The study of materials science and engineering has spurred breakthroughs in applications ranging from artificial limbs and organs, to space travel vehicles, to personal MP3 players. For example, the discovery of buckyballs and carbon nanotubes has led to the development of an unprecedented reduction in size of prototype electronic components and points the way to tomorrow’s electronic technologies. Porous nanostructures of biocompatible materials are studied for targeted drug delivery within the body. The integration of polymers and semiconductors is used to create efficient, usable solar cells to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. There are many more examples of both existing technologies and current research areas involving materials science and engineering that impact everyday life both today and in the future.
The minor in materials science and engineering is open to all students of the College of Engineering whose science and technical interests involve the design, processing, and optimization of engineering materials. Since the materials interests may vary across the engineering disciplines, the minor is composed of an interdisciplinary selection of courses that offer a high degree of flexibility to the student. The fundamental goals of the program are to offer the student a broad interdisciplinary program that includes a basic background in the relevant aspects of materials science and the engineering applications of materials. The objectives are to serve the needs of the chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering departments in providing a vehicle to expose students to materials science and engineering. Particular focus areas include electronic materials and processing for device applications; strength, wear, and corrosion-resistant coatings; molecular-level design of thin films and nanostructures; polymers and biomedical applications; and steels, concretes, and space-based structures.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified.
Required Course
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
ME 2340 | Introduction to Material Science | 4 |
Electives
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Complete three courses from the following disciplines: | 11-13 | |
Bioengineering | ||
Biomaterials | ||
Chemical Engineering | ||
Materials Characterization Techniques | ||
Drug Delivery: Engineering Analysis | ||
Biomaterials Principles and Applications | ||
Advanced Topics in Biomaterials | ||
Introduction to Polymer Science | ||
Civil and Environmental Engineering | ||
Materials for the Built Environment and Lab for CIVE 2260 | ||
Life Cycle Assessment of Materials, Products, and Infrastructure | ||
Electrical and Computer Engineering | ||
Electronic Materials | ||
Micro- and Nanofabrication | ||
Sustainable Energy: Materials, Conversion, Storage, and Usage | ||
Materials Engineering | ||
Particulate Materials Processing | ||
Soft Matter (With Instructor permission) | ||
Principles, Devices, and Materials for Energy Storage and Energy Harvesting (With Instructor permission) | ||
Structure, Properties, and Processing of Polymeric Materials (With Instructor Permission) | ||
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering | ||
Ceramic Science and Engineering | ||
Mechanical Behavior and Processing of Materials | ||
Materials Processing and Process Selection | ||
Fundamentals of Advanced Materials | ||
Additive Manufacturing | ||
Environmental Issues in Manufacturing and Product Use | ||
Chemistry and Chemical Biology | ||
Inorganic Chemistry | ||
Materials Chemistry of Renewable Energy | ||
Or any advisor-approved course or directed study |
Capstone Design
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Complete one of the following major capstone requirements: 1 | 4-5 | |
Capstone Design 2 | ||
Chemical Process Design Capstone | ||
Senior Design Project—Environmental | ||
Senior Design Project—Structural | ||
Senior Design Project—Transportation | ||
Electrical and Computer Engineering Capstone 2 | ||
Capstone Design 2 |
GPA Requirement
2.000 GPA required in the minor
- 1
Students may complete 4 semester hours of elective coursework in place of the capstone design project (if major does not have a capstone design project requirement).