The Department of Mechanical Engineering (PME) is one of the fifteen departments of the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP) and operates in an integrated manner in the areas of teaching, research, and extension in Mechanical Engineering. Its role is to train professionals with a solid scientific and technical foundation, contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and develop relevant solutions to the challenges faced by society and the productive sector.
With broad and multidisciplinary activities, PME brings together competencies in different areas of Mechanical Engineering, articulating theoretical foundations, applied research, and technological development. Attentive to industrial transformations and contemporary engineering demands, the Department maintains strong integration with the productive sector and leads research of academic and industrial interest in several areas.
This performance is reflected in the quality of its scientific output, the relevance of its projects, and the prominence of its faculty in the fields of teaching, research, and university extension. Thus, PME reaffirms its commitment to academic excellence and sustainable technological development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
As part of Poli-USP, PME is part of one of the most recognized environments in Brazilian engineering. Its reputation rests on the quality of the training it provides, the production of relevant knowledge, and its ability to train professionals prepared to work in different sectors of industry, research, innovation, and technological management.
This reputation is also strengthened by the institutional context in which the Department operates: USP remains the best-placed Brazilian university in international rankings and maintains prominence in major areas of knowledge, including Engineering and Technology. For PME, this means operating in a high-level academic ecosystem, with a strong tradition, international projection, and a commitment to excellence.
Foundation
The trajectory of the current Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Escola Politécnica da USP originates from the old mechanical and electrical engineering course, structured at the beginning of the 20th century in line with the technical and industrial transformations of São Paulo. A decisive milestone in this process occurred in 1913, with the hiring of Roberto Mange and Félix Hegg, who were responsible for chairs that organized the core of mechanical engineering education at the School. Mange took on subjects related to machine drawing and applied mechanics, including pumps and hydraulic motors; Hegg, in turn, was in charge of content such as heat applications, thermodynamics, and factories. This teaching and curricular foundation provided consistency to an education focused not only on theoretical mastery but also on the design, operation, and analysis of mechanical systems, creating a line of continuity that would lead, decades later, to the institutional consolidation of the department.
This identity was reinforced by successive academic reforms and the expansion of teaching and research infrastructure. In 1918, the curricular reorganization kept fundamental subjects for the mechanical area at the core of the course, such as mechanics applied to machines, power capture, pumps and hydraulic motors, thermal engines, and electrotechnics. In 1920, the inauguration of the new building for the Gabinete de Eletrotécnica e Máquinas concretely expanded the School’s experimental capacity. In the following decades, new reforms deepened this movement: in 1931, the courses were extended to five years; in 1935, already in the context of integrating the Politécnica into the Universidade de São Paulo, new training and improvement models were opened; and, in 1940, the mechanical and electrical engineering degree was reestablished. In 1945, the School’s internal organization already recognized a Departamento de Máquinas, with chairs dedicated to machines, hydraulic motors, thermodynamics, heat applications, thermal engines, compressed air, and refrigeration machines, a configuration that clearly anticipates the academic identity of Mechanical Engineering at Poli.
Since its origin, mechanical engineering education at the Escola Politécnica has been distinguished by the articulation between teaching, laboratory work, and direct contribution to the country’s technological development. The Laboratório de Hidromecânica, conceived to support demonstrations, didactic experiments, and research, became an expression of this vocation. In 1948, it was already conducting studies on hydraulic coefficients, power measurement, pump acceptance tests, and verification of existing installations, in addition to supporting the teaching of fluid machinery. At the same time, the area was linked to central themes of Brazilian modernization, such as railway expansion, the electrification of São Paulo state, professional training, and responding to the demands of industrialization. It was in this environment, marked by technical rigor, experimentation, and ongoing dialogue with the concrete challenges of society, that the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Poli-USP was consolidated, heir to a century-old tradition of engineering education and research.
Reputation
As part of Poli-USP, PME is part of one of the most recognized environments in Brazilian engineering. Its reputation rests on the quality of the training it provides, the production of relevant knowledge, and its ability to train professionals prepared to work in different sectors of industry, research, innovation, and technological management.
This reputation is also strengthened by the institutional context in which the Department operates: USP remains the best-placed Brazilian university in international rankings and maintains prominence in major areas of knowledge, including Engineering and Technology. For PME, this means operating in a high-level academic ecosystem, with a strong tradition, international projection, and a commitment to excellence.
Mission
To train competent mechanical engineers, develop research and projects in the field of Mechanical Engineering that contribute to the sustainable development of society.
Vision
PME will be a national and international reference in teaching, research, innovation, and university extension in Mechanical Engineering and will be committed to sustainable technological development across social, economic, environmental, and business dimensions.
Values
Commitment, Cooperation, Ethics, Innovation, Socio-environmental Responsibility, and Transparency.
