Updated November 3, 2024

Check these “quick reference” pages for help on items important to Mechanical Engineering faculty. What else would you like to see here? What questions do you and your colleagues ask often? Send your ideas to communications specialist Jonathan Deutschman.

Finance

Ada Simari, Administrator
asimari@jhu.edu | 410-516-8542 | Latrobe 223

  • Facilities
  • Budget
  • Liaison to the Whiting School Business Office

Lynne Griffith, Grants and Contracts Manager
lgriff33@jh.edu | 410-516-5253 | Latrobe 223

  • Budget Reconciliation
  • Funding Proposals
  • Electronic Filing and Organization
  • Hiring and Payroll
    • Postdocs
    • Staff
    • Undergraduates
    • Hourly-Paid Students

Serene Davis, Administrative Coordinator
sdavi149@jhu.edu | 410-516-6782 | Latrobe 223

  • Purchasing of supplies and equipment
  • Travel reimbursements
  • Coordinate shipments and deliveries

Academic Programs

Mike Bernard, Academic Program Manager – 410-516-7154
John Soos, Sr. Academic Program Coordinator – 410-516-0067
me-academic@jhu.edu
Latrobe 223

  • Graduate Applications and Admissions
  • Student Financial Aid for Salary, Tuition and Health Insurance
  • Academic Advising and Policies
  • Visiting Student Appointments – High School, Undergraduate, Graduate
  • Course Scheduling and Classroom Assignments
  • Website (academic pages)

Appointments, Seminars, Faculty Searches

Ada Simari, Administrator
asimari@jhu.edu | 410-516-8542 | Latrobe 223

  • Department Head’s schedule
  • Postdoc and Visiting Scholar appointments
  • Faculty Search process

Communications

Jonathan Deutschman
jdeuts10@jhu.edu

  • News, events, updates, website
  • 530.803 Mechanical Engineering Graduate Seminar schedules

Visit the Counseling Center’s “Concerned About Someone” page for information on recognizing and helping students in distress, who may have been assaulted, who may be suicidal, or who may be dangerous. There is help.

This document describes Recognizing and Assisting Students in Distress, which provides information on distressed student behavior, services to help students, and how to address situations where a student may post a danger to self and others.

Visit the Student Well-Being page for a comprehensive list of help resources

Also, visit the Academic Advising for Faculty page for specific information on reporting academic and research troubles for both undergraduate and graduate students.

If you are unsure where to get help for your student’s situation, contact the Academic Staff at me-academic@jhu.edu.

Visit the Faculty and Staff Resources page.

University Policies

Visit the University Policies page for most, if not all, policies at Johns Hopkins University.

Academic Council

Visit the Academic Council web page for information on:

Digital Measures

Select the Digital Measures link for displaying faculty CVs, service, publications, and activities.

Research / WSE Manufacturing

Teaching

Here are some aids and tips for course instruction.

  • Visit SIS to get info on your class, including time, day, location, and enrollment. From there, you can e-mail the entire class using the class e-mail address.
    • Sign in with your JHED ID and password
    • Select the “Faculty” link, which will give you access to your course info.
    • Select the word “View” under the Roster to see more detailed info on your course.
    • In the Actions box in the middle-right of the screen, select the “Faculty & Class Information” link to see your class day, time, and location.
    • This is the screen where you will submit your grades online at the end of the semester. You will receive a notice as to when you can do so.
  • The academic staff can help find a room for make-up lectures and office hours. E-mail me-academic@jhu.edu for help.
  • If you’re new to teaching a course, previous instructors of the course can help you with updating or creating a syllabus, lectures, grading assignments and exams, and setting “audit” participation policy, as well as answer any questions that come up later.
  • To get your Teaching Assistants access to the e-mail list associated with your course, please ask the academic staff to submit a Course Change Form to the Registrar asking them to give access. They will need the TA’s name(s) and Hopkins e-mail address(es).
  • Here’s information on scheduling classrooms.
  • Check out these tips from the Registrar for course grading.
  • To submit grade changes after initial grades are submitted, view the Roster as noted above.  In the Actions box, select the “Grade Change” option.  Select the student(s) in the “Change Grade” column, select a Change Reason, a new Grade, and then select the blue “Post to Registrars” button to complete the change(s).
  • Read the Final Exam policy for information. If you want/need to modify the schedule, we must get permission from the Vice Dean for Academics in the Whiting School. There would have to be exceptionally good reasons to allow a modification; instructor convenience is not one of those reasons.

