The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering (or "MACE") at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

was formed from three departments in the 2004 merger between the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

(VUM) and the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

(UMIST). The merged departments were the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering which was joint between both universities, the Department of Mechanical Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering at UMIST and the Manchester School of Engineering at VUM.

History

Each of the former departments had long histories of excellence in engineering including

James Prescott Joule James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 11 October 1889) was an English physicist, mathematician and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work (see energy). Th ...

's part in the foundation of what was to become UMIST,

Joseph Whitworth Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for scr ...

's contribution to founding both institutions and

Osborne Reynolds Osborne Reynolds (23 August 1842 – 21 February 1912) was an Irish-born innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics. Separately, his studies of heat transfer between solids and fluids brought improvements in boiler and condenser design. ...

's study of

Fluid Mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and bio ...

and

Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...

in the 1890s. The Whitworth Engineering Laboratories of Owens College were opened in 1886. In 1909 they were replaced by larger laboratories on Coupland Street and Bridgeford Street (a building now used for the School of Music and Drama). These in their turn were replaced in the 1960s by the Simon Engineering Building in Brunswick Street, finished in mid-1962. The school became a department as part of a faculty-wide change in 2019.

Present day

the School has over 100 academics, over 1000 undergraduate students, 400 taught full-time and part-time postgraduate students and 200 postgraduate research students. The range of research topics studied by the students covers many areas of engineering, and includes theoretical and computational research, experimental studies, systems, design and management. Staff expertise encompasses a wide range of topics including aerospace, manufacturing and laser processing, extreme loading and design, structural engineering, fire engineering, process industries, nano-engineering, energy, environment and climate change, management of projects and nuclear graphite technology. the Head of School is

Alice Larkin Alice Larkin (previous married name Bows) is Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Manchester and a Professor of Climate Science and Energy Policy. She works on carbon budgets and cumulative emissions. She leads the Engineering ...

, Prof of Climate Science & Energy Policy. The wide range of degree courses offered by the School are supported by extensive computational and experimental facilities such as the largest tilting flume in the world, built in conjunction with the Mason Centre for Environmental Flows and a £6 million upgrade of the George Begg Building which was also recently completed.

Professors of Engineering in Owens College and the Victoria University of Manchester

These were: *1868-1905:

*1905-08: S. Dunkerley *1908-19: J. E. Petavel *1920-49: A. H. Gibson *1945-46: D. R. Hartree, Professor of Engineering Physics *1950-''unknown'' : J. L. Matheson

Professors of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Technology of the Victoria University of Manchester (UMIST)

These were:Charlton, H. B. (1951). ''Portrait of a University''. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 182 *1905-13: J. T, Nicholson *1914-17: A, B, Field *1917-26: G. G. Stoney *1926-39: Dempster Smith *1940-''unknown'' : H. Wright Baker

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechanical, Aerospace And Civil Engineering, University Of Manchester Departments of the University of Manchester

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Mechanical engineering schools Nuclear technology in the United Kingdom