and Who’s who • Graduate Student Handbook • Master of Science Degree Program • Master of Engineering Degree Program • First Quarter Classes • Full Time Equivalence Requirements • Graduate Desks • Finding an Advisor • Academic Scholarships • Research and Teaching Assistantships • Checklist for new students • Questions and Answers ...

3. About the RIT ME Department • First Accredited by ABET in 1968 • Kate Gleason College of Engineering – The Only Engineering College in the USA Named after a woman – an M.E.! • > 32 Faculty in the Department • 738 UG Students • 129 Graduate and Dual Degree Students • 136 Entering first year students (direct to ME) • 36th Largest BSME Graduates in USA (ASEE 2002) • One of the most competitive entry programs at RIT • Approximate size of our Graduate Program. All values are approximate

4. RIT’s Competitive Advantage • Newly renovated facilities with • state-of-the-art classroom technology • expanded laboratories • new engineering learning center • Major expansions are under way • Best and largest micro-fab/clean room facility in the U.S. for undergraduate education • Rated 14th most wired campus in U.S. by Yahoo • Entire campus linked by optical network • CAD labs with the latest in workstations and software for design and analysis

5. RIT’s CompetitiveAdvantage • PhD In Microsystems Engineering • Opportunities to Publish in conferences and journals • Close affiliation with technical conferences • Hand-on Application of Engineering Research – Show what you know! • Historically strong undergrad programs in engineering • Emerging leadership in graduate programs

6. Fuel Cell Laboratory Thermal Analysis Laboratory Energy & Environment Laboratory Wind Tunnel Laboratory CFD Laboratory Laser/Fluids Laboratory Materials Science Laboratory … and more Annual ASME/RIT Micro/Mini Channel Conference Since 2002 Fuel Cell Short Courses - October 2002, June 2003 Graduate Seminars and KGCOE Colloquia RIT Mechanical Engineering • Experimental Methods in Heat Transfer (Kandlikar) • Refrigeration Systems and Energy Conversion (Ogut,Bailey) • Design, Tribology, and Composite Materials (Boedo, Ghoneim) • Computational Fluid Dynamics (Robinson, Day, Ghosh, Venkataraman) • Aerodynamics (Kozak and Kochersberger) • Materials Science (DeBartolo, Varela, Gupta) • Control Systems and Robotics (Crassidis, Kempski, Walter) • Advanced Heat Exchanger Design for Fuel Cells (Shah) • Modeling and Simulation (Torok, Hensel)

7. Who’s Who • Dr. Ed Hensel, ME Department Head • Dr. Alan Nye, Assoc. D. H. • Dr. Wayne Walter, Grad Seminar & Research Methods. • Ms. Diane Selleck, Student Records • Ms. Venessa Mitchell, Admin/Fin Services Coord. • Mr. Barry Robinson, Dir. ME Student Services • Ms. Diedra Livingston, Sr. Staff Asst. • Faculty interest biographies are posted on the web site

8. Graduate Student Handbook • ME Department Graduate Handbook is your guide. • Please read this handbook carefully. • Use this handbook when you meet with your advisor to plan your academic program.

9. Communication is CRITICAL! • Your Advisor! • Departmental Mail Folders by M.E. Office • RIT email is abcnnn@rit.edu • If you use another email account, make sure you forward your RIT email address! • We cannot help you if we don’t know what issues you are facing

10. Institute Policies • ADD/DROP within first 6 days of quarter • Course Withdrawal – first six weeks • Probation and Suspension • Academic Honesty • Computer Code of Conduct • Access to Labs and Security • Policies related to completion of your degree, and application for final exam.

11. Master of Science Degree • 45 Quarter Credit Hours Minimum • 36 Course Credits • 9 Thesis Credits • Research Focus, Good preparation for doctoral study • Need to identify topic and advisor ASAP • Must submit formal proposal with significant literature review prior to registering • F/T equivalent must attend ME Department Seminars • Two Required Math Courses (8 credits) • Three Courses from one of three focus areas (12 cr) • Mechanics and Design • Systems and Controls • Thermo-Fluids • Graduate Electives (4 or 5) • Up to 8 credits MAY be 0304-6xx • Courses outside of Mechanical Engineering ONLY with prior approval • Graduate Program may evolve significantly this year

12. Master of Engineering Degree • 48 Quarter Credit Hours Minimum • Primarily course-only terminal master’s degree – NO THESIS • F/T equivalent must attend ME Department Seminars • Three Required Courses – 12 credits • 0304-870 Mathematics for Engineers I (Fall Quarter) • 0304-823 Systems Modeling (Winter Quarter) • 0304-865 Computer Implementation of FEM (Spring Quarter) • Four Concentration Courses - 16 credits • courses from a mutually area such as business, controls, manufacturing, materials science, thermo/fluids, and design engineering • Five Graduate Electives – 20 credits • Up to 8 credits MAY be 0304-6xx • A minimum of 28 credits from the mechanical engineering department • Study outside of the ME Department is encouraged • Graduate Co-op program is now an option!

