EAS 101 Intro to Engineering

What do different kinds of engineers do and what sorts of subjects do they study? This course consists of laboratory experiments involving Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering and Electrical and Systems Engineering and involves working in teams and considerable writing.

Chem 101 General Chemistry for Engineers

Basic concepts and principles of chemistry and their applications in chemistry and materials science and engineering. Understanding chemical reactions through atomic and molecular structure; so that students can solve chemical problems and can understand the principles involved in their solution. The course also includes an introduction to condensed matter and provides engineers with a number of examples of the application of the chemistry of materials to current issues in nanotechnology and materials science. The course is presented for students with high school chemistry and calculus.

Chem 102 General Chemistry for Engineers

This course build upon the concepts and laws introduced in Chemistry 101, and applies new concepts to problems in chemical, biological and materials engineering. The course introduces the three laws of thermodynamics, which involve conservation of energy and spontaneous processes, and applies them to chemical, biochemical and physical equilibria. Next, chemical and biochemical kinetics are used to demonstrate that rates, not energy differences, control reactions and transformations. Electrochemical equilibria are utilized in modern technologies (e.g., fuel cells) and nature (e.g., reduction of Fe3+ in cytochrome c). Condensed matter, mechanical, chemical and biochemical examples are use throughout as well examples from nanotechnology and biotechnology.

EAS 210 Introduction to Nanotechnology

This introductory course is designed for first and second year undergraduate students.  Introduction to Nanotechnology presents both theoretical concepts and practical applications in the dynamic field of nanotechnology.  A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter and only 10 times larger than the average atom.  Nanostructures, objects on the length scale of 1 to 100 nm, often exhibit properties that are inconsistent with bulk properties.  For example, bulk gold has a golden color, but suspensions of gold nanoparticles with diameters ~15 nm are red and ~40nm gold nanoparticles are purple.  Size effects are critical to nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The course covers both top-down and bottom-up fabrication methods for making nanostructures.  Characterization methods specific to the nanoscale are discussed, including scanning probe microscopies.  Nanomaterials are presented including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and nanocomposites.  Many of the functions within the human body are controlled by nanoscale mechanisms and this course will describe how these phenomena are being applied in new technologies including molecular motors.  The principles and applications of the quantum confinement effects on optical properties are discussed particularly as sensors.  Advances in microelectronics are described that have moved circuitry from microscale to nanoscale devices, as well as the emerging field of molecular-scale electronics.

The primary objective of this course is to provide a broad foundation of understanding in the field of nanotechnology, so that students are prepared to continually learn about this emerging field.  To accomplish the first part of this goal the course will consist of background readings and instructional lectures.  The second part will be achieved by allowing students to apply their new understanding as they evaluate new findings reported in various publications. 

Prerequisite:  One college-level chemistry course or permission of the instructor.

MSE 215 Introduction to Nanoscale Functional Materials

The purpose of this first course in the major is to introduce the student to key concepts underlying the design, properties and processing of nanoscale functional materials, and how they are employed in practical applications. Fundamental chemical and physical principles underlying the properties of electronic, dielectric and magnetic materials will be developed in the context of metals, semiconductors, insulators, crystals, glasses, polymers and ceramics. Miniaturization and the nanotechnology revolution confronts materials science with limitations and opportunities; examples in which nanoscale materials are really different from our macro world experience will be explored.

MSE 220 Structural Materials

The content of this course is both broad and focused. Throughout the semester numerous topics in materials science will be introduced that connect the nanoscale structure of solids (both engineered and natural) to their macroscopic mechanical properties. Class discussions will be centered on the bicycle, which provides an excellent example of materials engineering. For example, how is it that the spokes of a bicycle wheel can be so thin yet support so much weight and why don't they rust? Topics include: corrosion protection, mechanical behavior, materials structures, dislocations and plastic flow, annealing, metal fatigue, phase diagrams, carbon steels, hard ceramic materials, precipitation hardening in Al alloys, polymers, composites, flexible connective tissue and bone. This course provides broad context for subsequent required and elective courses within the major. The course also provides important insights to other engineering disciplines that design products based on materials properties.

