Bachelor of Science - Materials Science and Engineering

Program Description

Materials scientists and engineers are concerned with how materials behave at all scales—from electrons to skyscrapers. They are interested in improving the performance of existing materials and in designing and fabricating new, higher-performance materials that don’t exist in nature. An important part of designing new materials is to understand the structure of materials from the atomic level upwards.

• Studying the relationship between the structure of metals and their alloys from the atomic level (i.e. 0.2 nanometers) to the bulk level (meters or several meters) and relating that structure to mechanical, chemical, electrical, magnetic, and other properties.
• Selecting appropriate metals for given applications, taking into account the requirements of the application and the properties of the material. For example, aluminum alloys are used in aircraft wings and fuselages because they are light and strong. Nickel base alloys are used in jet engines because they are resistant to high-temperature chemical attacks and retain their strength even at very high temperatures.
• Making improvements to metallic materials by changes in composition and processing techniques. For example, techniques such as chemical vapor deposition allow very thin films to be made from different composition alloys. These films have excellent properties for many electronic applications.

• Ceramics
  
• Composite materials
• Nanomaterials
• Polymers

Supplemental Pre-Professional tracks are available for students interested in pursuing further professional education. If there is interest in one of these tracks in addition to the degree, please let the recruiter know. The options are:

• Pre-Dentistry
• Pre-Law
• Pre-Medicine
• Pre-Nutrition & Exercise Physiology
• Pre-Occupational Therapy
• Pre-Optometry
• Pre-Pharmacy
• Pre-Physical Therapy
• Pre-Physician Assistant
• Pre-Speech & Hearing Sciences
  
• Pre-Veterinary Medicine