The Computational Engineering (CE) degree programme is collaborative between MIT, NUS, NTU, and the Research Institutes for Microelectronics (IME), High Performance Computing (iHPC), and Defense Medical Environment (DMERI). It is one of the most technologically advanced and critically acclaimed computational engineering programmes available in the world today.

Intensive computation for simulation and optimization has become an essential activity in both the design and operation of engineered systems, where the terminology “engineered systems” includes (but goes well beyond) complex systems in engineering science (micro-machined devices, guidance/control systems, imaging systems, etc.) as well as man-made systems (distribution networks, telecommunications systems, transportation systems, etc.) for which simulation, optimization and control are critical to system success. In applications as diverse as aircraft design, materials design and micro-machined device design/optimization engineers need computationally-tractable modeling systems that predict and optimize system performance in a reliable and timely manner. Effective computation allows for shorter design cycle times, better product quality and improved functionality. One cannot overstate the importance of computational engineering and optimization in the global industrial economy, particularly as the systems we use grow more necessary and more complex (cellular telephone telecommunications systems, the electric power grid, the internet, air transport systems, etc.). Revenues from simulation and optimization software products for such systems are only in the billions of dollars, but the overall economic impact of these tools is trillions of dollars. Substantial improvements in numerical methods and dramatic advances in computer hardware have generated vast opportunities for Computational Engineering. We expect that the next decade will experience an explosive growth in the demand for accurate and reliable numerical simulation and optimization of engineered systems. Computational Engineering will become even more multidisciplinary than in the past and a myriad of technological tools will be integrated to explore biological systems and sub-micron devices (for example), which will have a major impact on our everyday life.

The customized numerical algorithms in the latest generation of commercial engineering design software points to a significant trend: researchers and professionals in computational engineering will need a strong background in sophisticated numerical simulation /and / optimization, but must also be skilled in marrying the application formulation to the numerical methodology. In addition, the ever-accelerating rate at which new technology becomes available is generating an additional demand: that computational engineers be discipline-flexible in their skills. methodology that is of growing importance, while also providing tools for overcoming the manufacturing yield issues that have hindered BioMEMS commercialization. Finally, our educational programme combines applied general methodology courses, discipline-specific electives, and industrial experience in a way that, inparallel, trains professionals for industry while preparing doctoral students to participate in the flagship and interuniversity research projects.

The Computational Engineering educational programme is focused on educating the professionals who will model, simulate, optimize, and design the important engineered systems of the next decade.