Aerospace and Mechanical Engineers design complex mechanical, thermal, fluid, acoustic, optical, and electronic systems, with ... characteristic sizes ranging from microns to tens of kilometers. Such systems are used everywhere, from the depths of the ocean and far underground, to near-earth, planetary, interplanetary, and galactic space. At USC, the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) Department’s faculty has adopted three major Strategic Themes to help guide the directions and enrich the contents of our education and research programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels: * Biodynamical Engineering: Locomotion of birds and fish, or robotic equivalents, alone, or in groups. Self assembly of complex systems. Mathematics of cancer and population dynamics. * Energy Engineering: Combustion efficiency, fundamentals of energy generation and storage. Molecular and nano-scale kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Pollutant formation, dispersal, and measurement. * Exploration Technologies: Novel aircraft and ground vehicle designs, satellites, micro-air vehicles, intra-vascular transport. Explorations enabled by new technologies in propulsion, flexible, and nano engineered materials. Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) students conduct basic and applied research within and across the usual disciplinary boundaries. AME students develop core and valuable problem-solving skills in the areas of aerodynamics, mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials and design. Our graduates are at the leading edge of academia and industry, tackling innovative, important and exciting challenges. read more