The Department of Mechanical Engineering is internationally renowned for its high quality research. The expertise of our staff covers a wide range of specialist areas and our mission is to carry out research in fundamental science through to practical industrial applications. The Department was rated in the top 5 in the UK for Research Excellence in the 2014 Research Escellence Framework (REF 2014).Our research looks at some of today’s most challenging issues such as renewable energy, alternative fuels, strong and lightweight aerospace materials, advanced manufacturing and the mechanics of the human body.Much of the research undertaken by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is carried out by our postgraduate students as part of their PhD programmes. The Department's current postgraduate research students are working on a wide range of projects, and they are vital to our success in research. Our students come from both the UK and overseas and typically have a first degree in engineering, or a related subject such as physics or mathematics.