Internet Resource Guide for

Mechanical Engineers

By Naman Kabra
English 202C
The Pennsylvania State University
May 1, 2017
 Table of Contents

1. Front Matter... 3
1.1 What is in this guide?................................................... 3
1.2 Who is this guide for?.................................................. 3
1.3 What this guide assumed users to know?..................... 4
1.4 How the guide is organized for use?............................ 4
1.5 Tips for using this guide... 5

2. General Websites 6
2.1 Penn State Mechanical Engineering Department. 6
2.2 American Society of Mechanical Engineers 7

3. Coursework and Career Guidance.. 8

3.1 Chegg 8
3.2 LinkedIn 9

4. Higher Level Academic Resources... 10

4.1 Journal of Manufacturing Science & Engineering.. 10
4.2 CRCnetBase 11
4.3 Catalog of U.S. Govt. Publications. 12
4.4 Statistical Abstract of United States... 13

1. Front Matter
1.1
What is in this Guide?
Even though Penn State is filled with brilliant professors and excellent resources,
sometimes it gets difficult to find these resources and utilize them in the right way.
The most intelligent students may also suffer if they are not exposed to the right
resources at Penn State. Colleges are known to promote independent behavior
when it comes to academics. Hence, this guide contains several useful internet
resources that could prove to be beneficial for Mechanical Engineering students
enrolled at Penn State. Each resource is easily available on the internet. This guide
contains a brief description of the resource, where it can be found and additional
tips that could be beneficial for the readers. This guide will serve its readers as a
reservoir of information related to academic and professional resources.

1.2
Who is this Guide for?
This guide can be used by any person with the slightest interest in or intense
passion for the field of Mechanical Engineering. However, ideally it is intended to
target underclassmen at Penn State University, who wish to graduate with a
bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. The wide spectrum of resources
included in this guide helps target a broader audience, ranging from freshmen
through juniors at college. Freshmen and sophomores could benefit from the first
few resources, which relate to coursework and career help. These would help them
understand their role at an early stage of their college career. Juniors could benefit
from the higher level academic resources, as they would be involved with more
concentrated research and projects. Nevertheless, the allocation of audience to its
resources is not restricted to the manner mentioned here. The resources are open to
usage for any underclassmen.

1.3
What this Guide assumes users to know?
The most basic assumption of this guide is that it assumes its readers are enrolled
in the College of Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Furthermore,
this guide is also not the only thing a student should use as reference. It can be a
helpful resource for students, however the student must know how to use it and not
rely wholly on it. This guide provides assistance as it understands that students
tend to be lost at times; especially if colleges encourage students to be independent
learners. Additionally, this guide assumes that the students using it would have the
understanding and knowledge-level of an undergraduate level student. Some of the
content may seem intimidating for high-school students. Lastly, this guide assumes
that its readers have access to a computer and the internet.

1.4
How this Guide is organized for use?
This guide is organized in a very logical manner, keeping in mind that this guide is
targeted to underclassmen at college. It starts off with a cover page and table of
contents, so that the user knows exactly what is contained in the rest of the guide.
There are four distinct sections in this guide. It starts off with General Websites,
which are useful for most underclassmen at college. These websites are for general
usage for the reader hence they most relevant to all types of audience. It moves on
further to Coursework and Career Guidance, which gets slightly more specific.
Students who are interested in applying for jobs and those who need assistance
with their coursework can jump to this section. Finally, the last section is Higher
Level Academic Resources. This is more useful to students who are researching in
depth or working on certain projects. These resources are not as entertaining but
they certainly are useful for the overall purpose.

1.5
Tips for Using this Guide
This guide contains a Table of Contents at the very beginning that should
help the reader navigate throughout the document conveniently.
Use the tips section for every resource efficiently as it will help the reader
understand the best usage of the resource.
If you want to access the URLs mentioned within this guide, open the guide
as a Microsoft Word document and click on the URL whilst keeping ctrl
key pressed.

2. General Websites
2.1
Penn State Mechanical Engineering Department Website
Website
URL: http://www.mne.psu.edu/
Description:
The Mechanical Engineering department at Penn State is one of the largest
engineering departments in the United States. The URL above leads to the
homepage of their website. This website consists of every important resource a
Penn State Mechanical Engineering student would require throughout their college
career. It offers its users a wide variety of information, which includes general
information such as the recommended academic plan for the major, to more
specific information such as undergraduate research opportunities. The content on
this website is particularly valuable for underclassmen attempting to major or
majoring in Mechanical Engineering. This website offers students the ability to
connect with alumni all around the world and academic advisors on campus. In
addition, it provides users a list of clubs and organizations that they can get
involved in from the beginning stages of their college career.

