Our Department


Welcome to the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) at the University of Toronto. The MIE Department is home to undergraduate programs in Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering, and graduate programs that specialize in a wide range of mechanical and industrial research areas. From robotics, to human factors, to bioengineering, researchers in our department are on the cutting edge of the latest technologies that are revolutionizing our world.

Formerly two separate departments, the two administrative units were amalgamated in 1995. However, the two degree programs, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering, remain distinct and both programs are offered by the Department. Today, the department is home to approximately 50 faculty members, 450 graduate students, 1,200 undergraduate students and 30 administrative/technical staff.

Please explore our website to learn more about our programs and exciting research. We look forward to welcoming you to the department as a student, colleague or visitor.

Jean W. Zu
Professor and Chair

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Why come to UofT?

UofT Engineering is ranked in the top 8 engineering schools in the world.

Our research facilities, which are available to undergrad students, are among the best in Canada.

Our diverse student population provides an endless source of new perspectives and engaging social activities.

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World Rankings, APSE Faculty

Times Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report Rankings, Top 50 Universities for Engineering and IT

Rankings based on: academic peer review; research performance (citations); student-to-faculty ratio; survey of employers

Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities Top 50 Universities for Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences

Rankings based on: highly cited research; published articles in the field; percentage of articles published in the top 20% of journals in the field; engineering research expenditure (FUND)

Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan, Performance Ranking of Engineering Papers for World Universities

Rankings based on: highly cited research; number of articles in the last 11 years; number of citations in the last 11 years; number of articles in the current year; number of citations in the last two years

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Faculty Awards

International Awards

  • ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award, Cristina Amon
  • ASEE Campus Representative Award, Susan McCahan
  • AAAS Fellow, Jean Zu
  • ASME Fellow, C. Ross Ethier; Shaker Meguid; Jean Zu
  • Fellow, University of Tokyo School of Eng., Javad Mostaghimi
  • Foreign Member, Royal Academy of Spain, Cristina Amon
  • IPPA Senior Prize, Andreas Mandelis
  • EPPD Women Engineer Inaugural Award, Cristina Amon
  • ASME Yeram S. Touloukian Award, Andreas Mandelis

National Awards

  • Engineers Canada Medal of Distinction, Susan McCahan
  • CAE Fellow, Cristina Amon; Javad Mostaghimi
  • CSME Fellow, Cristina Amon; Javad Mostaghimi; Hani Naguib; Yu Sun
  • EIC Fellow, Cristina Amon; Mark Fox; Jim Wallace
  • CSME Jules Stachiewicz Medal, Charles Ward
  • Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics, Canadian Association of Physicists, Andreas Mandelis
  • CSME Robert W. Angus Medal, Chul Park

Provincial Awards

  • PEO Engineering Medal for Research and Development, Javad Mostaghimi, Chul Park
  • PEO Gold Medal, Anne Sado, MIE 7T7

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Research Chairs

  • Alumni Chair in Bioengineering, Cristina Amon
  • Canada Research Chair in Diffusion-Wave Sciences and Technologies, Andreas Mandelis
  • Canada Research Chair in Fuel Cell Materials and Manufacturing, Olivera Kesler
  • Canada Research Chair in Mechanobiology, Craig Simmons
  • Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Engineering Systems, Yu Sun
  • Canada Research Chair in Microcellular Plastics, Chul Park
  • Canada Research Chair in Smart and Functional Polymers, Hani Naguib
  • Clarice Chalmers Chair of Engineering Design, Greg Jamieson
  • NSERC Chair in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design, Kamran Behdinan
  • University of Toronto Distinguished Professor in Plasma Engineering, Javad Mostaghimi
  • Wallace G. Chalmers Chair of Engineering Design, Axel Guenther

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Mission and Vision Statements

Vision

The Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering will be an international leader in education and research through its commitment to excellence and diversity.

Mission

To discover and share knowledge with students by offering undergraduate, professional and graduate degree programs of the highest quality in an environment that provides immersion in world-class research and ensures a supportive student experience.

To ensure our students are equipped with the academic leadership, communication skills and global awareness required by the engineering profession, and by society in general.

To discover new knowledge and to contribute to society through advanced research, innovation and technology transfer.

To realize an exemplary degree of citizenship and ethical behaviour among our faculty, staff, alumni and students.

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History of MIE at U of T

Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering was developed as a specialization in 1890, within the School of Practical Science (SPS), established in 1871. The first five Departments thus established were Civil, Mechanical, Architecture, Applied Chemistry and Mining Geology. In 1906 the Department became independent of other disciplines and specialized in hydraulic engineering, heat engineering, machine design and electrical engineering. Electrical Engineering became an independent Department in 1913.

