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This archived information is dated to the 2009-10 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Materials Science and Engineering

In this section:

Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering

Coterminal B.S./M.S. Program in Materials Science Engineering

Master of Science in Materials Science Engineering

Engineer in Materials Science Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science Engineering

Ph.D. Minor in Materials Science and Engineering

Up one level:

School of Engineering

Emeriti: (Professors) Clayton W. Bates, Jr., Richard H. Bube, Theodore H. Geballe,* Stig B. Hagstrom,* Robert A. Huggins,* William D. Nix,* Oleg D. Sherby, John C. Shyne, William A. Tiller, Robert L. White*; (Professor, Research) Robert S. Feigelson*

Chair: Robert Sinclair

Associate Chair: Reinhold H. Dauskardt

Professors: David M. Barnett, Arthur I. Bienenstock, John C. Bravman, Bruce M. Clemens, Reinhold H. Dauskardt, Friedrich B. Prinz, Robert Sinclair, Shan X. Wang

Associate Professors: Mark L. Brongersma, Michael D. McGehee, Paul C. McIntyre

Assistant Professors: Yi Cui, Sarah C. Heilshorn, Aaron M. Lindenberg, Nicholas A. Melosh, Alberto Salleo

Courtesy Professors: Stacey F. Bent, Curtis W. Frank, James S. Harris, Yoshio Nishi, James D. Plummer, Krishna Saraswat, Jonathan F. Stebbins, Joachim Stohr

Courtesy Associate Professor: Ian R. Fisher

Courtesy Assistant Professor: Harindran Manoharan

Lecturers: Ann Marshall, Arturas Vailionis

Acting Assistant Professor: Seung Min Han

Consulting Professors: Charles A. Evans, Turgut Gur, Michael A. Kelly, Alan Sellinger, Baylor Triplett, Robert M. White, Wendelin J. Wright

* Recalled to active duty.

Department Offices: 496 Lomita Mall, Durand Building

Mail Code: 94305-4034

Phone: (650) 723-2534

Email: matsciengr@stanford.edu

Web Site: http://mse.stanford.edu

Courses offered by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering are listed under the subject code MATSCI on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is concerned with the relation between the structure and properties of materials, factors that control the internal structure of solids, and processes for altering their structure and properties, particularly at the nanoscale.

MISSION OF THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

The mission of the undergraduate program in Materials Science and Engineering is to provide students with a strong foundation in materials science and engineering with emphasis on the fundamental scientific and engineering principles which underlie the knowledge and implementation of material structure, processing, properties, and performance of all classes of materials used in engineering systems. Courses in the program develop students' knowledge of modern materials science and engineering, teach them to apply this knowledge analytically to create effective and novel solutions to practical problems, and develop their communication skills and ability to work collaboratively. The program prepares students for careers in industry and for further study in graduate school.

The B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering provides training for the materials engineer and also preparatory training for graduate work in materials science. Capable undergraduates are encouraged to take at least one year of graduate study to extend their course work through the coterminal degree program which leads to an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Coterminal degree programs are encouraged both for undergraduate majors in Materials Science and Engineering and for undergraduate majors in related disciplines.

The department also hosts the School of Engineering undergraduate major in Engineering Physics leading to a B.S. in Engineering.

Learning Outcomes

The department expects undergraduate majors in the program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the department's undergraduate program. Students are expected to be able:

  1. to apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.
  2. to design and conduct experiments, as well to analyze and interpret data.
  3. to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability.
  4. to function on multidisciplinary teams.
  5. to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems.
  6. to understand professional and ethical responsibility.
  7. to communicate effectively.
  8. to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
  9. to demonstrate a working knowledge of contemporary issues.
  10. to apply the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
  11. to transition from engineering concepts and theory to real engineering application.

GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE ENGINEERING

Graduate programs lead to the degrees of Master of Science, Engineer, and Doctor of Philosophy. Graduate students can specialize in any of the areas of materials science and engineering.

FACILITIES

The department is based in the William F. Durand Building, with extensive facilities in the Jack A. McCullough building and the Gordon and Betty Moore Materials Research Building. These buildings house offices for the chair and most of the faculty, for the administrative and technical staff, and for most graduate students, along with lecture and seminar rooms. Facilities for teaching and research are also available, including equipment for electrical measurements; mechanical testing of bulk and thin film materials; fracture and fatigue of advanced materials; metallography; optical, scanning, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy; UHV sputter deposition; vacuum annealing treatments; wet chemistry; and x-ray diffraction. The McCullough/Moore Complex is also the home for the Center for Magnetic Nanotechnology, with corresponding facilities for magnetic measurements, and to the Stanford Nanocharacterization Laboratory (SNL). The Rapid Prototyping Laboratory (RPL), housing material deposition and removal stations, is a joint facility with Mechanical Engineering, and is housed in Building 530. The department maintains a microcomputer cluster for its students, which is linked to the internet.

Depending on the needs of their programs, students and faculty also conduct research in a number of other departments and independent laboratories. Chief among these are the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF), the Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials (GLAM), and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory.

The Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) is a laboratory joining government and industrially funded research on microelectronic materials, devices, and systems. It houses a 10,000 square foot, class 100 clean room for Si and GaAs integrated circuit fabrication; a large number of electronic test, materials analysis, and computer facilities; and office space for faculty, staff, and students. In addition, the Center for Integrated Systems (CIS) provides startup research funds and maintains a fellow-mentor program with industry.

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