Welcome From the Department Head

On behalf of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering (MANE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I welcome you. 

MANE is a collaborative community of talented people – faculty, staff, students, and alumni – rooted in a long and impactful history, working together to address the world’s most pressing technological problems.  Our three programs are among the oldest in the US, shaping the practice of each discipline throughout the world. Our graduates include leading aircraft designers, the first woman to earn a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in the US, a pioneer in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, an astronaut, the first woman president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, academic and corporate leaders, and numerous inventors and entrepreneurs.

Today, it is an incredibly exciting time to work in and across our technical fields.  The synergy of MANE’s three disciplines fosters our innovative and broad research and education programs.  MANE researchers, using state-of-the-art experimental facilities and massively parallel supercomputers, bring their expertise to bear on critical societal needs such as developing approaches to more effectively harvest wind and solar power, materials and technologies for longer-life batteries with higher energy storage capacity, more efficient thermal management systems, sustainable design and manufacturing, optimal design and control of next generation air and space vehicles,  and methods to better understand tumor growth required for future developments in cancer treatment.

In MANE, we understand that to solve the big challenges of our time requires bringing people together with diverse backgrounds and expertise.  Our faculty and students work collaborative in an inclusive and collegial environment.  Our unique multidisciplinary design and inventor studio courses prepare our students to be life-long innovators with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our faculty develop innovative courseware that is not only used at Rensselaer but has been adopted globally. 

The main reason I am here is because I know from first-hand experience, as both a faculty member and alumna, the impact of a Rensselaer education – how our graduates are equipped and empowered to work on the big needs of our world.  I am here because I want to be a part of this.  I welcome you to being a part of this too. Come join us.

Antoinette Maniatty
Professor and Department Head, MANE