A Message to Prospective Northwestern Graduate Students in MSE

Northwestern University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering is recognized throughout the materials community for its educational and research accomplishments. Since it established the first materials science academic department in the world more than 50 years ago, Northwestern has continued to lead the field. As evidence:

• Our faculty members have been honored around the world for pioneering research. Their interests span the entire spectrum of materials research, making for one of the broadest materials science academic programs in the nation.
• One of the National Science Foundation’s first materials research centers is located at Northwestern.
• Northwestern’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering had over $27 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2008.
• In recent reports on doctoral programs, U.S. News and World Report and both the National Research Council and the Gourman Report rated our department as one of the nation’s top two in materials science and engineering.

Our department was formed because faculty across several sciences realized that materials could and should be studied as a whole from all their perspectives. As you read through this web site, you’ll notice that collaboration remains our hallmark. We carry out joint research projects with most Northwestern engineering departments; the chemistry, physics, and geological sciences departments; the Medical School; and national laboratories, especially nearby Argonne National Laboratory, with its neutron radiation facilities and the world’s newest synchrotron light source. We take pride in the supportive atmosphere we provide for students from a variety of backgrounds, including all areas of materials science as well as physics, chemistry, and other branches of engineering. Students are able to work on research projects matching their interests and to interact with faculty and students in other disciplines.
     
The most important element in your choice of a graduate program is the faculty. Our faculty’s major research interests are reviewed on this site to assist you in your decision. We also include detailed descriptions of our advanced research equipment and facilities.
 
If you have any questions that are not answered here, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to receiving your application.

Sincerely,

Peter W. Voorhees, Frank C. Engelhart Professor and Chair
Department of Materials Science and Engineering