Department of Materials Science & Engineering

Mission

The mission of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering is to provide a well-rounded education in materials science and engineering to meet the needs of industry, academia and government; to give definition to the expanding discipline; to conduct frontier research; and to provide leadership in the cross-disciplinary materials community. The role of our undergraduate program is defined by the objectives and outcomes listed below.

Program Educational Objectives

The objectives of our undergraduate program are stated as attributes that program graduates are expected to possess, based on the needs of our student and employer constituencies.

Foundation for Competent Practice - Our graduates function as practicing materials scientists/ engineers, excel in graduate study in the field, work to advance the field or apply their knowledge in other areas that might include law, medicine or business.

Communication/ Teamwork/ Leadership - Our graduates communicate effectively and contribute as functioning team members or leaders in the field.
Contemporary issues/ global & societal context/ life-long learning - Our graduates understand contemporary materials-related issues in the context of environment and global-societal factors. Graduates keep pace with developments in all contexts by applying skills relevant to life-long learning.
Ethics/ professionalism - Our graduates behave professionally and ethically and exhibit an appreciation for the societal impact of their professional choices.

Outcomes (ABET a-k in parentheses)

1. (a) Knowledge of sound fundamentals of dynamic multilevel microstructure.
2. (a) The ability to apply mathematics and science to engineering problems.
3. (a) The ability to perform mechanistic modeling.
4. (k) Knowledge of computational materials science.
5. (k) Knowledge of basic and advanced instrumentation for the characterization of structure and properties.
6. (k) Knowledge of basic and advanced processing practice.
7. (e) The ability to identify and formulate complex problems.
8. (c) An understanding of how user needs define materials performance requirements
9. (h) An understanding of the global/societal context of engineering problems.
10. (f) Knowledge of professional ethics issues.
11. (i,j) Knowledge of the dynamic nature of all structure, including materials and the systems and environments they serve, requiring knowledge of contemporary issues and the need for lifelong learning.
12. (b1, b2) The ability to perform theoretical, conceptual and computational design approaches.
13. (b1, b2) The ability to perform experimental optimization employing statistical design of experiments techniques.
14. (c) The ability to apply the theoretical and experimental design techniques to both materials and processes.
15. (d) The ability to function effectively in cross-functional teamwork, both within the materials discipline and from a multidisciplinary perspective.
16. (g1,g2) The ability to communicate effectively in written, spoken and graphical form.