27-676-RW Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering
Location: Pittsburgh
Units: 12
Semester Offered: Fall
Course description
The course intends to provide a uniform foundation of materials science concepts for graduate students, regardless of their previous academic background. Essential elements of materials science linking atomic structure and microstructure to material properties and performance of relevance to their technological use are comprehensively reviewed. Key material structure-property relationships that enable important engineering systems, such as energy storage technologies and semiconductor devices, will be highlighted. The course is intended to provide students with essential background necessary to assimilate ensuing graduate courses in materials science and engineering.
Learning objectives
The goal of this course is to present the principles that underlie the physical properties of matter. The focus is on explaining the structural, mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical of materials. This course will help students understand the phenomena that underlie bonding in materials, their physical properties, and their functional performance. Computer visualization and simulation will be used to illustrate these phenomena.
Content details
This course covers the structures and microstructures of materials, the classes of materials, reactions and transformations in materials, and the physical properties of materials in relation to their use in technologies. Students will be introduced to foundational topics in materials science, which include the electronic structure of atoms; the nature of bonding between atoms; crystal structures in relation to interatomic bonding; equilibrium between materials phases; metals, semiconductors, and insulators; organic and inorganic materials; diffusion and charge transport; electrochemical charge storage; the mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties of materials.
Prerequisites
Vector calculus, differential and integral calculus, Newtonian mechanics, and principles of general chemistry at a basic level.