TUM Department of Mechanical Engineering

TUM Department of Mechanical Engineering

Type	Public
Established	1868 1979 (current name)
Dean	[de]
Academic staff	38 professors (2019)[1]
Students	4,208 (2020)[2]
Location	Garching , Bavaria , Germany
Affiliations	TUM
Website	mw.tum.de

The building of the TUM Department of Mechanical Engineering (in the center) is one of the largest buildings on the Garching campus

Entrance to the Department's building

The TUM Department of Mechanical Engineering (TUM MW) (German: Fakultät für Maschinenwesen) is a department of the Technical University of Munich, located at its Garching campus.

History[]

19th century[]

Mechanical engineering was one of the original departments of the newly founded Polytechnische Schule München in 1868, then called the Mechanical-Technical Department. Johann Bauschinger was professor for Technical Mechanics and Graphical Statics. In 1871, he founded the Mechanical-Technical Laboratory. He was succeeded by August Föppl in 1894.^[3]

Carl von Linde, who held the Chair of Theoretical Machine Science, established the Laboratory of Machine Science in 1875. Moritz Schröter, a distinguished expert in the field of technical thermodynamics, succeeded him in 1879. In 1902, von Linde returned as associate professor of Applied Thermodynamics. On his initiative, the Laboratory for Technical Physics was established.^[3]

In 1880, Rudolf Diesel graduated with the best marks since the university was established. His invention of the Diesel engine was a groundbreaking innovation, despite his initial calculations about the degree of efficiency being far too optimistic.^[3]

20th century[]

In 1901, the first chair of electrical engineering was established at the department. Though initially viewed as a part of mechanical engineering, it grew increasingly more independent. In the 1940s, the department's name was changed to Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and by 1974, electrical engineering was separated into a new department.^[3]

Willy Messerschmitt graduated from the department in 1923. He established the Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH while still a student, which would later become the Messerschmitt AG in 1938. In 1930, he was granted a lectureship on the construction and design of aircraft, and in 1937, he was appointed honorary professor.^[3]

In Nazi Germany, the university was brought into line, partly by force, partly by conviction, and partly out of anticipatory obedience. Jewish members and those with politically undesirable views were expelled.^[3]

During World War II, the department conducted large-scale research in support of the war effort, for example in the fields of aircraft design, torpedo propulsion, petrol injection and substitute fuels for car and aircraft engines.^[3]

After the war, teaching resumed in 1946, though denazification expelled 13 of 24 lecturers, four of whom which were reinstated by 1953. The chairs for aviation research were shut down and did not operate again until the Paris Agreements ended Allied occupation of Germany.^[3]

In 1951, Gustav Niemann established the Chair of Machine Elements. In 1967, the founding of the Institute of Machine Tools and Industrial Engineering instigated a shift to research to information technology and production engineering.^[3]

By 1990, almost 5,000 students were enrolled at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 1997, the department relocated to a new 60,000 m² building on the Garching campus.^[3]

21st century[]

In 2018, aerospace and geodesy at TUM became a separate Department of Aerospace and Geodesy.^[3]

Chairs[]

As of 2020, there are 39 chairs at the Department:^[1]

• Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
• Applied Mechanics
• Automatic Control
• Automation and Information Systems
• Automotive Technology
• Biochemical Engineering
• Biomechanics
• Bioseparation Engineering
• Computational Mechanics
• Continuum Mechanics
• Cyber-Physical Systems in Production Engineering
• Energy Systems
• Ergonomics
• Flow Control and Aeroacoustics
• Industrial Management and Assembly Technologies
• Internal Combustion Engines
• Laser Based Additive Manufacturing
• Machine Elements
• Machine Tools and Manufacturing Technology
• Materials Engineering of Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics
• Materials Science and Mechanics of Materials
• Mechanics and High Performance Computing
• Medical Materials and Implants
• Metal Forming and Casting
• Micro Technology and Medical Device Technology
• Multiscale Modeling of Fluid Materials
• Non-Destructive Testing
• Nuclear Technology
• Plant and Process Technology
• Plasma Material Interaction
• Product Development and Lightweight Design
• Production and Technology in Media
• Sport Equipment and Materials
• Systems Biotechnology
• Thermodynamics
• Thermo-Fluid Dynamics
• Vibroacoustics of Vehicles and Machines
• Wind Energy

Rankings[]

In Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing, the QS World University Rankings rank TUM as No. 23 in the world and No. 2 in Germany.^[4] The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks the department within No. 101–150 in the world and No. 4–6 in Germany.^[5]

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings does not rank individual subjects, though in engineering in general, TUM is ranked 24th globally and 1st nationally.^[7]

Notable people[]

Carl von Linde, Chair of Theoretical Machine Science from 1875, discovered the refrigeration cycle that led to the development of the modern refrigerator.

Notable people include:

• Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the Diesel engine
• Claude Dornier, airplane designer
• Carl von Linde, discoverer of the refrigeration cycle
• Willy Messerschmitt, aircraft designer, known for the Messerschmitt fighters
• Oskar von Miller, engineer, founder of the Deutsches Museum

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Fakultät für Maschinenwesen der TUM at Wikimedia Commons