Mechanical Engineering Faculty Support Fund

Who are we?

The Mechanical Engineering Department at San Jose State University is one of the largest engineering departments in the university and is home for 900 students and 40 faculty and staff members. While our primary mission is to educate the next generation of mechanical engineers, our faculty excel in their research areas as well. Spread across three disciplines (Design, Mechatronics and Robotics, Thermal and Fluid Engineering), our faculty strive to deliver the best research experiences for our students. Last year alone, our faculty and students published 45 reviewed journal or conference articles. In addition to the state-of-the-art research, our faculty invest their time in finding solutions for the issues our community faces. 

Such research projects range from creating a wearable device to assist differently-abled population with walking to the implementation of a fully automatic solar-powered transportation system to alleviate the traffic congestion in the city of San Jose. An excellent example of how the faculty research contributes to the community is the building of a low-cost ventilator system for COVID patients during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. 

Why are we raising the money?

Our faculty are delivering amazing research opportunities and hands-on research exposure to our students without any direct support from the state. It is often a struggle to find the money to purchase and maintain research equipment, replace consumables such as microcontrollers, sensors and 3D printer filaments and to support faculty travel to professional venues where they disseminate the research work. After establishing their research, faculty typically bring money through their grant proposals to various federal and private entities. However, for our younger faculty, it is a struggle to find money to establish their research. The aim of this Mechanical Engineering Faculty Support Fund is to enable faculty research through adequate funding. This fund will indirectly benefit our students as they participate in faculty research projects. 

How can you help?

Your donations can make a difference! As our faculty members engage in research to support the community, their profession and the country as a whole, they always worry about where the resources are coming from. With your help, the Mechanical Engineering Department will fund a Faculty Support Fund that can fund small equipment purchases, maintenance and repair or equipment, creation of new hands-on research projects and the travel to professional venues. By enabling faculty research, you can help to improve the research capabilities of the university and this can benefit the community through community-focused research projects that our faculty are always excited about!