Apply science and technology to the service of God and humanity
Since 1935, JBU has been educating students to become engineers who honor God and serve others. With an emphasis on design and the support of your professors, you will graduate prepared and confident to begin an entry-level engineering position, pursue graduate studies or serve as a Christian technical missionary.
Start your application
Request information
Discover how JBU equips you to be an excellent mechanical engineer
Get the technical knowledge and hands-on experience you need
At JBU, you will earn a strong background in robotics, machine design, 3D computer-aided drafting and computational modeling. You'll learn skills in physical mechanics such as propulsion, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and strength of materials.
Develop the "soft-skills" employers are looking for
Employers look for graduates who not only have technical knowledge, but have learned to collaborate with others, communicate effectively and discover innovative solutions for problems. At JBU you'll learn these skills throughout your studies.
Land a great job
Demand for mechanical engineers is high and generally remains stable, even in an unstable economy. Mechanical engineers have a median salary of $88,430. For more career outlook information, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.
Design Emphasis
At JBU, the engineering design experience starts in the first year, develops with more extensive technical content through the sophomore and junior years, and culminates with the two-semester senior design project. The scheme for the lower-level design courses is to introduce design methodology using small design projects that prepare the student to clearly define the problem, identify the constraints and criteria, and establish the requirements for the design. By the third year, the student will have developed the technical background to work out significant engineering design problems. The junior-level design lab provides an opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team and produce both oral and written presentations.
Fourth-year experiences include those in electronic design, machine design, and fluid system design, as well as the capstone design project. The capstone project approaches a real-world situation and provides an intense experience for engineering students. The projects must be finished and satisfy stated objectives determined by active negotiation with the engineering faculty and the industry sponsors.
Start your application
Schedule a campus visit
What to expect as an Mechanical Engineering student at JBU
1
Apply for Prestigious Internships
Our students regularly take summer internships at top companies including NASA. Your faculty will help connect and guide you to great opportunities.
2
Seek Professional Licensure
Each year, students build a robot and compete in the NASA Lunabotic Mining Competition. In 2012, JBU’s team won fourth place out of 50 international teams. In 2015 JBU received the Judges' Innovation Award by unanimous vote.
Research and build your project at JBU, then take it global like a former student aquaponics project that now helps a village in Cambodia.
Students work with professors on grant-funded projects like an EPA grant to develop a drinking water disinfection system for rural Guatemala.
Our students are recruited to graduate programs both in the U.S. and abroad including Caltech, UT-Austin, Virginia Tech, University of Arkansas, Tulsa University, UT-Arlington, Vanderbilt, University of Maryland, Iowa State and more.
8
Study in Awesome Facilities
Engineering students have access to state-of-the-art lab space and equipment like a jet engine and 3-D prototyping tools for projects in the Balzer Technology Center. The Studio Project Barn provides individual and group workspace for student projects.
Take a 360 tour of JBU's engineering facilities & equipment that prepare you for the real world
Explore possible careers for mechanical engineering graduates
Aerospace Engineers manufacture, analyze, design, research and develop products in aeronautical or astronautical industries.
Systems Engineers manage and monitor installed operating systems, application software and system management tools to ensure the highest levels of systems and infrastructure availability.
Automotive Engineers specialize in vehicle design, development, manufacturing, testing, marketing and sales.
Manufacturing Engineer evaluates manufacturing processes of product design, fabrication, assembly, tooling and materials.
5
Electromechanical Engineer
Electromechanical engineers monitor, maintain, troubleshoot and repair manufacturing parts and systems. They also read blueprints and design documents for mechanical assembly, fabricate various metal machine parts, and calibrate hydraulic systems and mount electronic parts.
Meet our engineering professors
Joe Capps
Adjunct Instructor, Engineering
Charles Baukal, Jr.
Adjunct Instructor, Engineering
Dr. Baukal has been working as a mechanical engineer in industry since 1979 and as an adjunct instructor since 1982. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Pennsylvania. He has nearly 250 publications and presentations including authoring/editing 16 books on industrial combustion and engineering education. He is an inventor on 11 U.S. patents and serves on a number of advisory boards. He hopes to complete an MDiv from Liberty University in December 2020. He is married and has three adult daughters. He and his wife attend South Tulsa Baptist Church.
John Lee
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Dr. John Lee joined the Engineering Faculty at John Brown University in the fall of 2018. Dr. Lee received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Oklahoma Christian University in the spring of 2008 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with an emphasis in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in the spring of 2018. His doctoral dissertation is in fluid phase separation via nanochannel arrays for space propulsion. During his academic career he was afforded the opportunity to participate in numerous internships, including a research experience for undergraduates at the University of Arkansas, process engineering at Eaton Corporation, and a dynamics lab at Los Alamos National Labs. While finishing his dissertation research, he worked for WattGlass, a solar panel coating start-up at the University of Arkansas Engineering Research Center.
Dr. Lee and his wife, Nicole, enjoy spending time with their wonderful daughter, Zoey, and amazing son, Zane. They enjoy traveling as a family and experiencing other cultures, cuisines, and foreign landscapes. In his free time, Dr. Lee enjoys sporting events, golf, and woodworking. He and his family are members at Cross Church, Fayetteville.
