Engineering

Degree Type Bachelor of Science
Department Physics and Engineering
Academic Division The College
Offerings Major
Engineering majors at W&L have a distinctive opportunity to study the principles and applications of engineering within a liberal arts environment. Our engineering students develop the ability to think critically and ethically, communicate clearly, appropriately apply engineering principles, and successfully design
solutions to real-world problems as they prepare for opportunities after graduation.

About the Department

Washington and Lee offers two engineering majors:

Engineering: A major in engineering allows students to develop breadth and depth in engineering analysis. The requirements offer flexibility, primarily in the junior year, as students focus their coursework in preparation for their capstone design project and future career. The junior year also offers the freedom to study abroad in the fall or winter term, during which time students can leverage the unique strengths of the host university to broaden their engineering background.

Integrated Engineering: The integrated engineering major provides students the opportunity to combine engineering with their interests in one of four tracks: biology, chemistry, computer science, or geology. The addition of a concentrated study of science into the engineering curriculum prepares students for multidisciplinary design challenges. Students can pursue study abroad opportunities to broaden the range of track-specific coursework and take advantage of their unique background when designing collaboratively in the capstone sequence.

Why Study Engineering at W&L?

The Engineering Program at Washington and Lee University allows students to:

  • Acquire a working knowledge of foundational engineering principles.
  • Apply the foundational principles to engineering problems.
  • Integrate foundational principles to develop innovative solutions to novel, open-ended engineering design projects.
  • Apply an engineering design process to satisfy requirements and specifications of design projects.
  • Understand how engineers operate within the broader context of society.
  • Incorporate cultural, environmental, economical and ethical factors into design decisions.
  • Communicate technical knowledge through written documents, oral presentations, and digital and graphical media.
  • Learn to communicate effectively within a team environment.
  • Gain proficiency with contemporary equipment and software encountered in research environments and professional practice.
  • Prepare to enter a diverse work environment including advanced engineering studies or professional practice.

About Accreditation

Throughout the long history of our engineering program, we have not sought accreditation through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). This decision is rooted in our desire to provide our students with a broad range of courses in engineering while allowing students the flexibility to focus on their interests. Though our objectives are in harmony with accredited engineering programs, we believe it is our student-centered approach that affords majors the unique foundation upon which they build success after graduation.

After W&L

What can you do with a degree in engineering? Within the last few years, graduates of the Engineering Program at W&L have gone on to a variety of opportunities. A few examples:

Employment: UTC Aerospace Systems, Clark Construction, Raytheon, Turner Construction Company, National Grid, Whiting-Turner Construction Company, Apptech Solutions and Space-X.

Graduate School: Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, University of Virginia, Northwestern University, Columbia University, Georgia Tech, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt University.

Graduate Fellowships: Fulbright Scholarships to Germany and Estonia, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, and a Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Fellowship.

Opportunities for Students

Faculty-Directed Research: Students gain firsthand experience in engineering research and development during the academic year for credit or over the summer through a paid stipend.

Engineering Community Development (ECD): Originally organized as Engineers Without Borders, ECD allows members to develop solutions for community needs both locally and abroad. Students have recently traveled to Belize and to Fries, Virginia, to support those communities through their work.

Robotics Club: A student club that designs and develops robots to compete at national and international competitions. This group builds on the recent success of an electronics class that focused on robot programming and design.

Capstone Design: Students invest their senior year working in teams to develop a solution to a project of their own choosing. Engineering students collaborate with those in the Entrepreneurship Program to develop business plans and marketing strategies, and consult with law students specializing in intellectual property law to understand how existing copyrights, patents and trademarks impact their work.

Conferences and Publications: Students routinely travel to national and international conferences to present their research or compete in engineering competitions, and they regularly appear as co-authors on faculty publications.