NEW!  Canvas – now collecting syllabi and electronically-submitted student work

  • Canvas has replaced Blackboard as the tool that most instructors use to post assignments, announcements, and grades (which provides a confidential way to do so). Your TA(s) can be given access to Canvas. For help, visit the Canvas Faculty page in Canvas learn how to get started, setting up courses, accessing Starfish to report student performance concerns, mobile access, and support.
  • New Policy on Retaining Student Work in Canvas – please visit the Revised Teaching Policies on how Canvas is used to collect syllabi and electronically-submitted student work.  This is effective Spring 2024.

Classroom Accommodations

The Registrar and the Office of Institutional Equity requires documentation of disability when special classroom accommodations are being requested, such as needing a classroom close to your office because you must keep walks short to respect a medical condition, a room without movable chalkboards because it’s hard for you to slide them, allergies to anything in the classroom (like dry erase markers).  Visit the Disability Accommodations page for information on how to request accommodations.

Computers and Software

You are welcome to use the computer facilities throughout campus, especially in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and the Brody Learning Commons.

Laptops, pads, and software are available at a discount student rate when purchased through Hopkins.

  • HAC Lab – Krieger 160 – offers all kinds of Microsoft, Adobe, math, multimedia and engineering software.
  • MATLAB – free for your computer, courtesy of Johns Hopkins!
    • Visit the Johns Hopkins Software Catalog
    • Log in with your JHED ID and password
    • Click on “Click Here to Browse Catalog”
    • Enter “Matlab” in the search bar and hit enter
    • Select “Matlab” (not Matlab for Students)
    • Follow the instructions that appear, which will send you to instructions on how to download the software.

Visit the Research Administration webpage for tips on proposal writing:

Purchasing

There are specific rules and guidelines that the University requires for purchases to be made, whether that is for a research project, a club, or any other purchase where University funds are used in either a grant or in department funding.

  • SAP Concur – self-service reimbursement
    • The University has moved to a self-service reimbursement system where anyone seeking reimbursement can make a direct request instead of waiting for a staff member to make a request, which saves you time!
    • SAP Concur will allow you to submit reimbursements easily and quickly.
    • Visit the Johns Hopkins Expense Processing page for training links to the Concur system and to take advantage of real-time training sessions.

Orders

Typically, you can send a web link with the item you would like to purchase to:

purchase to:

If you do not have the link, the following information is necessary to make an order:

  • Company name
  • Item number(s), or link(s) to item(s)
  • Cost
  • Quantity
  • Shipping – the least expensive shipping method will be used.
  • Budget number and approval from advisor.
  • If the item weighs >100 lbs. or will be shipped on a pallet.
  • If purchase exceeds $2,500, provide either three independent quotes or a Sole Source Justification provided by the advisor, so a Purchase Order can be placed in the Johns Hopkins SAP system.

Reimbursements

Submit Reimbursement Requests Before 90 Days have Passed – Reimbursement requests must be submitted for reimbursement to the University within 90-days of the purchase date. Please submit your requests at least several days before this deadline to allow the department to submit the request on time. If they are submitted after 90 days, the expenses will be paid to the purchaser as a payroll supplement instead of reimbursement and will be subject to payroll taxation.

Deliveries

  • All items delivered to the department will be received in Latrobe 217.
  • Items weighing >100 lbs. or are shipped on a pallet must be delivered to the end destination and not to Latrobe 217.

