What is Materials Science and Engineering?
Materials science and engineering involves the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of solid materialsmetals and alloys, ceramics, magnetic materials, polymers, optical materials, semiconductors, superconductors, and compositesfor the purpose of using, changing, or enhancing inherent properties to create or improve end products. Materials science and engineering involves examining how the microstructure (crystalline or amorphous) of a material can be changed to influence the strength, electrical conductivity, optical, or magnetic properties of a material. This field is inherently multidisciplinary, encompassing mechanical, chemical, biomedical, civil, electrical, and aerospace engineering; physics; and chemistry. Materials science comprises the study of materials from the macro to the atomic scalefrom highway building materials to carbon nanotubesbut, independent of scale, the study of materials is concerned fundamentally with the effect of structure and chemistry o
Everything is made of something! Materials scientists and engineers make the materials that make all of technology possible. Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E) is a broad, research-focused, multidisciplinary curriculum that builds on fundamentals of physics, chemistry, and biology. Materials Scientists and Engineers manipulate mechanical, electrical, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties to create and improve the materials from which all engineered objects are made. MS&E graduates are in demand in every sector and industry.
The field of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) researches all classes of materials (metals, ceramics, electronic materials, and biomaterials) from a unified viewpoint and with an emphasis on the connections between the underlying structure and the processing, properties, and performance of the material. MSE grew out of the disciplines of metallurgy and ceramics and now includes polymers, semiconductors, magnetic materials, photonic materials, and biological materials. A materials scientist studies how materials react in different conditions (such as temperature and pressure) and understands that all materials can be approached from a common set of principles. Architects, civil engineers, toy companies, NASA, bio-medical research companies, and the data storage industry are all recent users of technologies that developed from research in MSE. Most fields in science and engineering are concerned in some way with materials, but only the field of materials science and engineering foc