13. First Quarter Choices Consider 3 courses per quarter until you identify a thesis!

14. Full Time Equivalency Requirements • Full Time Graduate Enrollment is 12-16 credits per quarter. (One tuition price for 12-16 credits) • F1 Visa Holdersmust be Full-Time Equivalent. New rules may reduce number of quarters that F1 visa holders can use FTE without actually enrolling in 12 credits. • Graduate Assistants must be Full-Time Equivalent. • 3 hrs/week of assistantship may be used toward 1 FTE credit (20 hrs/wk = 6 credits FTE) • Following 3 quarters of FTE study, F1 Visa holders may be eligible for Curricular Practical Training through graduate co-op placement off campus.

15. Graduate Desk Assignments • More requests for graduate desks than there are available desks. • Preference on graduate seating is given to graduate students working in the department • We are working to improve the graduate offices. • Graduate Office Policies. • Specialty computers and software need to be provided by your adviser. • I will review the desk assignments at the end of this meeting.

16. Finding an Advisor • Get to know the faculty during the Fall Quarter. • Selection of major professor (advisor) must be by mutual agreement of the student and the professor. • A good match is important. • MS Students: try to identify an advisor and thesis topic by end of Fall quarter, no later than end of Winter quarter. • Dr. Walter will serve as your temporary advisor for the registering this fall. • 701, Research Methods is a good graduate elective to help MS Students get started on thesis statement of work, literature review, background research

17. Academic Scholarships • Most academic scholarships are paid out of RIT funds allocated to the ME Department. • A limited number of scholarships are available from sponsored contracts. • All academic scholarships require satisfactory grades. • If your GPA drops below a 3.0, your scholarship will be reduced. • Grades of D and F do not count towards your degree. You must repeat that course, if it is a required course. • Grades of C are considered poor performance for graduate students.

18. Graduate Assistantships • Research Assistants are typically paid by the professor from sponsored programs and contracts. • Teaching Assistantships are typically paid by the department to support the undergraduate education program. • All graduate assistants will be evaluated by their faculty supervisor each quarter. • Continued support depends upon satisfactory performance evaluations. • Most assistantship awards you have received are only for one year – so do not delay!

19. A Special Note; and a Challenge to EXCEL… • As part of the RIT ME Department’s process of continual improvement, the bar is raising on expectations of our graduate students. • Admissions standards have risen annually for three years both at the undergraduate and graduate level. • We intend to raise our Master’s program to the same level of National Prestige that our undergraduate program enjoys. • Maintain the highest standards of Academic and Professional Integrity – Other students look up to you, and will follow your leadership. • I expect our MS Students to submit at least one technical conference publication with their advisor prior to graduation. • I expect our MEng Students to become student leaders in the department. Seek out opportunities to demonstrate leadership.

20. Graduate Seminar Series • Attend the weekly graduate seminars is required of all full time and FTE graduate students. • Thursdays at 1:00 pm. Room 09-2139 • 0304-889-01 (0 credits) • Dr. Walter is the Instructor • Please add this class to your schedule every quarter (no cost), so that you can get announcements and email about the seminars via email

21. Mech Eng Web Site • Notice there is now a research tab on the web site • I would like to include a bio, photo, and abstract of all MS thesis topics in the department on the web site. • Please let me know if there are additional things you would find useful on the graduate programs portion of the web site • I appreciate feedback on information that would have been useful to you when you were looking for schools

22. An Important Tip for MS Students… Do not delay your selection of a thesis topic, preparation of thesis proposal, and starting your literature review and research. Most students who get in financial trouble during their Master’s degree did not heed this advice. After you get started on your thesis topic, KEEP WORKING, do not let the deadlines of classwork homework interfere with your self-imposed deadlines for making progress on your thesis.

23. Summary • All set for Fall Quarter • We’re pleased to have you here at RIT with us. • Remember to finalize schedule changes with Diane or Diedra in the M.E. Office • Questions? Mechanical Engineering - We Design The Future!

24. R∙I∙T… The University of Choice

25. RITMechanical Engineering We Design The Future