Tim Gilmour
Associate Professor of Engineering
Dr. Tim Gilmour joined the engineering faculty in August of 2012. Dr. Gilmour received his B.S.E.E. from Cedarville University in 2003, his M.S.E.E. from Penn State University in 2005, and his Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2012. For his masters' research he tested different signal processing methods for brain-computer interfaces. For his doctoral research he applied signal processing to examine the effects of cell transplants on brain electrical activity in Parkinson's Disease. He has published four journal papers and presented seven conference abstracts. In his free time he enjoys spending time with friends, reading, hiking, music, playing Frisbee and Ping-Pong, learning about other cultures, and spreading the good news about Jesus Christ.
Michelle Myunghee Kim
Associate Professor of Engineering
Dr. Michelle Kim grew up in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States and received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Kim moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, in 2012 with her husband, Dr. Ted Song. Before joining JBU, she served as a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arkansas for seven years. Dr. Kim and Dr. Song have three wonderful daughters—Leanne, Erin, and Kori.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Mr. Juan Carlos Rodriguez joined the faculty of JBU in 2016. He received his B.S.M.E from John Brown University in 2006 and earned his M.S.M.E. from the University of Tulsa in 2008. His Master’s research was studying the effects of viscosity and particle size in erosion for multiphase flow. He returned to his home country of El Salvador and worked for Unilever at one of their regional manufacturing facilities. He worked five years as a Project Engineering and one year as a Manufacturing Manager. These experiences allowed him to develop a special interest for technical and management aspects of the manufacturing industry. He returned to JBU in 2014 and received his second Master’s Degree in Higher Education and Leadership in 2016. During this time he also served as the Resident Director for one of the on-campus residence halls.
Mr. Rodriguez and his wife, Lulu, have one beautiful baby daughter, Emma. They have a heart for serving young people in the Lord and have co-lead youth groups, community groups, and provided mentoring to many high school and college students. They also enjoy watching movies, traveling and spending time with family.
Ted Song
Chief Diversity Officer
Department Chair, Engineering, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity
Associate Professor of Engineering
Dr. Ted Song started serving as Chief Diversity Officer in 2021. He seeks to help the institution equip students to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). He joined JBU in 2012 as an engineering professor and has served as Coordinator of Diversity and Innovation and Chair of Faculty Affairs Committee. He also serves as Chair of the Engineering, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity Departments.
Dr. Song grew up both in the U.S. and Korea and is a CQ® (cultural intelligence) certified facilitator. He was an ROTC cadet during his undergraduate studies and served as an Air Defense Artillery Officer in the Republic of Korea Army. He received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a recipient of the 2012 Texas Exes Teaching Award and 2018 JBU Faculty Excellence Award. Outside JBU, he serves as Vice President of Christian Engineering Society and as a member of the CCCU Diversity and Inclusion Commission.
Dr. Song and his wife, Michelle, live in Siloam Springs and have three daughters. They are members at Siloam Springs Bible Church (an Evangelical Free Church), where Dr. Song leads the College Ministry and serves as an elder. He received his Master of Theological Studies degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing an M.Div. degree.
Kim Cornett
Instructor of Engineering
Mrs. Kimberly Cornett has been teaching with the Engineering Department since 2015. She received her B.S.E with concentration in Electrical Engineering from John Brown University in 2007 and earned her MSEE from the University of Arkansas in 2009. Her Master’s research was integrated circuit design for extreme environment applications in Space and on surface of the Moon and Mars. Some of the circuits she worked on orbited with the International Space Station. She then worked for Texas Instruments as a Servo Systems Engineer for 3.5 years developing application-specific integrated circuits for the hard disk drive industry. These experiences developed her special interests in circuit design and verification as well as project management. Mrs. Cornett has served as the Counselor for the JBU Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and loves to encourage young girls to pursue STEM careers.
Mrs. Cornett and her husband Nick Cornett (JBU Graduate Counseling Faculty) returned to Siloam Springs in 2012. They have one daughter and two sons. They are active in the local church and Bible study groups. She enjoys spending time with family, baking, sewing, woodworking, running, hiking, biking, and spectating various sports.
Shanon Vuglar
Assistant Professor of Engineering
Dr. Shanon Vuglar joined the JBU engineering faculty in 2018. He received his B.Tech. (Aeronautical Engineering), B.E. (Electrical Engineering), and M.Sc. (Information Technology) from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia, while serving in the Royal Australian Air Force. On completing his undergraduate degrees, he served as an Engineering Officer, predominantly working in the areas of Information Operations and Communications. In June 2015, he was awarded a Ph.D. (Electrical Engineering) from the University of New South Wales. His doctoral research was in the area of quantum control and considered the physical realizability of quantum systems. Before joining JBU, he held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Melbourne and Princeton University. He has published four journal articles and five peer-reviewed conference papers. Dr. Vuglar values being an active part of a vibrant Christian community and has led prayer and Bible study groups as well as serving on worship teams, playing saxophone and drums. He enjoys running, cycling, mountain biking, and skiing and in July 2018, he successfully completed his first Ironman Triathlon (Lake Placid, NY). He also enjoys playing chess and other board games.
