UTM is adding a mechatronics concentration to its Engineering program in the fall of 2019.
Dr. Robert LeMaster, professor and department chair for UTM’s Engineering program, defines mechatronics as “a multi-disciplined field that is concerned with systems consisting of both mechanical and electrical components controlled using computer-based technology.”
Mechatronics unites techniques from mechanical, electrical and manufacturing engineering with the modern, automated technology seen in today’s work environment.
The reason for this addition is to help prospective and current UTM students, as well as Northwest Tennessee as a whole.
According to LeMaster, mechatronics is a field that is very appealing to prospective students.
“Students considering UT Martin engineering started to ask if we offered mechatronics. In response to this interest, we reviewed mechatronics programs offered at other universities and discovered that we already offered all of the courses. Creating the mechatronics program was simply a matter of creating a specific sequence of courses,” LeMaster said.
A mechatronics concentration has also appealed to community college transfer students coming to UTM.
The addition of the mechatronics concentration also supports the Northwest Tennessee Manufacturing Initiative, which UTM launched in the fall of 2017. The Northwest Tennessee Manufacturing Initiative “seeks to improve the West Tennessee economy through the growth of manufacturing related jobs,” LeMaster said.
Mechatronics is the second concentration to be added to the engineering program in three academic years, with manufacturing engineering being introduced in 2017.
The construction of the Latimer Engineering and Science Building that is projected to open in the fall of 2022 is expected to help grow the engineering program. An Innovation and Production Realization Facility is also in the works.
To learn more about UTM’s mechatronics concentration or the Engineering Department, visit utm.edu/departments/engineering, email LeMaster at lemaster@utm.edu or call 731-881-7571.
