Hands-on lab-based course designed to teach practical techniques in the synthesis and characterization of materials and their properties, and to use experiments to explore fundamental and potentially abstract materials concepts.

Basics of crystal structures and phase diagrams; diffusion; solidification; solid-state phase transformations.

Elastic deformation; viscoelasticity; yielding, plastic flow, plastic instability; strengthening mechanisms; fracture, fatigue, creep; significance of mechanical properties tests. Microstructural mechanisms and macroscopic behavior of metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.

Thermodynamic properties; reactions and chemical equilibrium in gases; solutions, phase equilibria, phase diagrams, reaction equilibria; surfaces and interfaces; point defects in crystals.

Introduction to the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of materials. Solid-state properties of metals, semiconductors, and ceramics; fundamental concepts needed for the description of these properties, using an introductory-level description of the electronic structure of solids.

Essential crystallography of lattices and structures; symmetry; elements of diffraction and reciprocal lattices; point, line, and surface defects in crystals; crystalline interfaces; noncrystalline materials; polymers; glasses.

Presentation of research topics by invited speakers, faculty, and students.

Preparation of a report to fulfill the requirement for the master's degree under the report option.

Research leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in materials science and engineering.