Shipping

  • Items being delivered to the department must be shipped to

Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles St.
Latrobe Hall, Room 217 – Attention: (recipient)
Baltimore, Maryland 21218

  • International Shipping must be arranged through the Mechanical Engineering Administrative Office.
  • Outgoing packages related to University business will be packed by the sender, who will deliver the package to Latrobe 223 Front Office. Senders must provide a cost center or internal order number. The package will be sent by FedEx.

Packing Slips

In order to comply with federal and JHU auditing policies we are required to collect and file all packing slips from items purchased by our department. The packing slip is our proof the item was received.

When receiving a package in Latrobe 217, everyone must take these steps:

  1. Open the package and verify the contents are what were ordered.
  2. Place the Packing Slip into the bin on the wall adjacent to the receiving table that corresponds to the faculty member who authorized the purchase.
  3. Sign the Shipping and Receiving book before leaving the room.

At the end of each week the packing slips will be collected, scanned, and matched with the order in accordance with audit policies. Failure to properly retain and submit packing slips will result in the loss of ordering privileges.

Please contact Administrative Coordinator Serene Davis in Latrobe 223 for help.

Sales Tax Exemption

The University is generally exempt from sales tax. All purchases qualifying for sales tax exemption that are arranged through the University will automatically be charged without sales tax.

While personal purchases are discouraged for University business, they are occasionally necessary. Please remember to use the Tax Exempt Sales Certificate before purchasing items with personal funds so you are not charged Sales Tax. Johns Hopkins does not reimburse Sales Tax.

Mail

Interoffice and postal mail are delivered daily, usually in the early afternoon. The front office staff will distribute the mail to mailboxes the same day or early the next morning.

Packages larger than the mailboxes will be stored and registered in Latrobe 217 and recipients will be notified. They should not be picked up until the packages are logged in.

Travel Registry

The International Travel Registry provides an easy-to-use way for those traveling internationally on university-related business to register their travel plans.

In partnership with International SOS, registered travelers will receive assistance with pre-travel preparations, including notifications about the destination country, risks, and prevention measures. Be sure to create your own Travel Profile so staff can contact and support you in the event that there is a natural disaster, political unrest or other emergency situation in locations where you travel.

Labs

The Mechanical Engineering department has laboratories in six buildings on the Homewood campus, managed by the department’s Lab Manager.

Printers

Canon Printer iR_ADV 6265 Latrobe 217

  • Printing, scanning, faxing, file storage, copying
  • Driver Access and Operations Guide
  • IP Address: 10.160.48.40
  • Service: 888-273-6989
  • Serial Number NMK02573 (that’s “zero,” not “O”)

Large Format Printer Latrobe 3rd Floor Hallway

  • Print posters and large-scale documents
  • IP Address: 10.160.48.244
  • USB Drive accessible

Canon Printer iR_ADV C2225 (in office)

  • For staff and faculty use only (to students reading this page, do not connect to this machine).
  • Printing, scanning, faxing, file storage, copying
  • Driver Access and Operations Guide
  • IP Address: 10.160.48.27
  • Service: 888-273-6989
  • Serial Number LYD07358 (that’s “zero,” not “Oh”)

Facilities Help

Get help for your labs or office!

The Mechanical Engineering department has laboratories throughout the Homewood campus. With the depth and breadth of our research, labs can be as simple as a laptop on an office desk to as complex as a full laboratory with elaborate equipment and potentially dangerous situations and substances that need vigilant maintenance.

Inevitably, there will be problems with offices, facilities, and equipment that need attention beyond our department’s ability to address them.  These could be as simple as an overflowing trash can to non-working radiators and air conditioners or as complex as discovery of major structural problems. There is a central reporting tool that the department uses to vet, record, and refer such problems to get the appropriate help.

Visit the Mechanical Engineering Department Facilities Concerns site to report your problem, no matter what type or size.

Office Space

The department administration is responsible to keep inventory of desk space in the Latrobe Hall offices it controls.

