Texas Tech University

Departments

The Texas Tech University Whitacre College of Engineering has been educating outstanding engineers to meet the technological needs of Texas, the nation, and the world since 1925.

Approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 870 graduate students pursue bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees offered through seven academic departments: civil and environmental engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and petroleum engineering.

Department Listing

Department of Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering

From pharmaceuticals that can improve lives to green chemistry that may help remove hazardous substances, chemical engineers transform the knowledge of chemistry into powerful materials for the betterment of society.

Our faculty are experts in polymers and materials, nano-technology, energetic nano-materials, biotechnology and biomedical engineering, bio-molecular modeling and alternative new generation biofuels.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering

Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering

From designing modern skyscrapers to ensuring clean drinking water, civil and environmental engineers affect quality of life and public safety. 

Texas Tech faculty have expertise in design of buildings, shelters and bridges; windstorm damage mitigation; renewable wind energy systems; wastewater treatment, hazardous waste treatment, flooding, and water resources management.

Construction engineers are responsible for a wide range of duties associated with the development, design, and management of construction-related processes that are required to take a project from its initial conception to a fully developed project.

The faculty at Texas Tech have a wide range of interest and expertise including geotextiles, wind and soil erosion modeling, rapid bridge replacement, prestressed concrete, construction management, digital remote control and telemetry systems, power generation, manufacturing processes, video imaging and analysis, sustainable construction, HVAC system design, and energy usage.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Structural Engineering
  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Highway Engineering
  • Construction Engineering and Management

Department of Computer Science

Computer Science

Computer science professionals study the theoretical foundations of information representation and computation.

Faculty in this department teach and do research in areas involving programming languages, distributed computing and parallel processing, artificial intelligence techniques, intelligent systems, robotics, software engineering, and distributed databases.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Programming Languages
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Data Management
  • Distributed Computing
  • Software Engineering
  • Robotics
  • Bioinformatics

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Electrical and computer engineers work with electronics, telecommunications  and integrated circuits – from generating electrical power for the national grid, to novel integrated circuits for wireless communications, to designing the smallest computer chip in your cell phone – the creativity of electrical and computer engineers provide solutions that better our lives.

Texas Tech faculty members are experts in pulsed power systems, optoelectronics, computer vision and image processing, energy and power systems, medical microelectronics, embedded systems, wireless communications, and sustainable energy systems.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Analog VLSI
  • MEMS
  • Power
  • Signal Processing
  • Communication Systems
  • High Frequency Communications
  • Control Systems
  • Digital Systems

Department of Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering

Industrial Engineering

From improving patient flow at a hospital to consulting with Fortune 500 companies on management strategies, manufacturing, ergonomics, and logistics, industrial engineers design and operate systems, providing high-quality products and services in safe and cost-effective ways.

Texas Tech faculty members are experts in biomechanics, safety, nanomaterials, environmentally conscious manufacturing, management of technology and complex organizations, and operations research.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Operations Research
  • Systems and Engineering Management
  • Manufacturing and Quality Assurance
  • Ergonomics and Human Factors Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineers design, manufacture, and test mechanical devices from submarines to tiny nanobot devices and artificial organs.

The Texas Tech faculty in mechanical engineering are experts in energetics, biomechanics, superhard materials, nanomechanics, computational and environmental fluid mechanics, fuel cells and alternative fuels in automotive design, and MEMs.

Department Web Page

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Biomechanical Engineering
  • Dynamic Systems and Controls
  • Mechanics
  • Design and Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Thermal and Fluid Sciences

Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum engineers literally fuel the world – finding and producing safe, clean and affordable oil and gas supplies – all while safeguarding the environment. 

Blending theory with practical knowledge, petroleum engineering faculty are experts in core analysis; pressure, volume, temperature (PVT) analysis; natural gas engineering; artificial lift and system analysis; and surface operations and facilities design.

Department Web Site

Majors

Research Specializations

  • Unconventional Reservoirs
  • Production Operations
  • Drilling/Environmental Concerns
  • Core Analysis