Teaching Interests 

 
Research Interests 

Education

 
Class Schedule 

Office Hours 

College of Engineering,

Computer Science

& Technology

Department of

Mechanical Engineering
 

Chivey Wu,  Ph.D.

Professor

Email: cwu@calstatela.edu

Office: E&T-C159B.    

Phone: (323)343-4489. 

FAX: (323)343-5004.

INTRODUCTION 

I have been teaching at CSULA for almost 23 years since 1983.  As a penny-less, first generation immigrant to this country of opportunities, I had work very hard during my graduate student years, often under adverse conditions, such as lack of funds.  But I managed to come through, and hope this experience can relate to and inspire many of our students here.  I consider myself very fortunate for being a member of the faculty here.  The senior colleagues here are most admirable and have become my role models.  The younger colleagues are also very dedicated and determined to out-perform their senior peers.

During my tenure here, I have been given the opportunity to grow and have become an experienced teacher and researcher.  I have taught a wide variety of lecture courses and laboratories, covering most of the specializations in mechanical engineering.  For over 20 years, I have conducted many research projects for federal agencies such as NASA and USAF, as well as industry such as Lockheed-Martin, Hughes & South Coast Air Quality Management District.  With these research grants, I was able to support and advised many M.S. students on their research and theses.  All of them have found excellent professional careers.

I have also worked at NASA & DOE research labs during several summers, and was involved in the aerodynamic design of CSULA's legendary solar car projects. My international background had also brought me to visiting professorship in China, Japan & Taiwan during my sabbatical leaves.

TEACHING INTERESTS 

My educational background was in aeronautical engineering.  Aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics are my specialties.  But before I studied engineering, I was trained as a draftsman and had extensive experience in the machine shop.  Aeronautics is virtually a multidisciplinary field involving all the technical subjects of mechanical engineering: fluid mechanics, structure, thermal energy systems, dynamics and control. For these reasons, I was able to teach a wide variety of subjects, from introductory freshman courses to highly specialized graduate courses.

I have taught undergraduate courses in design graphics (including CAD), engineering mathematics (including numerical methods), solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, thermal systems, and the corresponding laboratories.  For recent years, I have focused on developing senior level technical electives: aerodynamics, aircraft design, wind tunnel labs and multidisciplinary computer-aided engineering.  My favorite graduate courses are high-speed compressible aerodynamics, viscous fluid flow and computational fluid dynamics.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I had conducted both computational and experimental studies in aerodynamics and heat transfer on research projects in the past.  But since 1997, I began to involve in multidisciplinary design and analysis of aircraft for NASA and USAF.  Since 2003 I have been serving as a Co-Principal Investigator for a research lab established under a major NASA University Research Center grant and a USAF research grant.  To learn more about our research activities and achievements, please visit:

Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering 1983
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

M.S. Mechanical Engineering 1979
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 

B.S. Aeronautical Engineering 1976
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan 

CLASS SCHEDULE  Summer 2006

OFFICE HOURS