Graduate Program

Materials Science Electives

The following courses have been pre-approved as IMSE electives and are being offered for the Fall 2023 semester (list updated 04/24/23): 

Complete list of pre-approved IMSE PhD electives (pdf)

BME 479 – Biofabrication & Medical Devices- This course will cover materials design and modern manufacturing methods for biofabricated tissues and medical devices (with a particular emphasis on bioelectronic devices). Topics will include additive manufacturing and their materials requirements along with how these methods have evolved to use biomaterials and cells, such as bioprinting. State-of-the-art in vitro and implantable devices for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes will be discussed with emphasis on how their properties have advanced from developments in materials and manufacturing. Lecture material and assignments will draw from both current market devices and the clinical standard-of-care as well as ongoing research and recent scientific literature. All students will be placed on a waitlist. Registration will be split between undergraduate and graduate students. Prerequisite: BME 523 Biomaterials Science or equivalent biomaterials or materials science introductory course.

BME 523 – Biomaterials Science - An understanding of the interactions between biological systems and artificial materials is of vital importance in the design of medical devices. This course will introduce the principles of biomaterials science, unifying knowledge from the fields of biology, materials science, surface science, and colloid science. The course will be taught from the primary scientific literature, focusing on the study of protein/surface interactions and hydrogel materials.

EECE 504 - Aerosol Science and Technology - Fundamental properties of particulate systems - physics of aerosols, size distributions, mechanics and transport of particles: diffusion, inertia, external force fields. Visibility and light scattering. Aerosol dynamics - coagulation, nucleation, condensation. Applications to engineered systems: Nanoparticle synthesis, atmospheric aerosols, combustion aerosols, pharmaceutical aerosols. Prerequisites: EECE 301, ESE 318 and 319. (Prior to FL2015, this course was numbered: E63 518.)

 EECE 505 Aquatic Chemistry- Aquatic chemistry governs aspects of the biogeochemical cycling of trace metals and nutrients, contaminant fate and transport, and the performance of water and wastewater treatment processes. This course examines chemical reactions relevant to natural and engineered aquatic systems. A quantitative approach emphasizes the solution of chemical equilibrium and kinetics problems. Topics covered include chemical equilibrium and kinetics, acid-base equilibria and alkalinity, dissolution and precipitation of solids, complexation of metals, oxidation-reduction processes, and reactions on solid surfaces. A primary objective of the course is to be able to formulate and solve chemical equilibrium problems for complex environmental systems. In addition to solving problems manually to develop chemical intuition regarding aquatic systems, software applications for solving chemical equilibrium problems are also introduced. Prerequisites: Chem 112A (Prior to FL2015, this course was numbered: E33 443/543.)

ESE 436 Semiconductor Devices – (Check with IMSE Director of Graduate Studies BEFORE enrolling in this course) This course covers the fundamentals of semiconductor physics and operation principles of modern solid-state devices such as homo- or hetero-junction diodes, solar cells, inorganic/organic light-emitting diodes, bipolar junction transistors, and metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. These devices form the basis for today's semiconductor and integrated circuit industry. In additional to device physics, semiconductor device fabrication processes, new materials, and novel device structures will also be briefly introduced. At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the characteristics, operation, limitations and challenges faced by state-of-the-art semiconductor devices. This course will be particularly useful for students who wish to develop careers in the semiconductor industry. Prerequisite: ESE 232

MEMS 5507 - Fatigue and Fracture Analysis - The course objective is to demonstrate practical methods for computing fatigue life of metallic structural components. The course covers the three major phases of metal fatigue progression: fatigue crack initiation, crack propagation and fracture. Topics include: stress vs. fatigue life analysis, cumulative fatigue damage, linear elastic fracture mechanics, stress intensity factors, damage tolerance analysis, fracture toughness, critical crack size computation and load history development. The course focus is on application of this technology to design against metal fatigue and to prevent structural failure.

