Program Requirements

Introductory Graduate Courses

First year PhD students are encouraged to take courses necessary to excel in the Q exam. The Q exam is given at the end of May.

MSE 5801 Materials Structure and Electronic Properties

Provides a Course is intended for first year graduate students in MSE needing a solid foundation in structural and electronic properties for advanced study/research in materials. Atomic and molecular structure of crystalline, molecular, semicrystalline, and amorphous materials including: crystallography and symmetry; reciprocal lattice; order and disorder; point defects. Diffraction techniques for structural characterization: Bragg's Law, structure factors, thin film and size broadening; Debye scattering; symmetry breaking. Use of tensors to describe macroscopic physical properties and connections between symmetry and properties. Electrical properties of materials including: mechanisms of conduction; band structure and correlation with crystallography; modification of electrical properties in materials; charge transport across interfaces and semiconductor junctions; interaction of materials with light; fundamental semiconductor electronic devides (e.g. diodes. MOSFETS). 

MSE 5810 Materials Chemistry

Provides a molecular understanding of materials properties: quantum chemistry, symmetry aspects of chemical bonding, solid state reactions, and electrochemistry. Materials include polymers, organic semiconductors, organic-inorganic hybrids, and biomaterials.

MSE 5820 Mechanical Property of Materials Processing & Design

Relationship between microscopic mechanisms and macroscopic mechanical behavior of engineering materials, how mechanical properties can be modified, and criteria for selection and use of materials in design. Stress, strain, and elastic constants as tensor quantities, viscoelasticity and damping, plastic deformation, creep deformation, fracture, and fatigue.

MSE 5830 Thermodynamics of Condensed Systems

Introduces the three laws of thermodynamics as the fundamental basis for thermal and chemical equilibrium, coupled with statistical mechanical interpretations for entropy and specific heat capacities. Applies these principles to understanding phase equilibria and phase diagrams, heterogeneous reactions, solutions, surfaces, and defects. Introduces electrochemistry and fuel/power cells.

MSE 5840 Kinetics, Diffusion & Phase Transfer

Phenomenological and atomistic theories of diffusion in metals, alloys, and non-metals, including polymers; diffusion in the presence of driving forces; fast diffusion paths; thermo - and electrotransport; interfaces and microstructure; nucleation and growth; growth of product layers (parabolic and linear kinetics); solidification of alloys; diffusional and diffusionless transformations in solids; glass transition.

MSE 5850 Electronic, Magnetic & Dielectric Properties of Materials

Electronic structure of materials and connection to transport, magnetic and dielectric properties. Wave and particle nature of electrons, wave packets, potential wells, barriers, tunneling. Valence electron behavior in crystals, density of states for metals, Fermi level, field and thermionic emission, Schottky barriers. Periodic potentials and band structure of crystals. Intrinsic and doped semiconductors, junction electronic and optical devices. Physical origin of magnetic behavior, ferromagnetic domains, magneto-resistance. Materials for data storage and manipulation. Polarization in dielectric materials; frequency dependence of dielectric constants and refractive indices. Ferroelectric domains. Dielectric components in devices. The close connection between fundamental concepts and current technology will be emphasized.

MSE 5860 - Atomic and Molecular Structure of Matter

This course covers the atomic and molecular structure of crystalline and non-crystalline materials as well as selected analytical techniques for structural interrogation. Selected topics include: basic elements of structure, order and disorder, crystals, semi-crystalline materials, amorphous materials, molecular materials, x-ray diffraction, and small angle x-ray scattering.

MSE 5861 - Mechanical Properties of Materials: From Nanodevices to Superstructures

This course examines the mechanical properties of materials (e.g., strength, stiffness, toughness, ductility) and their physical origins. Explores the relationship of the elastic, plastic, and fracture behavior to microscopic structure in metals, ceramics, polymers, and composite materials. Discusses effects of time and temperature on materials properties. Emphasizes considerations for design and optimal performance of materials and engineered objects.

MSE 5862 - Introduction to Electronic Materials

Examines the electrical and optical properties of materials. Topics include: the mechanism of electrical conduction in metals, semiconductors and insulators, tuning of electrical properties in semiconductors, charge transport across metal/semiconductor and semiconductor/semiconductor junctions, the interaction of materials with light, semiconductor electronic devices, and the materials science of device fabrication. Applications in microelectronics, solar cells, electronics, and display technologies are discussed. Students will complete and present a review of a current issues in semiconductor device evolution.

Advanced Graduate Courses

MS&E 6010 Chemistry of Materials

Course develops an understanding of materials properties from the perspective of sophisticated chemical concepts. Specific topics include: bonding and hybridization, HOMO/LUMO levels and band gaps, group theory and symmetry, redox chemistry and electrochemistry, inorganic chemistry, bio/organic chemistry (including simple organic reactions, the molecules of life, enzymes, the lock and key concept, etc), and interfacial chemistry.

MS&E 6020 Elasticity, Plastic Flow & Fracture

An advanced overview of mechanical properties of materials combining concepts from continuum mechanics, atomic structure, thermodynamics, and kinetics. Topics include: elastic properties of crystals, glasses, and polymers; mechanical damping; plastic deformation in metals and polymers; creep deformation; fracture in brittle and ductile materials; the effects of temperature, time, and thermomechanical history on properties; metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites; and models and scaling laws for mechanical behavior.

MS&E 6030 Thermodynamics of Materials

Topics include: basic statistical thermodynamics, partition functions and thermodynamic state functions, distributions, laws of thermodynamics, free-energy functions and conditions of equilibrium, chemical reactions, statistics of electrons in crystals, heat capacity, heterogeneous systems and phase transitions, and lattice models of 1-, 2-, and 3- dimensional interacting systems. Also covers: statistical thermodynamics of alloys, free-energy and phase diagrams, order-disorder phenomena, point defects in crystals, and statistical thermodynamics of interfaces.

MS&E 6040 Kinetics of Reactions in Condensed Matter

Phenomenology and microscopic aspects of diffusion in fluids, both simple and polymeric, and in metallic, ionic, semiconductor, and polymeric solids. Cartesian tensors are utilized for fields and properties. Covers phase stability and transformations; nucleation and growth, spinodal decomposition and displasive transformations; phase coarsening processes, recrystallization, and grain growth; diffusion-controlled growth, interfacial reactions, moving boundary problems; grain-boundary migration controlled kinetics; viscosity, anelasticity, and diffusional creep.