The Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering – PROMEC, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) is a program with academic Master’s and Doctorate courses with a long tradition and recognized academic excellence. The Program has regional, national, and international recognition, for its contribution to both the training of teachers and insertion in the productive sector. Its headquarters are in the historic Parobé Building, on the central campus of UFRGS in Porto Alegre.
PROMEC was created in 1986, based on the activities of a research group in the Energy area, which was formed within another graduate program at the UFRGS School of Engineering. During this period, research was centered on topics such as solar energy, wind energy, and energy resource management, issues that are still active in the Program’s research lines. The Masters and Doctorate courses in Mechanical Engineering were approved by UFRGS in 1986 since the group was already guiding theses and dissertations. Two areas of concentration were initially established: Energy and Transport Phenomena, covering the specialties of the initial study group.
In 1987 CAPES accredited the Program at the Master’s level. A few years later, in 1990, PROMEC created the area of concentration of Solid Mechanics, reflecting the need to expand the actuation of the program within the scope of Mechanical Engineering. In 1994, the Ph.D. course was also accredited by CAPES. Finally, in 2002, the Manufacturing Processes concentration area was created, also associating lines of research aimed at industrial automation. As a result, PROMEC expanded its activities to cover all segments of Mechanical Engineering, thus achieving academic recognition as a more comprehensive Program.