  • The department will inform faculty and students what desks are available. Senior Academic Program Coordinator John Soos will provide this information.
  • A faculty member can request a desk for a student, postdoc, and others under the faculty member’s supervision.
    • First, it is understood that PhD students are given first precedence for available seats.
    • Second, Postdocs are assigned desk space in order of arrival date in Latrobe 319, if seats are available. They will be assigned seats in other areas if Latrobe 319 is not available.
    • Third, visiting students and visiting professors will be provided a desk space if available after all PhD students and postdocs have desk space.
    • In addition…
      • We regret that we do not have desk space for master’s students.
      • We will do our best to keep students and postdocs working with the same professor together when possible, but this is not guaranteed.
      • It is expected that when possible, faculty members offer desk space in their labs to allow seating for those where lab desk space is not available.
      • Rare exceptions to this protocol will be accommodated, if possible.
      • The department head, Prof. Gretar Tryggvason will moderate disputes over desk allocation, not the staff.
  • John will have keys issued and have charged the usual deposit for an available desk.
  • If John is not available, Academic Program Manager Mike Bernard will help.
  • Contact John and Mike at me-academic@jhu.edu or through Microsoft Teams.

Latrobe Conference Rooms

To reserve Latrobe 106, 313, or 320, contact any of these staff:

Visit the Mechanical Engineering Academic Advising and Mentoring for Faculty page for answers to almost every question about academic advising for undergraduate, graduate, and visiting students!

View the Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Graduate Student manual for information, which is found on the Graduate Advising page > Advising Manuals.

Section 3.3 describes Departmental Qualifying Examinations (DQEs)

  • Please read this section with your advisor early in your time here to become familiar with suggested courses to prepare for the exam.
  • The academic staff will arrange DQE schedules beginning in summer, and will contact students and professors directly. Professors will complete the DQE Scheduling Request Form as part of the scheduling process.
  • The DQEs usually take place in September, with occasional exceptions.
  • Students usually take the DQE after the completion of the second semester.
  • Please contact John to explain unusual circumstances or otherwise request to take the DQE at a different time.

Sections 5 and 6 describe the Graduate Board Oral (GBO) Examination and Dissertation Defense

  • Section 5 describes the new process for the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal and the combined final GBO and Dissertation Defense.
  • Section 6 describes the legacy process for the preliminary GBO and Dissertation Defense, administered separately.
    • Faculty advisors will determine when their students are ready for the dissertation defense.
    • Visit the “PhD – Before the Defense” and “PhD – After the Defense” tabs of the “Preparing for Graduation” page for step-by-step information to prepare for the defense.
    • The student and advisor will select the date and time of the defense and find the dissertation readers, who besides the advisor are another Johns Hopkins professor (from any department) and one other reader of the advisor’s choice.
    • Sr. Academic Program Coordinator John Soos will reserve a room for the defense.
    • The advisor will prepare the Readers’ Letter and have it ready for the readers’ signatures at the defense.
    • When received, the Sr. Academic Program Coordinator will send the signed Readers’ Letter to the University’s Graduate Board, who will certify the degree at the next available conferral – usually in April, December, and August.

Please see those sections for information on how to schedule the GBO and Dissertation Defense.  The academic staff will assist with scheduling.

Visit the Mechanical Engineering “Preparing for Graduation” page for details on the arranging the dissertation defense, submission deadlines, administrative actions, notifying the department to end student salary or begin postdoc appointments, and graduation.

 

 

Hourly Employees / Time Cards

Most undergraduate students, a few graduate students, and occasionally, staff are paid hourly and record their time with time cards.

Hourly Pay
Undergraduate Assistant or Graduate Assistant

These are the rates effective July 1, 2024:

  • Undergraduate Students – $18.00
  • Master’s Students – $19.00

Note that some positions pay differently than these rates, depending on the salary stipulations of the grant or project.

Hiring
To hire a student for Undergraduate Assistant or Graduate Assistant positions, contact Research Service Manager Alison Wampler. Provide the date of hire, the position hired, and student year to determine hourly pay.

Student Eligibility

The following students are eligible to work on the Homewood Campus, including teaching assistant and hourly-paid positions:

NOTE: American students who are part-time are not eligible for student work, including departmental Teaching Assistant positions.

