Chair   David J. Duquette
Undergraduate Advising   Minoru Tomozawa
Graduate Recruiting   Roger N. Wright
Graduate Advising   Christoph Steinbruchel
Department Home Page   http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/materials/

Progress in modern technology is often limited by the availability of suitable solid materials. The materials engineer must produce materials to meet the demands of the designers of jet engines and rocket boosters, microelectronic devices, optical components, medical prostheses, and many other products.

The principles that govern the processing and structure of materials to produce optimum mechanical and physical properties and performance are embodied in the materials engineering curriculum. The program is designed to produce engineers and scientists whose degrees represent useful specialization coupled with a broad background in all classes of materials.

Undergraduate students wishing to extend their education can undertake specialized study in a range of fields. These include research in ceramics, polymers, composites, nanostructured materials, high-temperature alloys, solidification, corrosion, deformation processing, welding, high-strength high-modulus materials, biomaterials, electron optics, surface and molecular kinetics, glass science, and the origin of mechanical and physical properties in many different types of materials. Graduate students, in addition to pursuing classroom courses, conduct research in a variety of areas described below and write their theses based on this research. Extensive laboratories containing modern and sophisticated equipment are available.

For the student who likes to innovate and who wants to apply knowledge to the real problems of a modern technological society, materials science and engineering provides a broad range of exciting opportunities.

Research and Innovation Initiatives

Materials Processing
Major research programs include fundamental studies of the solidification process and the effect of solidification under reduced gravity on the formation of dendritic structures, and practically oriented programs in the extrusion processing of aluminum alloys. In the latter program, studies of the complex interactions among stress, strain rate, and temperature during forming processes have made it possible to apply advanced software models to the control of metalworking operations. Studies of powder processing have made possible the extrusion processing of composite materials, while research on joining processes has led to synergistic coupling of adhesive bonding and spot welding technology in automotive sheet metal fabrication. New efforts focused on the synthesis, processing, and properties of nanostructured materials are expanding the capabilities of materials engineering and nanotechnology into additional areas including ceramics, metals, polymers, composites, and biomaterials. Novel applications of carbon nanotubes for device and chemical applications are under investigation, along with chemical, electrical, and mechanical isolation engineering using nanocomposites.

Materials for Microelectronic Systems
This research concentrates on the problems associated with the interconnections between integrated circuit elements. Included are the growth of thin films of metals and both polymer and ceramic dielectric materials, the patterning and etching processes necessary for the fabrication of multilayer devices, and the planarization processes necessary for successful device fabrication. Of special note is the program in microelectronics packaging, which addresses the mechanical, electronic, and thermal aspects of device design and fabrication.

Glasses and Ceramics
Research efforts focus on factors influencing the useful lifetime of glass components and the effect of environments, especially aqueous environments, on glass failure. In addition to the conventional applications such as windows and bottles, glasses are used as optical components such as optical communication fibers. Specifically, variation of the glass surface structure with time and its influence on glass properties are under investigation. Another emphasis is the development of nonoxide glasses, primarily those based on fluorides, as the transmitting medium in optical fibers for communications purposes.

High-Performance Composite Materials
These materials are used in industrial and consumer products due to their exceptional stiffness and strength-to-weight ratios. Applications of composites in the construction industry, such as steel bridge repairs using graphite-epoxy composites, are growing rapidly. Meanwhile, next generation conceptual plans for hybrid electric vehicles are using ceramic composite components for gas turbine engines and thermal recuperators. Composites research activities at Rensselaer include ceramic, metallic, and polymer matrix composites; micromechanics and modeling of both fabrication processes and materials properties; design with new materials; synthesis of new matrix materials; and all aspects of the fabrication and characterization of composites and composite structures. Of special note is the sailplane program, in which students have designed, fabricated, and tested an all-composite glider, which has now been flying for over seven years. A new project, the composite hybrid electric vehicle, has also been initiated and offers numerous opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate participation.

Faculty

Departmental faculty listings are accurate as of the date generated for inclusion in this catalog. For the most up-to-date listing of faculty positions, including end-of-year promotions, please refer to the Faculty Roster section of this catalog, which is current as of the May 2002 Board of Trustees meeting.

