Welcome to UCLA Samueli's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. My name is Xiaolin Zhong. Im the chair and a professor of the department. As a leading Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department in the country and around the world, our faculty and students conduct trailblazing research in broad interdisciplinary areas of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: from rockets and spacecraft, to robots, medicine, advanced materials, energy and sustainability.<br><br>Our faculty are world renowned in each of their special fields, with 10 members of the National Academy of Engineering, which is the highest honor for an engineer in the U.S. In addition, what really distinguishes Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCLA is that our faculty work with their students to find the right balance between innovation, academic rigor, and adaptability and collaboration. Our students are finding themselves in a world where rapid technological change is constant, and we want to prepare them so that they are ready for the challenge. Our students are amazing, they come from all over the world with diverse backgrounds and experiencesand it seems like every year they raise the bar. Our faculty try to create a welcoming and inclusive environment that's intellectually rich and vigorous, but also creative and flexible.