{"id":24,"date":"2025-02-25T09:20:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2025-06-30T16:40:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T20:40:48","slug":"message","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/","title":{"rendered":"Message from the Department Head"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Message from the Department Head<\/h1>\n\n\n
\"Kivanc<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) website. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re taking a look around. Whether you are a prospective student, alumni, or visitor, I hope the information and news you\u2019ll find throughout this site is useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t visited our department, I invite you to do so. We\u2019re located in the heart of Knoxville, a wonderful place, full of growth and opportunity, great weather, friendly people, outdoor activities in the Smokies, and some of the most energized and connected alumni in the country. We are in close proximity to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)<\/a>, the largest multi-program science and energy research lab in the U.S. Our students and faculty have unique opportunities to work with ORNL, and many of our graduates go on to have careers there. Several of our faculty members are located at the UT Space Institute (UTSI)<\/a> in Tullahoma, Tennessee, which isn\u2019t far from Nashville\u2014the country music capital of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great things are happening in our department. In the last fiscal year, we had record-breaking new external funding exceeding $26 million between UT and UTSI\u2019s MABE faculty. Our external research expenditures were around the same level as the previous fiscal year exceeding $25 million. With strategic new hires and potential growth in the faculty lines in the next few years, we expect these numbers to go even higher. Such growth will place us near the top of peer institutions in the country. The 2025 U.S. News and World Report graduate school rankings were announced and our ME program rose to 36th, placing it in the top 29th percentile among public universities. Our AE program is 33rd among publics this year. These rankings would not have been possible without the hard work of our students and faculty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a potential graduate student<\/strong>, now is a great time to consider joining the department. With so many new faculty and facilities, and a top national laboratory down the road, opportunities abound to pursue cutting-edge research in interesting areas such as energy storage, bio-inspired propulsion, human-robot interaction, and much more. Our alumni are employed in top positions throughout the world in academia, industry, and national labs. I invite you to explore our faculty webpages and research programs and get in touch with people working in areas of interest to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a potential undergraduate student<\/strong> or parent looking at our department, the growth isn\u2019t just in research activities. We are committed to enhancing the undergraduate education and future job opportunities for our students. The atmosphere is energetic, and there are numerous opportunities to become involved in student organizations, work in research with faculty or at ORNL, work on a co-op assignment almost anywhere the world, or carve your own unique path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduates are trained in a new Advanced Prototyping Laboratory, equipped with computational engineering software and hardware, including 3-D printers and other state-of-the-art equipment. Senior design projects with industrial sponsorships from leaders such as Boeing, NIH, NASA, DOE, DENSO, and many others help prepare our students for the \u201creal world\u201d and establish job pipelines. Like our graduate program, our undergraduate alumni are employed in top positions all over the world in academia, industry, and national labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for your interest in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and I hope to see you on campus soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go Vols!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kivanc Ekici<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) website. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re taking a look around. Whether you are a prospective student, alumni, or visitor, I hope the information and news you\u2019ll find throughout this site is useful. If you haven\u2019t visited our department, I invite you to do so. We\u2019re located in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":23,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"no-title","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMessage from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Message from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) website. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re taking a look around. Whether you are a prospective student, alumni, or visitor, I hope the information and news you\u2019ll find throughout this site is useful. If you haven\u2019t visited our department, I invite you to do so. We\u2019re located in […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-30T20:40:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/05\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/\",\"name\":\"Message from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-25T14:20:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-30T20:40:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Kivanc Ekici\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/message\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"About the Department\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/about\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Message from the Department Head\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/\",\"name\":\"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tickle.utk.edu\\\/mae\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Message from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Message from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering","og_description":"Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) website. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re taking a look around. Whether you are a prospective student, alumni, or visitor, I hope the information and news you\u2019ll find throughout this site is useful. If you haven\u2019t visited our department, I invite you to do so. We\u2019re located in […]","og_url":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/","og_site_name":"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering","article_modified_time":"2025-06-30T20:40:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/05\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/","url":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/","name":"Message from the Department Head - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/05\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-25T14:20:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-30T20:40:48+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/05\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/05\/Kivanc-Ekici-sq.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Kivanc Ekici"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/message\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"About the Department","item":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/about\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Message from the Department Head"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/","name":"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}