机械工程师通过解决交通，能源，环境和人类健康方面的问题为社会服务。机械工程师的活动从对控制我们周围环境行为的物理现象的研究扩展到产品的制造和评估。机械工程专业涵盖众多技术领域，包括声学，自动控制，生物工程，燃烧，低温，设计，动力学，能量转换，发动机，环境，热传递，润滑，传质，制造和可持续性，材料加工，固体力学以及流体，机制，等离子体动力学，推进，热力学，振动和波传播。
Mechanical engineers serve society by solving problems in transportation, energy, the environment, and human health. The activity of mechanical engineers extends from the investigation of physical phenomena governing the behavior of our surroundings to the manufacture and evaluation of products. The mechanical engineering profession encompasses numerous technical areas, including acoustics, automatic control, bioengineering, combustion, cryogenics, design, dynamics, energy conversion, engines, environment, heat transfer, lubrication, mass transfer, manufacturing and sustainability, materials processing, mechanics of solids and fluids, mechanisms, plasma dynamics, propulsion, thermodynamics, vibration, and wave propagation.<br><br>The undergraduate program in mechanical engineering seeks to provide students with a broad education emphasizing an excellent foundation in scientific and engineering fundamentals. The objectives of the undergraduate program are to prepare undergraduate students for employment or advanced studies with four primary constituencies: industry, the national laboratories, state and federal agencies, and academia (graduate research programs).