The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) offers graduate students a welcoming and vigorous education and research environment to achieve the MS and PhD degrees. Founded in 1962, the department has established a tradition of high-quality research and teaching, with excellent ties to many government, academic and industrial laboratories. The MSE building was first occupied in 1986, offering a professional setting for faculty and students to pursue their research interests. Laboratories are equipped with modern microstructural analysis tools, mechanical test facilities and a great variety of specialized research instrumentation. An additional building, Wilsdorf Hall, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2006.

The department presently consists of 24 faculty members, 27 research professionals, 17 staff members and 100 graduate students including the faculty and students of Engineering Physics. New graduate students enter the department with previous degrees in materials science, metallurgy, ceramics, polymer science, all branches of engineering, physics, chemistry and mathematics. The diversity of backgrounds among incoming students provides novel approaches to challenging research problems. In addition to its graduate programs, the department is responsible for the undergraduate Engineering Science degree with an option in Materials Science and Engineering, as well as staffing a minor in materials.

Current areas of active research within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering include:

More detailed descriptions of these research activities can be found on our research page.

Many faculty are active members of five interdisciplinary centers of excellence within the department: the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering, the Intelligent Processing of Materials Laboratory, the Light Metals Center, and the NSF MRSEC on Nanoscopic Materials Design and the Engineering Physics Program.

The majority of the research in the Department is supported by various government agencies. Additional funding is provided by industry.