A long-standing commitment to hydraulic and open-channel flows was spearheaded by Professor Robert Angus (1873-1960), the first Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Department for many years (1907-1944). Building facilities in Mechanical Engineering witnessed two expansions: one in 1908 (The “Old Wing”) and a second major expansion in its present building in 1947 (The “New Wing”).

History of Degree Granting

  • 1890: A three-year undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Diploma. First recipient: R. A. Ross in 1890.
  • 1893: The first BASc degree was awarded to W. A. Lea.
  • 1913: The MASc program was introduced and awarded to W.P. Dobson in 1916.
  • 1927-28: The PhD program was established.
  • 1939: The first PhD degree was conferred to G. Ross Lord (3rd Head of the Department) for his thesis entitled: “Investigation of Cavitation in Water with regard to Machines”.
  • 1967: The MEng Degree program was introduced.

Past Chairs of the Department of Mechanical Engineering: 

  • Professor Robert Angus (1873-1960)

Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering has its roots in the Engineering and Business program (1946-1959) within the Mechanical Engineering Department. The new Head, Professor E. A. Allcut, encouraged the growth of the discipline as he himself had substantial industrial experience and interest in scientific management. Professor Allcut instituted the new program which sought to combine the industrial engineering and management principles.

The eventual cessation of Engineering and Business came not from a lack of student interest or future employment opportunities, but from academic concerns. There was recognition that a four-year program could not do justice to the study of either engineering or business. As well, postgraduate study in business (MBA) was becoming increasingly popular among graduates in the various engineering specialties.

In place of Engineering and Business evolved a new program: Industrial Engineering. This was in no manner the simple joining of business skills with engineering. It was the application of engineering approaches and a scientific mindset to problems of industrial management. It is based on the principal that complex operations involving a variety of human, technical, and economic factors can be formulated as a programming problem and optimized using mathematical techniques. Industrial management problems can thus be engineered in the same was as water system or electrical grid.

The new course in Industrial Engineering first appeared in the FASE calendar for the 1959/1960 session. Students in Engineering and Business with more than one year of study remaining were transferred into it. Thus, the final graduating class in Engineering and Business was in 1960. The first class to graduate in Industrial Engineering was in 1961.

Past Chairs of the Department of Industrial Engineering: 

  • Professor Arthur Porter
  • Professor Ben Bernholtz

The Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

On June 30, 1995, Professor Andrew Jardine reached the end of his term of office as Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering. Upon taking advice, then Dean of Engineering, Professor Michael Charles, announced his intention to seek approval for the merger of the Department of Industrial Engineering with the Department of Mechanical Engineering to form a new Department: the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. Consequently, instead of appointing a new Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering he appointed Professor Iain Currie, the Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as the Acting Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering..

The rationale for this bold and controversial move was based essentially on logistical considerations which were precipitated by financial issues. The Province of Ontario had severe budgetary problems at that time, and spending on sectors such as education and health was severely restricted. For a Department like Industrial Engineering, this posed a serious problem. The Department’s areas of interest and expertise were expanding at the same time as the financial resources to sustain such expansion were diminishing.

The primary concern of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering was the future of the program in Industrial Engineering. It was Dean Charles’ intention to help to sustain the program by shedding some of the administrative duties associated with operating a Department, as well as to capitalize on potential synergies resulting from a merger with Mechanical Engineering. That is, the proposed new Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering would serve as a single administrative unit for two distinct programs – one in Mechanical Engineering and one in Industrial Engineering. Such administrative arrangements are not unique in North America, and several universities have a single Department which administers mechanical and industrial engineering, and some also include aerospace engineering and/or materials engineering. It was an objective of the merger to combine classes in a number of fundamental undergraduate courses to help relieve the teaching commitments of the program. It was also fortuitous that the two departments occupied contiguous space.

On May 1, 1996, after approvals up to and including the Academic Board, the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering was born with Professor Iain Currie as the inaugural Chair.

Past Chairs of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering: 

  • Professor Iain G. Currie

References

History includes material from The Skule Story: The University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, 1873-2000 by Richard White and documents from the University of Toronto archives and libraries. Thank you to Professors Andreas Mandelis and Iain G. Currie for their contributions. Professor Mandelis also cites 1890 – 1990: One Hundred years of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto by Professor Emeritus Frank C. Hooper as a resource as well as past graduate calendars for the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering, two separate entities at the time.

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