UCF is a major metropolitan research university with 48,000 students. MMAE, with over 1400 students and 30 faculty members, offers M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering, and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. UCF is near the Kennedy Space Center as well as major facilities of Lockheed-Martin, Siemens Power Corporation, Boeing and Harris Corporations. MMAE enjoys close relations with UCF Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), Institute for Simulation and Training (IST), and UCF Nanoscience Technology Center.