American University of Beirut

History

​​​​​​In 1951, a separate School of Engineering was established at AUB and a new curriculum was initiated in mechanical e​ngineering. The years from 1951 to 1954 were a transitional period of continuous development toward the new undergraduate curriculum, established in 1954.

The Mechanical Engineering Master Program​ was introduced in 1963 and was restructured in 1986, 1993, and then in 2001. The Mechanical Engineering PhD Program was approved by MSFEA in May 2004 and started shortly after.

The ME department has been active in the introduction of new labs to complement and enhance theoretical concepts. These labs include: Heat and Power Labs (1960), Engine Shop (1960), Mechatronics Lab (1999), Materials Lab (2001), Computer Vision Lab (2003), Aerosol Lab​ (2002), Hybrid Powered vehicle Lab (2002), Energy lab (2002), CFD lab (2004), Bioengineering Lab (2005).

The ME department established an external advisory board in 1998.

Since 1951, the Mechanical Engineering Department has been headed by 12 Chairpersons:           


Chairperson Nam​​​e​ Years of Service
Walter Baggaley, PhD Stevens Institute of Technology1951-1960
Henry B. Backenstoss, Ph.D MIT1960-1961
Sulayman Deeb, PhD Birmingham University1961-1976
Albert Kuran, M.S. Yale University1977-1980
Abdalla Sfeir, PhD. UC Berkley
1980-1984
Albert Kuran, M.S. Yale University​
1984-1985
Fateh Sakkal, PhD Manchester university1985-1988
Pierre Azoury, PhD University of London1988-1994
Fadl Moukalled, PhD LSU1995-2001
Nesreen Ghaddar, PhD MIT2001-2007
Marwan Darwich, PhD Brunel University2007-2012
Kamel Abou Ghali, PhD Kansas State University2012-2019​
​Issam Lakkis, PhD MIT
​2019-present​


The Department of Mechanical Engineering is currently housed in the Bechtel Engineering Building on the lower part of the AUB campus, close to the Irani Oxy Engineering Complex (IOEC) and the Scientific Research building (SRB). The building was inaugurated in 1954 and housed the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.​​

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