TimesheetX
TimesheetX is what is used to record hours worked.  Students are responsible to submit their time each week. The student’s supervisor will be responsible to approve the hours submitted each week. Both will receive e-mail reminders to submit and approve hours each week.

Teaching Assistants

To assist in the teaching function of the Department, Teaching Assistant (TA) opportunities are provided to students who grade papers, conduct laboratories and hold office hours. TAs are remunerated according to a formula that quantifies the number of hours required for a particular course, multiplied by a standard hourly rate, to be determined by the beginning of each semester.

The semi-monthly rate is calculated according to a formula that quantifies the number of hours required for a particular course, multiplied by a standard hourly rate, to be determined by the beginning of each semester.

Effective Fall 2024, the standard hourly rates are…

  • Undergraduate Students – $19.00
  • Master’s Students – $21.00
  • Postdocs – rate is determined from the hourly rate of their full-time employment appointment.

The department tries to hire Mechanical Engineering students and postdocs where possible.

Ph.D. students are required to act as a Teaching Assistant for two courses for approximately 10-15 hours per week during the semester to fulfill this portion of their degree requirements. Remuneration of the two Teaching Assistant positions that fulfill the Ph.D. academic requirement are included in the standard compensation per the Ph.D. Teachers and Researchers Union Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Senior Academic Program Coordinator plans and executes the Teaching Assistant budgeting, recruiting, and hiring process.

Teachers and Researchers Union

Effective July 1, 2024, all Ph.D. students are under contract with Johns Hopkins University with Local 197 of the Teachers and Researchers Union.

Graduate Student Leave Policies

View the Whiting School’s Graduate Student Assistant Leave Guidelines for information on paid vacation, illness, and holidays.

To start the process to appoint visitors or postdocs, please contact…

  • Ada Simari for postdocs, visiting scholars (post-graduates doing research), and visiting professors.
  • The academic staff for visiting high school scholars and students, visiting undergraduate scholars and students, and visiting graduate scholars and students.

Information

Only faculty members and PIs can initiate these requests.

  • A minimum of 90 days’ notice before the intended appointment date is required for international visitors. 120 days’ notice is preferred.
  • 4-6 weeks’ notice before the intended appointment date is required for American visitors.
  • Do not create and send a separate appointment letter, as the department is required to send it and the letter has to have specific language in it. Sending a separate letter creates confusion.

To begin the visiting student appointment process, please provide the following information to me-academic@jhu.edu:

  • Visiting student’s name, postal address, e-mail address
  • University or school
  • If the student is American or international
  • Student’s level (high school, undergraduate, graduate)
  • Appointment start and end dates
  • The visiting student’s “planned contribution” to the work or research.
  • Whether or not the student will be paid
  • For international students, if the student does not have a TOEFL with a minimum score of 100 or IELTS with a minimum score of 7.0, provide a completed “J1 English Attestation” form. The form is used to record a live conversation with the student in which the supervising professor assesses the student’s English language proficiency.

IMPORTANT: Do not invite any visitor or postdoc (“appointee”) before ensuring pre-notification to Ada, John, or Mike, as appropriate. If an visitor arrives on campus without an approved appointment, there are consequences:

  • International appointees will likely be sent back to their home country and possibly will suffer visa consequences and re-entry restrictions. You may be requested to pay for their return transportation.
  • Before the appointment, the appointee cannot work in your laboratory (and would first need to complete any necessary lab safety training) and will have no access to campus services, including receiving keys to buildings or labs.

Faculty Committees

View the Mechanical Engineering Faculty Committee assignments.

ABET

Visit the ABET Accreditation Process page for information.

  • Calendar, Events, Submissions, and Deadlines
  • Objectives and Outcomes
  • Partial Grade Assessments – every two years
  • Course Samples – only in review year

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Whiting School has created this community resources page.

This addresses health and wellness needs, coping with social distancing, research, remote courses, future course registration, and visa concerns.

Go have some fun!