Tulane Mechanical Engineering Gives Students Room to Build and Explore

Ahmad Majed remembers watching Iron Man when he was young and deciding he wanted to become a mechanical engineer. “I want to be that,” he recalled thinking. Now a professor of practice at Tulane, he helps students explore where their own fascination with engineering could lead.

That sense of possibility ran through a recent virtual Q&A about Tulane’s returning undergraduate mechanical engineering major, which will welcome its first students in fall 2027. Broadcasting from the Scot Ackerman MakerSpace, School of Science and Engineering Dean Hridesh Rajan joined Majed and Matt Barrios, senior professor of practice and director of mechanical engineering programs, for a conversation about building things, finding a field that fits and preparing for work that could reach from New Orleans to the moon.

The program will give students a foundation in mechanical and thermal systems, with design experiences that begin in the first year. It also expands the choices available to students whose interest in engineering arrives before a decision about which discipline to pursue.

“We often get a number of students who know that they want to be an engineer. They just don’t know which one, right?” Rajan said. A shared first-year curriculum in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and engineering physics will give those students opportunities to explore while learning mathematics, science, and programming.

In Product and Experimental Design, that exploration starts with people. Majed described asking students to consider what someone needs, then develop concepts that could address that need. Projects introduce electrical, thermal, and mechanical ideas, giving students experience they can use to discover what interests them.

The MakerSpace offered evidence of what that can look like. Majed showed a wind tunnel built by a student team to investigate airflow, along with a working assembly used to explore how manufactured components are made.

“Why would I try to spend one hour to explain how a flower looks if we can just go to the garden and observe it ourselves?” Majed asked. The projects let students connect what they hear in class with something they can examine and test.

The new major will extend that approach through a three-course Mechanical Engineering Studio sequence. Students will use modeling, measurement and testing to investigate problems informed by engineering practice, building toward a two-semester senior capstone.

Barrios offered a scenario: “This company says your part is broken. Here’s your part. Figure out what’s wrong with it.” Working through that kind of problem requires students to decide how to investigate, apply their knowledge, and evaluate what the evidence tells them.

“It’s going to be more like a real-world experience,” he said. Faculty are seeking industry input as they develop the studios, building on existing relationships involving internships, field trips, and capstone projects.

For students, New Orleans will be part of that education. Barrios’s Engineering New Orleans course examines different disciplines through work happening around the city. Majed described projects that ask students to consider local needs and field trips that connect classroom learning with regional industry.

The problems students encounter can also help them discover what they want their work to accomplish. In machine design, Majed uses a wind turbine to explain how gears, bearings, shafts, and brakes work together. Other projects involve recycling and composting, connecting engineering decisions with sustainability.

Barrios described possibilities in building materials and heating and cooling systems that could make the campus more efficient. “So right here we could have an impact,” he said. He then widened the view to advanced 3D printing for rockets and technologies that could support a sustained presence on the moon.

Those applications often demand knowledge from several disciplines. Barrios highlighted an existing capstone project that combines electrical and mechanical engineering to capture both electricity and heat from sunlight. The returning major’s senior capstone will similarly bring students together with peers in electrical engineering and engineering physics.

Preparing for the profession also means learning to question the tools engineers use. Majed described an exercise in which students used generative AI to tackle the same problem and returned with eight different answers. Students need enough understanding to determine whether an answer makes sense, he explained.

“We want this to be a tool for students, not something we’re working against to test them,” Barrios said. As faculty develop the new courses, they are watching how AI is used in industry and research so students can learn to apply it with judgment.

For students still imagining their future, Barrios emphasized that exploration would come with people to help. Introductory courses introduce faculty and research across engineering, and students can reach out as they discover new interests. “That’s what we’re here for,” he said, “and we pride ourselves with the availability that we give to our students.”

The first class will have the opportunity to begin that exploration in fall 2027. Prospective students can visit the mechanical engineering major page to learn about the curriculum and contact the program, or connect with Tulane Undergraduate Admission to learn about applying.

An interest sparked by a movie, a question about energy or a desire to make something work can become a starting point. Tulane’s returning major will give students a way to find out where it leads. As Barrios put it: “You just start to take the coursework, and where it takes you, that’s where you can go.”