Essentially every technology depends on materials development and innovation. Novel technologies are dependent on materials development, whether the product is improved opto-electronics for communications, biomaterials such as prosthetics for joint replacement or carriers for drug delivery, batteries for portable computers, sensor materials, or high strength-to-weight materials for airplanes or automobiles. Conventional technologies rely on materials development to either reduce production cost or respond to mandates of the marketplace. Materials have an internal structure (microstructure), which must be understood at many different length scales, from the atomic and nanoscale (10-10 to 10-9 m) to the macroscopic scale (10-6 to 10-2 m), in order to predict their behavior and to be able to engineer with them. It is thus essential to understand how to process materials in order to obtain desirable microstructures and how to develop material properties by microstructural control that will positively affect the performance of a material in an engineering application. The overarching paradigm of materials science and engineering is thus to exploit the connection between processing, microstructure and the properties of a material in order to choose a material that will fit the performance criteria for a given application. Thus in Materials Science and Engineering, one must develop:

1. an understanding of current materials and their applications;
2. an ability to further improve current materials; and,
3. an ability to understand the potential applications of new materials, as they are developed.

In addition to this product specific knowledge, a Materials Engineer must understand the implications of Materials processing routes on the environment and energy resources and must be involved in life cycle analysis to ensure that the material can be properly produced, used and recycled in a sustainable manner.

Materials Science & Engineering is therefore the discipline that applies the tools of basic and applied science to the processing, manufacture and application of materials and devices. Graduates of the MSE department are pursuing careers in an expanding spectrum of companies, national laboratories, and universities. Their activities cover a wide range of materials related endeavors that include microelectronics, energy production and storage, biomedical applications, aerospace, information technology, nanotechnology, manufacturing and materials production. Energy conservation, property control and improvement, nanotechnology, biomaterials and the development of electronic, optical and magnetic materials are just a few of the topics that are the subjects of active research within the department. Most of our undergraduates are encouraged to participate in the current research programs of the faculty and most of our students conduct undergraduate research projects as part of their undergraduate program. More than 50% of our undergraduate students choose to attend graduate school and are accepted into the top Materials graduate schools in the country.

Materials Science and Engineering is a discipline that draws heavily on basic sciences such as chemistry, mathematics and physics, and also on engineering fundamentals, to develop materials which are useful for the technological needs of our society. The development of new materials and the understanding and control of the structure and properties of new, as well as existing materials, are essential parts of this discipline. Materials subjects thus fall into three broad areas:

1. materials characterization,
2. the synthesis and processing of materials in order to obtain desired properties, and
3. the ability to understand and predict the behavior of materials under diverse conditions.

Due to the need to understand materials microstructure, chemistry and properties, students in Materials Engineering learn techniques of materials characterization in the digital microscopy classroom in the J. Earl and Mary Roberts Materials Characterization Laboratory, a state of the art facility for materials characterization within the department.

Materials Science and Engineering is the overarching term describing specific interests in metals, polymers, ceramics, composites and electronic materials. It has become increasingly clear that the properties of all these types of materials are related fundamentally through parameters that describe internal structure. Furthermore, it has been found that the equipment and instrumentation, as well as the theoretical and analytical tools, which are necessary to process, study and understand one type of material are often well suited for others. Thus a common set of tools and understanding has been developed that applies to the complete spectrum of materials types, including ceramics, polymers, metals, semiconductors and composites, etc.

The standard curriculum of the department provides fundamental training for all of materials science and engineering areas (http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/UG_1.html). The core courses provide understanding and tools for working with the (atomic) structure of materials, the defects (dislocations, interfaces etc.) that largely govern their properties, the thermodynamic relationships that govern the stability of materials, and the rates at which changes take place in materials. The paradigm of materials science is that one must understand the internal or surface structure of materials in order to predict and engineer their properties: this is addressed in the core courses on "Microstructure & Properties" and "Selection & Performance" of materials. There is also a capstone design experience in the final year that is aimed at integration of knowledge and team skill development. The elective program allows the attainment of excellence in a student's chosen specialty, whether it is ceramics, semiconductors, metals, composites, magnetic or optical materials, biomaterials or polymers. The option of concentration in the one or more of the areas of electronic materials*, engineering design*, biomedical engineering*, environmental engineering*, manufacturing engineering*, mechanical behavior of materials*, biomedical and health engineering**, and engineering and public policy**, is available. (*= Designated Minor, **= Double Major). In addition, a number of elective tracks have been developed to aid the student in choosing various courses of specialization in the electives. (http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/MSE/tracks.html)

Based on the broad range of destinations for graduates of the MSE program, our curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in fundamental knowledge and skills. This provides an excellent basis for the substantial fraction of our graduates who go on to graduate school. For the equally substantial fraction of our graduates who find employment in industry, the program provides the foundation on which a graduate can build his/her domain specific knowledge. For those individuals who move on to other areas, the MSE curriculum provides a modern liberal education, i.e. one that inculcates a thoughtful, problem-solving approach to professional life. It is thus the goal of our education to provide a general education in Materials Science and Engineering that will enable our graduates to easily switch between materials industries as their career develops or to go to any of the leading institutions of graduate education in Materials and be successful.

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