Tips:
Bookmark this page as this will be one of the most visited websites
throughout college. It contains every important information you need
regarding the major or department.
Use the search box to look up something specific on the website.
Go through the news and events section frequently to keep yourself
updated with active events and information sessions by companies on
campus.
Use career resources to gain information about career opportunities,
employers and resume workshops. It is beneficial to get yourself involved
with this at an early stage.
Get involved on campus by selecting a club of your interest and reading
about them on this website.

2.2
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Website
URL: https://www.asme.org/
Description:
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is one of the oldest
global organizations related to the field of Mechanical Engineering. It consists of
over 130,000 active members spread across 151 countries all over the world. The
URL mentioned above will lead the reader to their website homepage. The website
contains vital information such as the latest news in the world of mechanical
engineering, which will help the reader learn about the newest inventions, research
opportunities and get information about the overall progress of the industry.
Moreover, the website contains several topics that the user could explore. Since
Mechanical Engineering has a large scope of applications in the real world, the
topics help users delve deeper into specific areas of their interest. This will also
help them pick elective classes accordingly throughout their course of study.

Tips:
Become a member by subscribing online for free and receive a monthly
newsletter to keep yourself updated.
Become a member of ASME at Penn State University Park campus to
network with other Mechanical Engineers on campus.
Browse through the current events tab to potentially get a chance to
information sessions and other interesting events.
Use the search tab on the home page to search for books, journals or any
other relevant information.
Connect on social media to stay up to date.

3. Coursework and Career Guidance

3.1
Chegg
Website
URL: https://www.chegg.com/
Description:
Chegg is one of the most powerful tools a student can have during their time at
college, especially if you utilize it correctly at a preliminary stage. It gives its
users an immense number of helpful resources that can make their learning process
smoother and help them gauge interest in the hardest of majors. Chegg provides its
users with numerous Mechanical Engineering textbooks and their solutions on
their website. This is extremely helpful for underclassmen as they tend to take
difficult weed out classes for engineering. Using Chegg appropriately would
prevent them from getting discouraged at an early age. Chegg also offers assistance
with respect to evaluating college rankings, obtaining internships and assisting
with interview skills on its website. These are important skills to possess at an
early stage in college. Lastly, if students think they have exceptional knowledge
about a specific class or topic, Chegg offers them an opportunity to become an
online tutor on their website. This is a paid position and could benefit students by
helping them make money.

Tips:
Purchase a Chegg account along with some friends so that you can split
costs with them. Chegg provides access on multiple devices.
Make sure you use the textbook solutions appropriately. Do not just copy
down solutions for homework as professors are aware of Chegg as well. Use
it as a reference to understand concepts.
You can buy or rent textbooks for cheap through Chegg.
You can use online tutoring at any time of the day. All tutors are highly
qualified. Keep in mind that you will be charged extra for an online tutoring
session.
Become a loyal member for additional benefits such as care packages before
finals week and special discounts on textbooks.
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3.2
LinkedIn
Website
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/
Description:
LinkedIn is the largest professional networking website, serving approximately
467 million members and operating across 200 countries in the world. The
registered members include a range from college freshmen to company CEOs,
proving the potential power of networking through their website. LinkedIn helps
its users to connect to their peers and other professionals, and stay in touch with
them. A Mechanical Engineering student can be exposed to several opportunities
in the real world by connecting with potential employers from companies of their
interest. LinkedIn also helps users browse through jobs or research positions that
companies are constantly advertising. A Mechanical Engineering student can
conveniently apply to these positions through the website, rather than going to each
companys website individually. Additionally, LinkedIn helps users create a profile
that would include their experiences and interests. Mechanical Engineering
students can take advantage of this and tailor their profile to explain interests, so
that it is easier to connect with people of similar interests.

Tips:
Use the search box to look up specific people, companies or job positions.
Refine your search by using filters on the left side of the webpage.
Make sure you create a strong profile. Be descriptive about your ambitions.
Also, upload your resume to your profile so potential employers can see it.
Be professional on LinkedIn. Your profile picture and posts are visible to all
your connections. Make sure they reflect your personality and do not post
anything inappropriate or unprofessional.
LinkedIn is a great resource to actually obtain an internship. Employers are
constantly advertising new job openings on LinkedIn so take advantage of
that and apply through LinkedIn.

