Mechanical Engineering involves the design, analysis, and manufacture of a wide variety of mechanical components and systems. While there are a number of disciplines within mechanical engineering, some of the major areas are energy conversion, materials engineering, design engineering, and manufacturing engineering. Technical education needs balance the fundamentals that engineers will need during their career and the skills that they need to start functioning as engineers upon graduation. The dynamic nature of the engineering enterprise makes it impossible and unwise to attempt to teach our students everything they need to know to function during their career. To restate the obvious, their education should include a strong set of fundamentals and the recognition of the need for and the ability to continually learn.