This document is not field policy and has not been subject to field vote. It is a working document provided as a good-faith attempt to describe the current shared viewpoint of the Biomechanics faculty. Per field rules, the exam committee decides the scope of the exam and questions are at the discretion of the committee.
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Q exam name: Biomechanics
Field(s) to which it applies: ME
Core physical principles covered: The Biomechanics Q exam in Mechanical Engineering focuses on mechanics of biological materials, including solid mechanics and rheology in general. In particular, biological systems are often inhomogeneous and nonlinear, often exhibit viscoelasticity. Composite beam theory and mixture theory is often required, and large deformations and nonlinear responses are common. The structure and composition of biological materials and how this structure gives rise to mechanical behavior is central to the examination.
The exam committee decides the scope of the exam and questions are at the discretion of the committee; however, this list is provided as a good-faith outline of topics covered as a way to frame student’s broad study of biomechanics as a discipline.
Recommended textbooks for study: no textbooks are currently specified by the Biomechanics faculty
Classes required before Q exam: although the examination is focused on aspects specific to mechanics of biological materials, foundational undergraduate training in response of Hookean systems at the level of MAE2020 and MAE3270 is expected
Classes strongly recommended before Q exam: MAE 6010
Classes deemed helpful but usually not taken before Q exam: MAE 6640, MAE 6670, BME 5810