Thermofluids is about making things move. Whether it’s an airplane, boat, car, or people’s attitudes towards energy consumption. The Thermofluids Option provides students with the background to pursue their interests in these areas.
Engines, Clean Energy and Alternative Fuels
Participate in Formula UBC to build the fastest race car
Participate on the Supermileage Team to build the most fuel efficient car
Turbines, Propellers and Naval Architecture
What can you do in
Thermofluids?
During your Undergraduate Degree
There are plenty of opportunities for Thermofluids Option students to not only focus their studies in the classroom, but apply their knowledge in extra curricular projects. Student Involvement is one of the major focuses of this option, and student teams are a great way to get involved. Students in the Thermofluids option will find themselves extremely comfortable in teams such as UBC Supermileage, Formula UBC, SailBot, and UBC Heavy Lift.
Labs in the Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program expose Thermofluids Options students to a variety of applications of their specialization. Students work with natural gas engines, gasoline engines and engine dynos, blowers, wind tunnels and they may also have a tour of the UBC steam plant.
UBC’s Mechanical Engineering program also has a student chapter of SNAME, the Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers. Students may join this chapter. Other affiliations include the ASHRAE team, and various students teams, many of which belong to SAE.
After your Undergraduate Degree
Thermofluids students have the option to either take graduate studies or go straight into industry.
Graduate Programs
Our various graduate programs provide research opportunities for students interested in thermofluids. Some areas of interest are:
- Acoustics
- Clean Energy
- Combustion
- Computational Fluid Mechanics
- Naval Architecture
- Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics
- Papermaking
Industry
Those interested in thermofluids are able to work in a variety of fields. Ships, aircraft, processes, pipelines, heating and air conditioning: the thermofluids option helps you get ready for a career in these areas. Some companies that hire thermofluids graduates are listed below:
| Company | Headquarters | Industry |
| AirBus SAS | Blagnac, France | Aerospace |
| Ballard | Burnaby, BC | Hydrogen Fuel Cells |
| Encana | Calgary, Alberta | Natural Gas Production |
| General Motors | Detroit, USA | Automotive |
| Pratt and Whitney | East Hartford, USA | Turbine Engines |
| Royal Dutch Shell | The Hague, Netherlands | Oil and Gas |
| Westport Innovations | Vancouver, BC | Natural Gas Combustion Engines |
| Yamaha Motor | Iwata, Japan | Automotive and Marine |
| Zodiac | Paris, France | Marine Technologies |
