School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering

School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering. On this site, you will be able to:

• Find information about the school's history
• Learn more about a career in mechanical, industrial or aeronautical engineering
• Find out about the various undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs on offer
• Read about research units and links to industry
• Find contact details for the school and staff

Mechanical Engineering is one of the broadest and most versatile of the engineering professions. The Mechanical Engineer applies scientific principles to the design, development, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of, among others, energy production and harnessing equipment, machines and systems in all areas of industry and society.

The BSc (Eng) curriculum, within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, is structured to supply a solid grounding in fundamental engineering science, with an emphasis on generalised problem-solving skills.

The first two years of study are common to each of the three branches - Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical. From third year onwards the branches become more focused on their individual disciplines and courses are biased towards the study of mechanical engineering systems, reflected in fluid dynamics, system response and control, stress analysis, mechanics of machines, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. The important central subject of mechanical engineering design integrates this theory with other relevant subjects.

The academic staff at the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering is involved in a diverse range of research including refrigerating and heat-pumping machines and systems, performance assessment and systems, retrofitting existing machinery and systems for improved performance, and automated fault diagnosis in machinery and systems.

Wits graduates are at the forefront of a wide variety of professional engineering practices and also add the strengths of their engineering education to problem solving in related fields such as management, consulting, law, medicine, and government. In addition, a number of prestigious Research Units – structures operating at a national level and contributing to the development of local industry and policy – is hosted by our School.