Joel Kuehner

Department Head
P: 540-458-8153
E: kuehnerj@wlu.edu

Tanya Bennett

Administrative Assistant
P: 540-458-8882
E: tbennett@wlu.edu

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You'll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.
ENGN 125

Engineering Marvels

An investigation of technical engineering concepts, the evolution of engineering, and the historical and cultural significance of engineering through the study of ancient and modern engineering marvels around the world. More specifically, the course focuses on engineering marvels of England. Based in London, we explore many sites, including bridges along the River Thames, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the London Eye and the London Underground. Day trips to Windsor Castle and Land Rover take us outside of London.

ENGN 207

Electrical Circuits

A detailed study of electrical circuits and the methods used in their analysis. Basic circuit components, as well as devices such as operational amplifiers, are investigated. The laboratory acquaints the student both with fundamental electronic diagnostic equipment and with the design and behavior of useful circuits.

ENGN 240

Thermodynamics

A study of the fundamental concepts of thermodynamics, thermodynamic properties of matter, and applications to engineering processes.

ENGN 260

Materials Science

An introduction to solid state materials. A study of the relation between microstructure and the corresponding physical properties for metals, ceramics, polymers and composites.

ENGN 267

Bioengineering & Bio-Inspired Design

This course integrates biology, physics, engineering and quantitative methods to study how an animal's physiology is optimized to perform a critical function, as well as how these biological systems inspire new technologies. Topics include: long-distance navigation; locomotion; optical, thermal and auditory sensing; bioelectricity; biomaterials; and swarm synchronicity.

ENGN 311

Fluid Mechanics

This course covers a number of topics, including: fluid statics; application of the integral mass, momentum and energy equations using control volume concepts; and introduction to viscous flow, boundary layer theory and differential analysis.

Meet the Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Joel Kuehner Professor of Physics and Engineering, Department Head
Kuehner teaches courses in entry-level engineering, mechanics, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. His recent research focuses on periodic water flows and oscillatory natural convection to uncover the causes of periodic behavior. In his Fluid Diagnostics Lab, research examines turbulent mixing mechanics. Students acquire flow properties such as temperature or velocity using laser-based methods that do not disturb the flow.
Anushika Athauda Visiting Instructor of Physics
Athauda instructs in general physics and general physics laboratory. Her research mainly involves investigating structure of matter using neutron and x-ray diffraction, particularly, investigating the structure-property relationship of disordered systems and superconductors.
Kacie D’Alessandro Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering
D’Alessandro teaches courses in general engineering, mechanics and materials science. Her research interests include design of concrete structures, ultra-high-performance concrete, and innovative concrete applications. In her Concrete Lab, students investigate development of concrete mixes, mixing practices, testing practices, material property determination, structural behavior, and structural analysis techniques.
Jonathan Erickson Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering
Erickson’s courses include Physics and Perception of Music, Electronics, and Bioengineering and Bioinspired Design. His research interests include biomedical signal processing for gastrointestinal electrical activity patterns. In his Bioelectronics Lab, students develop electronics hardware and software algorithms to measure and analyze dynamic patterns of electrical activity in the gastrointestinal tract that coordinate muscular contractions. Students also develop techniques for guiding hybrid insect robots.
Dan Mazilu Associate Professor of Physics
Mazilu teaches courses in general physics, classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and special topics in contemporary physics. His research interests include experimental and theoretical studies of self-assembled nanoparticle monolayers, as well as interdisciplinary projects in the field of complex systems.
Irina Mazilu Professor of Physics
Irina Mazilu teaches courses in general physics, statistical physics, nuclear physics and computational modeling of physical systems. Her current projects include nanoparticle self-assembly and applications of statistical physics to social sciences.
Tom McClain Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
Professor McClain teaches General Physics for first-year students. His research interests include quantum theories of gravity, gravitational wave astronomy, philosophy of physics, and mobile and cloud-based physics simulations for education.
David Sukow Robert Lee Telford Professor of Physics 
Sukow’s courses include Stellar Evolution and Cosmology, Modern Physics, Optics, and Quantum Mechanics. His research involves nonlinear dynamics in semiconductor lasers, and is beginning to include astrophysics.