The Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Department serves its students, alumni, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation through a variety of academic, research and service activities. Our mission is to: Serve our undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation through a variety of teaching, research, service, and scholarly activities. Dedicated to excellence in research and scholarship and to upholding the highest standards in the overall quality of our programs, we prepare engineers for successful careers in industry, government, and academia. We emphasize engineering principles, hands-on projects, open-ended problem solving, and the essential skills of teamwork, communication, and ethics, and integrate these into the education of each of our students.