Prerequisite: CHEM 101 or equivalent.

MSE 221 Quantum Physics of Materials

The course is directed at the development of a background in the basic physics required to understand the behavior of electrons in atoms, molecules and solids. Examples to illustrate the application of these techniques will be centered in the free and nearly free electron theory of solids. The application of modern physics to many state-of-the-art materials analysis techniques will be demonstrated throughout the course

MSE 250 Nano-scale Materials Lab.

This course provides an in-depth experimental introduction to key concepts in materials and the relationships between nanoscale structure, and properties and performance. The use of laboratory methods to examine the structure of materials, to measure the important properties, and to investigate the relationship between structure and properties is covered. Emphasis is placed on a complete exposure to Nano and Materials Science as a field. Most experiments require multiple laboratory sessions, with priority given to experiments in which students explore the entire range of materials science, from the synthesis of materials and the characterization of structure, thermodynamics and composition, to the measurement of properties and discussion of applications. Students are able to realize working devices as an end product of the key laboratories in this course. Practice in oral and written communication is realized through course assignments.

MSE 260 Energetics of Macro and Nano-scale Materials

Basic principles of chemical thermodynamics as applied to macro and nano-sized materials. This course will cover the fundamentals of classical thermodynamics as applied to the calculation and prediction of phase stability, chemical reactivity and synthesis of materials systems. The size-dependent properties of nano-sized systems will be explored through the incorporation of the thermodynamic properties of surfaces. The prediction of the phase stability of two and three component systems will be illustrated through the calculation and interpretation of phase diagrams for metallic, semiconductor, inorganic, polymeric and surfactant systems.

MSE 330 Soft Materials

This course will serve as an introduction of soft condensed matter to students with background in chemistry, physics and materials science. It covers general aspects of chemistry, structures, properties and applications of soft materials (polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, amphiphiles, gels and biomaterials) with emphasis on chemistry and forces related to molecular self-assembly. Topical coverage includes: 1) forces, energies, kinetics in material synthesis, growth and transformation; 2) methods for preparing synthetic materials; 3) formation, assembly, phase behavior, and molecular ordering of synthetic soft materials; 4) structure, function, and phase transition of natural materials (nucleic acids, proteins, polysaccharides and lipids); 5) techniques to characterize structure, phase and dynamics of soft materials 6) application of soft materials in nanotechnology. Examples illustrate technologically relevant materials in current nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nano-biotechnology, such as block copolymers thin films, colloidal photonic crystals, micelles, vesicles, hydro-gels, photosensitive materials, and materials in soft lithography.

MSE 360 Structure at the Nanoscale

Basic principles of material structure and organization from nano to macro sizes. This course will cover the fundamentals of materials structure including the crystalline, liquid crystalline and glassy states as well as 1-D, 2-D and 3-D structure and defects. Examples will be used from the different classes of materials - metallic, semiconductor, inorganic, polymeric - with particular emphasis on important components of structure on the nanoscale including particles, surfaces, interfaces and defects.

MSE 393 Materials Selection

Throughout mankind’s history, materials have played a critical role in civilization and technology. The selection of materials has been based on availability and functionality. The rapid advances of materials technologies in the last 150 years, however, have made nearly all classes and forms of materials available, at a cost. Therefore, in theory at least, materials selection can now proceed on a rational basis as an optimization process. In this course, we will focus on two major areas of materials applications in modern world, structural applications where mechanical design is central and electronic applications where system functionality is the driver, to examine the validity of the above proposition, sometimes reaching surprising conclusions. Issues of process integration in material selection, which feature especially prominently in electronic materials with continuing trend toward miniaturization (now down to 90 nm in commercial products), are emphasized. Emerging bionic applications and historical trends will also be examined in student projects and assigned readings. By the end of the course, the students can expect to acquire a level of engineering familiarity with a broad range of materials, and be prepared to undertake material design projects in the future.

