MTSI 500  Survey of Mat Science: 1 Credits (1 Other)

Topics offered at the graduate level which are not covered in regular courses focusing on relevant specialty areas of materials science and engineering research. Students will participate in preparing and presenting discussion material.

MTSI 501  Material Structure and Bonding: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITES: Admission into the Materials Science Ph.D. program or Master's/Ph.D. programs in Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics or other related discipline. Graduate students in their 2nd year or beyond need to be in good standing or have consent of the instructor
Ionic and covalent bonding; quantum mechanical foundation of the cohesion of solids, evolution of band structure; static and dynamic underpinning of macroscopic materials properties including mechanical, electrica and thermal; effect of defects on material properties.

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1. Learning Outcomes

   Upon completion of the course, students will be expected to have mastered critical concepts that constitute the foundation for materials science and engineering including the ability to: 

   • Explain the origin of chemical bonding and differentiate types of chemical bonds in solids.

   • Explain static (bonding, structural) and dynamic (phononic) underpinning of macroscopic materials properties (mechanical properties, electrical and thermal conductivity, etc).  

   • Identify crystallographic point groups and crystal symmetry in the 7 Bravais Lattices and relate symmetry concepts to the functional properties of materials. 

   • Identify different types of defects in materials and predict how defects affect structural properties of materials.

   • Explain the mechanisms and underlying microscopic pictures of thermal and ionic transport in solids

   • Differentiate non-crystalline and crystalline solids in terms of structure and function

MTSI 502  Adv Materials Science II: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

Fundamental principles of how materials are designed and synthesized to achieve specific performance. The team taught course is broken up into three 12-lecture segments. Each segment will cover a specific topic including ceramics, polymers, magnetic materials, biomaterials, glasses, etc.

MTSI 503  Optical, Electronic, and Magnetic Properties of Materials: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITE: MTSI or consent of instructor. Materials Science 503 (MTSI 503) is an introductory graduate level class that examines the origin of material optical, electronic, and material properties. With a focus on fundamental underpinnings, the course will investigate the principles responsible for optical transmission, reflection, absorption and emission; conducting, semi-conducting, and insulating behaviors; and the origins of material magnetic properties

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1. By the end of MTSI 503, students will be able to demonstrate proficiency with course-related content in the following ways:\\nUse quantum mechanical principles to describe the wave-particle duality of light as well as the spatial distribution of particles (= eigenfunctions) and particle enegies (= eigenvalues) in simple systems such as a particle in a box and the hydrogen atom.\\n
2. Identify how doping materials with small amounts of additives will change a material’s electronic structure and properties.
3. Design experiments that will quantify a material’s electronic properties.
4. Differentiate magnetic properties in materials (e.g. diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, etc.) and explain how these different properties emerge from a material’s electronic structure.\\n
5. Describe how a material’s magnetic properties depend upon ambient conditions including temperature and applied electric and magnetic fields.\\n
6. Describe how to measure a material’s complex refractive index and how to use this quantity to calculate properties including reflectivity, transmissivity and absorption.\\n
7. Use structure and bonding models in materials to predict the electronic properties of materials and categorize materials either as insulating, conducting or semi conducting.

MTSI 511  Thermodynamics of Materials: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

Advanced thermodynamic principles are presented in the context of materials science and processing. The course focuses on the application of thermodynamic principles to materials structure, properties and processing. Subject matter includes elements of solution thermodynamics and application to equilibrium diagrams.

MTSI 512  Kinetics Phase Transformations: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

Treatment of mechanisms controlling the rates of structural/chemical changes in materials. Quantitative diffusion theory and the behavior of surfaces and interfaces. Nucleation and growth as a mechanism for phase transformations and application of phase transformations in materials manipulation and processing.

MTSI 551  Adv Materials Characterization: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

PREREQUISITES: Admission to the Materials Science or related Master's or Ph.D. program for first year graduate students; graduate students in their 2nd year or beyond need to be in good standing or have consent of the instructor
Theory and practice of experimental materials characterization examining X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and nano-Auger spectroscopy.

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1. become familiar with the principles of most common material characterization instruments including x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and nano-Auger spectroscopy.
2. be able to identify instrument outputs, analyze and interpret data
3. be able to troubleshoot instrument problems to improve data quality when data fail to meed intended specifications
4. improve their organizational and communication abilities

MTSI 552  Adv Material Character II: 3 Credits (3 Lec)

Theory and practices of experimental materials characterization examining Optical/Electron Microscopy, Bulk and Surface Analysis, mass Spectroscopy and Chromatography.

MTSI 594  Seminar: 1 Credits (1 Lec)

1 Lec; 1 cr max) F,S.