4. Higher Level Academic Resources

4.1
Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
Journal
URL:
http://manufacturingscience.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/journal.aspx?journalid
=125

Description:
The Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering is a monthly publication in
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Digital Collection. This journal
comprises of not only full-length articles, but it also includes book reviews,
innovation papers and discussions of published papers. A majority of students who
major in Mechanical Engineering see themselves becoming a part of the
manufacturing industry. Hence, this journal will particularly benefit them as a
resource because it continually discusses the existing and future methods of
manufacturing. The scope of this journal includes additive manufacturing,
advanced materials and processing, assembly, computer-aided manufacturing and
automation design for manufacturing. Due to the wide scope of topics in this
journal, it targets areas of interest for most underclassmen who decide to enter the
manufacturing industry. In addition, considering the importance of peer-reviewing
documents in the real world, reading and critiquing peer reviews in this journal
will help students improve their skills and knowledge in the topic of interest.

Tips:
Browse through the view table of contents, browse all issues and
newest issues tabs on the webpage to streamline search
Turn on email alerts to stay up to date with the journal. Do this by clicking
on the email alerts link
Explore the Special Issue for the journal as it usually has very interesting
articles

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4.2
CRCnetBase
Index
URL:
http://www.crcnetbase.com/action/showPublications?display=bySubject&category
=10.1555%2Fcategory.40001644&expand=10.1555%2Fcategory.40001644

Description:
CRCnetBase is one of the largest eBook platforms on the internet. It covers over
400 subject areas and topics under Science, Technology, Engineering and
Medicine. This award-winning database consists of approximately ten million
pages of valuable content that is available for free on their website. CRCnetBase is
especially renowned for its publication of the Mechanical Engineering Handbook,
which was also one of their very first printed reference. The URL mentioned above
leads to a webpage where the search results have been filtered so that specifically
Mechanical Engineering content is shown on the screen. This can be further
filtered by users depending upon the topic of interest and specificity of the scope.
CRCnetBase offers a wide spectrum of subject matter with ranging depth and
extent. Hence, this is a useful resource and it targets a larger group of users.
Freshmen can use this resource to get knowledge about the industry or use certain
publications for initial research on general topics. However, sophomores and
juniors can use the available content for class-related research or other specific
projects.

Tips:
Use the advanced search tab to obtain refined search results or search for
content related to more than one specific field.
Penn State libraries provide free full access to content on this database for
Penn State students so do not pay for subscription.
Check the news and events tab frequently to keep yourself updated with
the latest news.

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4.3
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
Catalog
URL: https://catalog.gpo.gov/F?RN=514892378
Description:
The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications contains over 500,000 electronic
and printed publications from legislative, judicial and executive branches of the
U.S. government. This catalog offers a wide range of subject matter that can be
beneficial to students researching in any area. Mechanical Engineering students
can utilize the various search options to refine their search and focus on specific
topics.
This report by The National Defense University, which can be found at
https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo41344/Defense%20Horizons%2073.pdf, is an
example of publications available on this catalog. This particular report talks about
the extensive use of additive manufacturing that can be incorporated in the defense
industry. A Mechanical Engineering student can relate to this report as additive
manufacturing is increasingly becoming one of the more popular ways of
manufacturing. It also discusses various concepts discussed in basic level to higher
level Mechanical Engineering classes.

Tips:
Use basic, advanced or expert search options to filter your results and add
additional search criteria.
For a more general search, use browse tab.
Click on the new titles tab to obtain a list of recent publications.
Create a temporary list of publications that you may use for future reference
by adding them to bookshelf under my options.

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4.4
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Abstract
URL: http://statabs.proquest.com/sa/
Description:
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a comprehensive summary of
statistics on the social, political and economic conditions of the United States. It
offers its users more than 1400 indexed tables, along with quantitative and
graphical information based on a wide range of topics. Throughout their college
career, Mechanical Engineering students are required to conduct immense amounts
of research and write numerous reports. By including concrete numbers, graphs
and trends, they can prove the legitimacy of the data in their reports. Hence, the
Statistical Abstract of the United States will be a very beneficial resource for
Mechanical Engineering students.
An example of a useful statistical abstract can be found at
http://statabs.proquest.com/sa/docview.html?table-no=840&acc-no=C7095-
1.16&year=2017&z=44FF5076EEEED7D24ADDBCF55E8F2B13F24490A8&rc=
1&seq=8&y=current. This abstract consists of numeric data that gives information
about employed engineers by sex, race/ethnicity, and selected characteristics. It is
taken into consideration that these statistics apply for engineers with a bachelors
degree only. This is useful for Mechanical Engineers as they will get an idea about
getting jobs in the industry and whether they would want to study further after
obtaining their bachelors degree.

Tips:
Use the search box and filters on the left side of the webpage to refine search
results.
Make sure to use statistics from recent years and avoid old data.
Browse through the related databases tab on the top right corner of the
page to find more relevant information in some cases.
You can email yourself certain tables and other information for future
reference.

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