School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation

The School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation(SMEA) at BeiHang University(BHU) was founded in 1998, based on the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Department of Electromechanical Engineering, with the origins of the specialties of Aircraft Manufacturing, Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Process and Aircraft Instruments, dated back to 1950s. Nowadays SMEA consists of 6 departments and 2 research institutes as follows.

Department of Material Processing and Control Engineering

Department of Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering

Department of Mechanical Manufacturing and Automation

Department of Mechanical Design and Automation

Department of Industrial Design

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing System Engineering

Institute of Manufacturing System

Institute of Robotics

The School covers 5 disciplines including Mechanical Design and Theory, Mechanical Manufacturing and Automation, Mechatronical Engineering, Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering, Material Processing Engineering, etc.

Among the disciplines above, Mechanical Design and Theory and Mechanical Manufacturing and Automation, are approved of the State key Discipline and Beijing¡¯s Key Discipline respectively, and the posts of Special Professor of Chuang Kong Scholars Programme are available in these tow disciplines. All the disciplines offer the programs of PhD. MSc. MEng., and BEng., as well as postdoctoral research positions.

In 2002, the total number of staff in SMEA is 155 including 1 academician, 34 professors and 70 associated professors, and 40 percent of acdamic staff are holding doctoral degrees, and 45 percent are holding master degrees. There are 3000 enrolled students totally in SMEA, including 160 PhD candidates, 450 Master students and 2400 undergraduate students.

In SMEA there are the National Key Laboratory of Robotics, the National Key Laboratory of Design Automation, the Laboratory of Flexible Manufacturing System for China Hi-Tech R&D Plan, Beijing ¡®s Key Laboratory of Digitalized Design and Manufacturing, and the National ¡°211¡± Project Research Centers of Digital Design and Manufacturing, Advanced Machining Technology, Advanced Technology of Sheet Forming, Advance Robotics, as well as Teaching and Training Centers of CAD/CAM, Fundamentals of Mechanical Design, etc.

The research activities in SMEA mainly focus on following directions, Mechanism Theory, Advanced Robotics, Modern Design Theory and digital Design of Products, Tribology/Lubrication, Novel Transmission System, Advanced Sheet Forming Process and Equipment, Manufacturing System and Automation, Industrial Engineering, Quality Engineering, Manufacturing Scheduling and Excution System, Computer Numerical Control and Servo Systems, Advance Machining Technology and Equipment, Non-destructive Industrial Inspection, Industrial Process Measurement and Control, Joining Process and Equipment, etc.

Up to 2001, SMEA has obtained 11 National level awards and 25 Ministerial/Provincial level awards in the researches.