Master's track Engineering Solid Mechanics

Are you interested in the design and optimization of products, components and structures? Consider, for example, batteries, wind turbines, car chassis, aircraft fuselages, protective gear, sports equipment, soft robots, or coronary stents? If so, then the Master’s track Engineering Solid Mechanics at the TU/e is for you!

What does the track entail?
Solid mechanics is a cornerstone of mechanical engineering practice. It allows us to predict the rigidity, deformability, strength, and durability of the structures we design. It enables us to optimize the processes by which products are manufactured. It helps us to develop new classes of materials with improved performance. And it makes it possible for us to promote circularity and energy efficiency of products. Applications are found in a vast range of scales. These can vary from off-shore and civil engineering structures towering hundreds of meters high, to nano-electro-mechanical systems with feature sizes in the range of nanometers. The materials employed include advanced high-strength steels, aluminum alloys, ceramics, composites, polymers, and even fibrous networks such as paper or biological tissues. Important application fields include the automotive industry, high-tech systems, electronics, robotics, aerospace, infrastructure, medical devices, biomechanics, maritime and off-shore industry.

What’s in it for me?
The Master’s track Engineering Solid Mechanics (ESM) offers a strong disciplinary basis which prepares you for a career in any of the fields listed above, rather than focusing on a single application domain. It also enables you to move from one to the other should you wish to at some point in your career. In addition, it prepares you optimally to contribute to new, emerging technologies full of mechanics issues.

What’s the track all about?
During your bachelor’s, you most likely took courses on continuum mechanics, elasticity, strength of materials and numerical methods. In this master’s track, your knowledge base is broadened in the fields of:

• nonlinear continuum mechanics, also for large deformations
• plasticity, damage, and fracture
• materials science aspects and the role of microstructure
• mathematics and advanced numerical methods for nonlinear problems
• experimental methods for materials characterization

This will give you a solid foundation to address a wide range of current and emerging solid mechanics challenges.

Why would this master’s track be a good fit for me?
If you see yourself as the specialist to whom application-driven colleagues turn for solid advice on mechanics-oriented challenges, this master’s track is a gateway to realizing your vision. If you want to be the engineer who transforms their conceptual designs into reality, ESM has all the ingredients. If you take pride in working accurately – complemented by systematical problem-solving – this master’s track is a good place to start. We are a team of dedicated, approachable lecturers. And we are committed to helping you shape your future by pursuing a career with a solid disciplinary foundation.

Why should I follow this master’s track at the TU/e?
Two good reasons for choosing the Master’s track in Engineering Solid Mechanics at TU/e are:

1. Research in the field of solid mechanics at TU/e is widely regarded as being of compelling quality. Courses in the track are taught by renowned scientists familiar with the latest developments in the field. You can experience this professionalism yourself, joining your tutors in contributing to sector know-how during your master’s project. The lecturers’ international network can be instrumental in securing an exciting internship overseas.
2. TU/e is the heart of the Brainport region, an authoritative hub of the high-tech industry in the Netherlands and immediate vicinity. International high-tech industrial heavyweights such as ASML and Philips are based in this region. So too are a number of specialized companies working on similarly advanced technologies and products. Each of these technologies has its challenges in solid mechanics and TU/e lecturers who teach the track contribute to addressing them. This offers you an excellent opportunity for internships and master projects. It also positions you ideally for an exciting career after graduating.