General Information for Future Graduate Students

Programs of Study:

The College of Engineering at The University of Iowa offers M.S. and Ph.D. programs in biomedical engineering, chemical and biochemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering. The College excels nationally and internationally in several specialty and interdisciplinary research areas, including computer-aided design and simulation, human factors, environmental health solutions, biotechnology, bioinformatics, medical imaging, and hydraulics and water/air resources. Master's candidates must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and may choose either a thesis or non-thesis program. Students must also successfully complete a minimum of 30 semester hours, 24 of which must be taken at The University of Iowa. Doctoral candidates must complete three years beyond the bachelor's degree, with a minimum of 72 semester hours. One academic year must be in residence. Research tools may be required as specified by the individual program. Those interested should contact the specific department for additional requirements. Graduate students often do interdisciplinary research work in a variety of programs and facilities contained in this listing.

Research Facilities:

The College of Engineering recently completed a major expansion of its research facilities, including the $31 million Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences, the newly renovated IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering Hydraulics Laboratory, and the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (MRERS) in Fairport, Iowa. A strength of IIHR is its continuing and visionary commitment to maintaining and enhancing its experimental facilities while at the same time pioneering efforts in high-speed computational analysis and simulation of complex flow phenomena. What perhaps makes IIHR unique among fluids research laboratories is its state-of-the-art, in-house capabilities for both computational and physical modeling and experimentation, and more recently, field experiments. Experimental facilities of IIHR include many hydraulics flumes, air- and water-flow units, and advanced instruments for laboratory and field measurements. Computational facilities include a 128-processor high performance Linux cluster with 256 GB of memory, seven HP zx6000 and N-class computer servers, and over 200 Window computers for access to networking, scientific software, and personal productivity. Other Engineering research related facilities include the Engineering Research Facility, Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories, Oakdale Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, National Advanced Driving Simulator, Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, and Chemistry Building, which support laboratories devoted to such areas as biomechanics, biotechnology, molecular and computational biology, bioinformatics, environmental contamination and remote sensing, among others.The Center for Computer-Aided Design (CCAD) is housed in the Engineering Research Facility and has 7,500 sq ft of office space for staff researchers, student assistants, and program administration. The eight on-site laboratories house research facilities for flight simulation (Boeing 777 and F-15 mockups), a fully-immersive virtual reality environment, automobile driving simulation, robotic systems, and equipment for individual student research in various engineering disciplines. An offsite facility is maintained at the Iowa City Regional Airport for additional flight simulation capabilities (high performance, functional Boeing 737-800 mockup for high workload simulation and analysis). The Center maintains in-house electrical and machine shops. The Center's computer infrastructure incorporates high-performance workstations, servers, and PC network in support of intensive computation, geometric modeling and analysis, software development, and visualization and simulation. Engineering Computer Systems Support (CSS) provides the curricular and research computing needs of the College through state-of-the-art hardware, the same commercial software used by engineers in the industry, and a dedicated professional support staff. All engineering students receive computer accounts and maintain those accounts throughout their college careers. Full Internet and Web access complement local educational resources, which include enhanced classroom instruction, on-line classes, engineering design and simulation packages, programming languages, and productivity software. There are approximately 20 UNIX and 320 Windows XP workstations, supported by more than $10 million worth of professional software dedicated for student use 24 hours a day. The H. William Lichtenberger Engineering Library provides Internet access to indexes and abstracts, more than 125,000 volumes, ANSI standards, and electronic access to thousands of engineering and science journals.

Financial Aid:

Financial aid is available to graduate students in the form of research and teaching assistantships as well as fellowships from federal agencies and industry. Support includes a competitive stipend, reduction in tuition, and partial payment of tuition. Specific information is available from individual departments.

Cost of Study:

For 2007-2008, tuition per semester is $3,690 for Iowa residents and $9,683 for non-residents. There is a computer fee of $280.50 per semester, which allows students use of Computer Systems Support. In addition, there is per semester, a mandatory student health fee of $101, a student activities fee of $29, a student services fee of $30.50, a student union fee of $50.50, and a building fee of $59.50.

Housing:

Housing is available in apartments or private homes within walking distance of campus.

