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Applied Materials Science - A Fundamental Course for Engineers

Mark A. Palmer1, Robert E. Pearson, Kenneth J. Wynne2 1 Kettering University 2 Virginia Commonwealth University

Abstract

Materials selection is a required part of design, and thus if design is to be incorporated throughout a curriculum it is necessary that the students be exposed to the fundamentals of materials science early in their careers. This has been done in a freshman-level materials engineering course designed to meet the needs of general engineering students and not those of materials scientists. The subject matter is presented in an order consistent with the "chain" pedagogy - that processing changes structure and structure determines properties. By presenting the structure and processing fundamentals early in the course, we are able to spend the last half of the term enabling students to make electrical, chemical and mechanical design decisions based on experimental data. Doing so allowed us to fully incorporate polymers into the course, rather than as an "add-on". The course concepts are taught through a studio-based recitation which includes simple laboratory experiments and demonstrations, supplemented by lecture. At Virginia Commonwealth University this allowed us to let freshman participate in semiconductor device fabrication. This paper focuses on the content and teaching of “Applied Materials Science”.

Introduction

The purpose of engineering education is well described by the words of Stephen van Rensselaer, the founder of the first civilian engineering college :“...instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life"1. This means design. Many engineering curricula are either introducing or attempting to introduce design throughout the various courses in their curricula2, and those who do find it successful3. Design requires materials selection and the evaluation of alternative materials4. Thus, if design is going to be integrated throughout the engineering curricula, then students need to be taught how to select materials and evaluate potential alternatives earlier in their career. Over the last ten years a course, Applied Materials Science originally intended to be the second semester of an integrated chemistry-materials sequence5 has been developed for first year students. The course description is below.

Students will learn how to specify materials for a given performance criterion based on experimental data. Mechanical, chemical (corrosion) and electrical property- performance issues will be discussed, as will the fundamental scientific principles

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Palmer, M. (2002, June), Applied Materials Science A Fundamental Course For Engineers Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10993