Statistics:
| 13 active faculty |
| 48 graduate students |
The department of Materials Science and Engineering offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The M.S./Ph.D. program is research-oriented and requires a thesis. There are no specific credit requirements, although 9 to 12 courses are usual. M.Eng. students work with a faculty advisor on a design project (12 credits) and take courses for at least 18 credits. Enrollment in the M.Eng. program has typically been small.
The faculty members in the department do research in areas of metals, ceramics, polymers, surface and interface science, electronic materials, solid state-chemistry, and mesoscopic and nanostructure materials. Advances in the understanding and development of materials have been crucial in many developments of modern technology, such as computers and other electronic products.
The department of Materials Science and Engineering is located in Bard, Thurston, and Kimball Halls (all C6), on the engineering quadrangle. Facilities in individual laboratories include equipment for electron spectroscopy, deep-level transient spectroscopy, differential scanning microscopy, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, mass spectroscopy, mechanical testing at high temperatures and pressures, optical and interference microscopy, reactive ion-beam etching, scanning tunneling, and atomic force microscopy. The department operates a joint facility for materials preparation and mechanical testing.
Much of the research is conducted in connection with the interdisciplinary Materials Science Center, one of the largest such university centers supported by NSF, which encompasses research from nine schools and departments. The Center's extensive facilities, three of which are located the Bard and Thurston, include laboratories for electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, crystal growth, x-ray diffraction, and computing.
Various other interdisciplinary centers and programs at the university provide valuable facilities and opportunities for interaction with researchers in other fields. They include the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, the SRC Program in Microscience and Technology, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, and the Advanced Electronic Packaging Facility.