Student Group:

Total enrollment at the University for Fall 2007 was approximately 30,400 students. Students come from all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and 110 other countries. Engineering enrollment for Fall 2007 was 1,300 undergraduate students and 340 graduate students.

Student Outcomes:

Nearly half of the graduates accept positions in Iowa and Illinois, though companies and academic institutions from across the country present offers. Recent graduates have taken positions with companies such as 3M, Accenture, Cargill, Caterpillar, Deere & Co., General Mills, Hewlett-Packard, Hon, Monsanto, Motorola, Pella, and Rockwell Collins.

Location:

The University is located in Iowa City, known as the "Athens of the Midwest" because of the many cultural, intellectual, and diverse opportunities available. The Iowa City metropolitan area is a community of 117,000 people approximately 25 miles from Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second-largest city with almost 150,000 people.

The University:

The University of Iowa, established in 1847, comprises eleven colleges. The University was the first state university to admit women on an equal basis with men. The University founded the first law school west of the Mississippi River, established one of the first university-based medical centers in the Midwest, and was the first state university in the nation to establish an interfaith school of religion. It was an innovator in accepting creative work -- fine art, musical compositions, poetry, drama, fiction -- for academic credit. The University established Iowa City as a national college-prospect testing center. It was a leader in the development of actuarial science as an essential tool of business administration. As a pioneering participant in space exploration, it has become a center for education and research in astrophysical science.

Applying:

The application fee is $60 ($85 for international students). Admission requirements differ in each department; students should contact the department in which they are interested for additional requirements.

Correspondence and Information:

Admissions:
107 Calvin Hall
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242

World Wide Web:
Graduate College: http://www.grad.uiowa.edu
College of Engineering Research: http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/research
College of Engineering Graduate Programs: www.engineering.uiowa.edu/future-students/grad-programs.php

Studies by Engineering Discipline:

Biomedical Engineering. Edwin L. Dove , interim departmental executive officer. Biomechanics of the spine, low back pain and scoliosis, biomechanics of tractor roll-over injuries, upper extremity biomechanics, articular joint contact mechanics, total joint replacement, computatonal simulation of artificial heart valve dynamics, hemodynamics of arterial disease, mechanical properties of diseased arteries biomechanics and rupture predication of abdominal aorta aneurysms, solution-perfused tubes for preventing blood-materials interaction, control and coordination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, controlled drug delivery, medical image acquisition, processing and quantitative analysis, development of thermal seeds for hyperthermia in prostate, wire coil-reinforced bone cement, models of cellular processes based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics, tissue engineered vascular grafts, biological signal processing with applications to cochlear implants, bioinformatics and computational biology.

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. David W. Murhammer, departmental executive officer. Atmospheric chemistry, air pollution engineering, artificial organs, biocatalysis, biochemical engineering, bioremediation, and biotechnological applications of extremophiles, catalysis and kinetics, cell culture, dilute separation technology, high-speed computing, membrane separation, polymer science; crystallization, photopolymerization, microlithography, reversible emulsifiers, and polymerization kinetics, and biomaterials.

Civil and Environmental Engineering. Keri Hornbuckle, departmental executive officer. Air pollution, applied environmental chemistry and process design, bioremediation, computational solid mechanics, constitutive modeling, design of hydraulics structures, design simulation, hydropower, optimal control of nonlinear systems, optimal design of nonlinear structures, diverse aspects of water resources engineering, rainfall and flood forecasting, thermal pollution/power plant operation, transportation-infrastructure modeling, highway pavements, water quality modeling, and winter highway maintenance.

Electrical and Computer Engineering. Jon G. Kuhl, departmental executive officer. Quantitative medical image processing, bioinformatics, agent technologies, communication systems and computer networks, wireless communication, controls, signal processing, parallel and distributed computing systems, photonics, plasma waves, software engineering, design and testing of very large scale integrated circuits, materials and devices.

Industrial Engineering. L.D. Chen, departmental executive officer. Informatics, engineering economics, human factors, human-computer interfaces, manufacturing process control, operations research, telerobotics, quality control and reliability.

Mechanical Engineering. L.D. Chen, departmental executive officer. Biomechanics, combustion and chemically reactive flows, computer-aided analysis and design, dynamics, fatigue and fracture mechanics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials processing and behavior, reliability-based design, robotics, structural mechanics, system simulation, thermal systems, vehicle dynamics and simulation, virtual prototyping.