MEMS 5601 - Mechanical Behavior of Material - A materials science based study of mechanical behavior of materials with emphasis on mechanical behavior as affected by processes taking place at the microscopic and/or atomic level. The response of solids to external or internal forces as influenced by inter atomic bonding, crystal/molecular structure, crystalline/non crystalline defects, and material microstructure will be studied. The similarities and differences in the response of different kinds of materials viz., metals and alloys, ceramics, polymers, and composites will be discussed. Topics covered include physical basis of elastic, visco elastic, and plastic deformation of solids; strengthening of crystalline materials; visco elastic deformation of polymers as influenced by molecular structure and morphology of amorphous, crystalline, and fibrous polymers; deformation and fracture of composite materials; mechanisms of creep, fracture and fatigue; high strain-rate deformation of crystalline materials; and deformation of non crystalline materials.

MEMS 5605 - Mechanical Behavior of Composites - Analysis and mechanics of composite materials. Topics include micromechanics, laminated plate theory, hydrothermal behavior, creep, strength, failure modes, fracture toughness, fatigue, structural response, mechanics of processing, nondestructive evaluation, and test methods. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

MEMS 5610 Quantitative Materials Science & Engineering - (PhD Core Course) Quantitative Materials Science and Engineering will cover the mathematical foundation of primary concepts in materials science and engineering. Topics covered are: mathematical techniques in materials science and engineering; Fourier series; ordinary and partial differential equations; special functions; matrix algebra; and vector calculus. Each will be followed by its application to concepts in: thermodynamics; kinetics and phase transformations; structure and properties of hard and soft matter; and characterization techniques. This course is intended especially for students pursuing graduate study in materials science.

MEMS 5614 – Polymeric Materials Synthesis and Modification - Polymer is a class of widely used material. Polymer performance is highly dependent on its chemical properties. The goal of this class is to introduce methods for synthesis and modification of polymers with different chemical properties. The topics include free radical polymerization, reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization, step growth polymerization, cationic polymerization, anionic polymerization, ring-opening polymerization, and bulk and surface modification of polymers.

MEMS 5617 – Advanced Study of Solid-State Electronics - This course is designed for students who want to pursue advanced study in solid-state materials and electronic applications. It will provide fundamentals of 1) basic solid-state physics 2) phase equilibria and fabrication of emerging solid-state materials: 3D thin films (III-V, III-N, complex oxide) and low dimensional materials (0D, 1D, 2D) 3) electrical and photonic properties and 4) property manipulation: doping and strain engineering. Students will learn various emerging solid-state electronic devices such as HEMT, nano-materials based TFT, QD LEDs, nanogenerators, advanced solar cells and more. The goal of this course is to help students understand fundamentals to design new solid-state device architectures. The course is particularly beneficial for students who have an interest in the emerging semiconductor field.

MEMS 5619 - Thermodynamic of Materials- (PhD Core CourseThermodynamics of mixtures and phase equilibria in materials systems. The course will review the laws of thermodynamics and introduce the principles of statistical mechanics along with thermodynamic variables and the relationships between them. It will cover thermodynamic equilibria in unary and multicomponent systems along with the construction of phase diagrams. The use of thermodynamics for understanding surfaces and interfaces, defects, chemical reactions, and other technical applications will be emphasized. Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor

MEMS 5801 - Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems I-  Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are ubiquitous in chemical, biomedical, and industrial (e.g., automotive, aerospace, printing) applications. This course will cover important topics in MEMS design, micro-/nanofabrication, and their implementation in real-world devices. The course will include discussion of fabrication and measurement technologies (e.g., physical/chemical deposition, lithography, wet/dry etching, and packaging), as well as application of MEMS theory to design/fabrication of devices in a cleanroom. Lectures will cover specific processes and how those processes enable the structures needed for accelerometers, gyros, FR filters, digital mirrors, microfluidics, micro total-analysis systems, biomedical implants, etc. The laboratory component will allow students to investigate those processes first-hand by fabricating simple MEMS devices.

Physics 463 - Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics- This course will discuss the thermodynamics of open and closed systems, kinetics and transport theory, and classical and quantum statistical mechanics. Prerequisite: Physics 217 or permission of instructor.