MSE/MEAM 405/505 Mechanical Properties of Macro/Nanoscale Materials

The application of continuum and microstructural concepts to consideration of the mechanics and mechanisms of flow and fracture in metals, polymers and ceramics. The course includes a review of tensors and elasticity with special emphasis on the effects of symmetry on tensor properties. Then deformation, fracture and degradation (fatigue and wear) are treated, including mapping strategies for understanding the ranges of material properties.

MSE 422 Electronic Materials

info to come

MSE 430 Polymers and Biomaterials (Spring 2005)

This course focuses on synthesis, characterization, microstructure, rheology, and structure-property relationships of polymers, polymer directed composites and their applications in biotechnology. Topical coverage includes: polymer synthesis and functionalization; polymerization kinetics; structure of glassy, crystalline, and rubbery polymers; thermodynamics of polymer solutions and blends, and crystallization; liquid crystallinity, microphase separation in block copolymers; polymer directed self-assembly of inorganic materials; biological applications of polymeric materials. Case studies include thermodynamics of block copolymer thin films and their applications in nanolithography, molecular templating of sol-gel growth using block copolymers as templates; structure-property of conducting and optically active polymers; polymer degradation in drug delivery; cell adhesion on polymer surface in tissue engineering.

MSE 440/540 Phase Transformations

The state of matter is dependent upon temperature, thermal history, and other variables. In this course the science of structural transitions is treated, with the purpose in mind of utilizing them for producing materials with superior properties. The subjects covered include the methods of structural analysis, solidification, solid state transformation, and order-disorder transition.

MSE 455/555 Environmental Degradation

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the corrosion principles and the engineering methods used to minimize and prevent corrosion. Metals and alloys are emphasized because these are the materials in which corrosion is the most prevalent. Aqueous environments are also emphasized these are the common corrosion conditions.

In the first half of the course, the impact and electrochemical nature of corrosion are described, and then the corrosion fundamentals (electrochemical reactions, phase (pourbaix) diagrams, aqueous corrosion kinetics, passivity, and high-temperature oxidation) are emphasized. The forms of corrosion (galvanic, pitting and crevice, environmentally induced cracking) and corrosion prevention (protection methods) are accentuated in the second half. Corrosion in the human body (for example, surgical implants and prosthetic devices) and in other selective environments (concrete, seawater, and water solutions containing dissolved salts, sulfur, and bacteria) are also described in the second half

MSE 460 Computational Materials Science

This course will cover fundamentals of atomic level modeling of the structure and properties of materials. Specifically it will cover metals, semiconductors, oxides and other ionic crystals. First, the description of atomic interactions will be introduced. This will include both basics of the density functional theory and approximations in terms of pair potentials, embedded atom method and tight-binding. The methods of computer modeling include molecular statics, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo and lattice dynamics (phonons). Interpretations of results of such modeling in terms of structures, for example using the radial distribution function, thermodynamic and statistical physics analyses will be an important component of the course.

MSE 465 Fabrication And Characterization Of Micro And Nanostructured Materials

This course surveys various processes that are used to produce materials structured at the micron and nanometer scales for electronic, optical and chemical applications. Basic principles of chemistry, physics, thermodynamics and kinetics are applied to solid state, liquid, and colloidal approaches to making materials. The newest approaches to nanofabrication: microcontact printing, self-assembly, and Nanolithography, are covered. The course is heavily lab based, with 25% of class time and 30% of the homework devoted to hands on experiences. Lab assignments are a series of structured group projects. Evaluation is based on 3-4 lab reports, 4-5 problem sets, and 4-5 journal paper summaries.

MSE 495/496 Senior Design

Independent student or team research on the design and construction of an original experimental or theoretical project related to materials science. The results of this project are presented at the end of the year in the form of a thesis and in an oral presentation to peers and faculty.