Loras College

Electromechanical Engineering

Loras College offers a four-year degree in Electromechanical Engineering, culminating in a Bachelor of Science (B.S.).  Electromechanical Engineering is a mixture of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, and it also entails some computer programming and controls engineering. The emphasis is on mechanical engineering. The interdisciplinary nature of the degree fits very well into a liberal arts college, whose goal it is to produce broadly-educated graduates.

The Electromechanical Engineering degree is a unique four year engineering program that combines aspects of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science. This rapidly growing department currently has such a diverse group of faculty it is able to offer dynamic degree programs in both engineering and physics. The Electromechanical Engineering degree is experience intensive and provides many outlets for hands-on learning through a variety of projects.   

Projects are team-based, open-ended and usually involve a research component, a design component, analysis and testing and a written and oral communications component. Examples of these projects include developing a microcomputer-controlled wind generator regulation system in the first year, participating in a model bridge competition in the second, studying thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in the third and completing the Senior Thesis in the fourth year. This thesis has included creating everything from an autonomous, drag-racing robot and an autonomous submarine to a web-controlled ball retrieval robot.

Students also play an instrumental role in faculty research projects involving such topics as energy and angular momentum partitioning in many-body quantum systems and photovoltaic module temperature on independent energy system performance. Internships are another emphasis of the program and are available in a range of areas, including custom forging, hydrostatic pumps and motors, GIS programming and others.

Graduates are prepared to design mechatronic, robotic, and “smart” products. This curriculum provides students with several possible paths of study:

• a major in electromechanical engineering
• an individualized major in engineering studies (recent examples have included engineering management, biomedical engineering and applied physics)
• a typical pre-engineering curriculum

Suggested Four-year Program of Study in Electromechanical Engineering

• Division Information
• Program Requirements
• Additional Engineering / Physics program details