Studies by Engineering and Interdisciplinary Research Units:

Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Thomas Casavant, director. A multidisciplinary research center dedicated to applying high performance networking and computing to basic life science and applied biomedical research.

Center for Computer-Aided Design. Karim Abdel-Malek, Director. Digital Human Research (human modeling and simulation, virtual reality, biomechanics, control, optimization, clothing, human performance measures, electromyography, artificial intelligence, and human kinematics and dynamics), Human Factors in Transportation Research (ergonomics, human interaction with advanced technology and automation, flight simulation supporting aircraft operation task analysis, driving simulation supporting automotive operation and warning systems effectiveness, roadway markings and illumination analysis, computational modeling of human performance), and Durability and Reliability (meshfree methods for structural analysis and design sensitivity analysis, composite materials, probabilistic mechanics and reliability, reliability-based design optimization, topology optimization, multidisciplinary design optimization, advanced geometric modeling and CAD, mechanisms and robotics).

IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering. Larry J. Weber, Director. Fluid dynamics (turbulent flows, vortex dynamics, ship hydrodynamics, biological fluid flow, atmospheric boundary layer, computational fluid dynamics), environmental hydraulics (hydraulics structures, river and dam hydraulics, ice-related hydraulics, fish management at dams, sediment management, heat disposal in water bodies and power production, bioremediation of groundwater, computational hydraulics, water quality monitoring), water and air resources (air pollution, hydroclimatology, hydrogeology, hydrology, hydrometeorology, remote sensing, water resources).

Iowa Institute of Biomedical Imaging. Milan Sonka, co-director. A collaborative venture between the College of Engineering and the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine that aims to foster multi-disciplinary and cross-college research and discovery in biomedical imaging, and improve training and education.

Photopolymerizations Center (NSF IUCRC). Alec Scranton, co-director. Kinetics and mechanisms of photopolymerizations and their impact on the structure and properties of photopolymerized materials.

Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing. Mani Subramanian, director. Biocatalyst fundamental properties, bioremediation, bioprocessing, new biocatalyst discovery, novel biocatalyst applications, biosensing technology, reactive agent development.

Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research. Gregory R. Carmichael and Jerald L. Schnoor, co-directors. Multiple aspects of global environmental change, including the regional effects on natural ecosystems, environments, and resources, and on human health, culture and social systems.

Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination. Gene F. Parkin, director. Identification, measurement, and prevention of adverse health outcomes related to exposure to environmental toxins, specifically water contaminants, environmental database design and development and systems support for environmental health research.

Environmental Health Sciences Research Center. Peter S. Thorne, director. Agricultural and rural environmental exposures and health effects, agricultural chemical exposures and health effects.

Institute for Rural and Environmental Research. Craig Zwerling, director. Rural and environmental health with special emphasis on adverse health effects that threaten agricultural and other rural populations.

Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center. Craig Zwerling, director. Prevention, acute care, rehabilitation, surveillance, and biomechanics, including examining causes of delay in Iowa's trauma system, identifying risk factors for injuries to farmers and their families, and studying the driving abilities of individuals recovering from mild and moderate traumatic brain injuries.

National Advanced Driving Simulator. Karim Abdel-Malek, director. World’s most sophisticated simulator for conducting research to achieve fundamental improvements in highway safety and transportation efficiency, and to enhance equipment product development effectiveness without the need to construct expensive prototypes. Vehicle dynamics and simulation, simulator technology and virtual reality environment, and human factors.

Optical Science and Technology Center. Mark Arnold, director. Laser spectroscopy and photochemistry, photonics and optoelectronics, ultrafast laser development, condensed matter physics, materials growth techniques, device physics/engineering, surface chemistry, chemical sensors, environmental chemistry, polymer science, plasma physics, nonlinear optics.

Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory. Thomas D. Brown, director. Surgical management of disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Hip and knee reconstruction, traumatology, foot and ankle surgery, hand and upper extremity surgery, pediatric orthopaedics, and sports medicine. Engineering biomechanics: measurements and computer modeling.

Public Policy Center. Peter C. Damiano, director. Transportation, environmental quality, health care, and economic growth and development.