Professors
Baeslack, W.A. III—Ph.D., P.E. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); physical metallurgy; joining of advanced materials (Dean, School of Engineering)
Duquette, D.J.—Ph.D. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); environmental and surface effects on the mechanical behavior of metals, corrosion, stress corrosion fatigue (Department Head).
Glicksman, M.E.—Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); melting and solidification, transport properties of liquid metals, phase transformation kinetics, metallurgy of superconductors (John Tod Horton Professor of Materials Engineering).
Hudson, J.B.—Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); adsorption on solid surfaces, structure and reactivity of solids, physics and chemistry of surfaces, nanocrystal growth.
Messler, R.W., Jr.—Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); materials in manufacturing, welding.
Moynihan, C.T.—Ph.D. (Princeton University); ionic transport in glass, infrared transmission in glasses and glass ceramics, thermodynamic properties of glasses.
Murarka, S.P.—Ph.D. (University of Minnesota); Ph.D. (University of Agra); metallization for deep submicron silicon integrated circuits, low temperature and localized processes, thin dielectric films, diffusion and defects (Elaine S. and Jack S. Parker Chair in Engineering).
Rajan, K.—Sc.D. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); electron microscopy, electronic materials, thin films and superlattices.
Siegel, R.W.—Ph.D. (University of Illinois); synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of functional nanostructured materials including metals, ceramics, and composites; biomaterials; atomic-scale defects and diffusion in materials (Robert W. Hunt Professor).
Sternstein, S.S.—Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); high-performance composites; physical properties of polymers; rubber elasticity theory; fracture, yielding, and craze formation in glassy polymers and composites, viscoelastic properties; swelling in filled elastomers (William Weightman Walker Professor of Polymer Engineering).
Tomozawa, M.—Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania); electrical properties of glasses, X-ray and light scattering, phase separation, mechanical properties of glasses.
Wright, R.N.—Sc.D. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); metal forming and fabrication, mechanical behavior of metals.

Associate Professors
Ajayan, P.M.—Ph.D. (Northwestern University); synthesis, structure, and properties of carbon-based nanostructures and nanocomposites; phase transitions in nanoscale materials; electron microscopy.
Schadler, L.S.—Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania); polymer and glass matrix composites, micromechanical behavior, strains and interface properties, micro-Raman spectroscopy, environmental effects.
Steinbruchel, C.—Ph.D. (University of Minnesota); electronic materials, plasma processing, ion beam and ultra-high vacuum techniques.

Assistant Professors
Gall, D.—Ph.D. ((University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign); physical properties of thin films and nanostructures; combined theory, modeling and experimentation in thin film technology as applied to electronic structures and properties, transition-metal nitride film growth and characterization.
Keblinski, P.—Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University); atomic mesoscopic-level computational modeling of interfacial processes; structure-property correlations; interfaces in silicon, diamond and metals; thin film growth; phase separation.
Ozisik, R.—Ph.D. ((The University of Akron, Ohio); multiscale simulations of polymers, surface and interface properties of nanoparticles; development and characterization of fuel cells.
Ramanath, G.—Ph.D. (University of Illinois); thin film electronic materials; interconnects, diffusion barriers, low-k dielectrics; characterization of interfacial reactions, kinetics, and mechanisms of microstructure and phase evolution during deposition and annealing; processing self-organized structures for microelectronics applications.
Shima, M.—Ph.D. (University of Maryland); thin film deposition; nano-patterning, structural and magnetic characterization.

Research Professors
Doremus, R.H.—Ph.D. (University of Cambridge), Ph.D. (University of Illinois); glass science, sintering of ceramics, bone implant materials, reactions in fused salts, crystallization, diffusion, optical properties of metals (New York State Science and Technology Foundation Professor of Glass and Ceramics Science).
Hillig, W.B.—Ph.D. (University of Michigan); ceramic and polymer matrix composites, strength of glass, crystal growth.
Lupulescu, A.—Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); diffusion, crystal growth (Research Assistant Professor).
Rymaszewski, E.J.—Ph.D. (Technical University, Munich); electronic materials, packaging in electronics.

Emeritus Faculty
Chung, C.I.—Ph.D. (Rutgers University); polymer processing, polymer melt theology, relaxation behavior in polymer solids.
Ficalora, P.J.—Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University); kinetics and thermodynamics of heterogeneous reactions, chemisorption effects on electronic materials.
Lenel, F.V.—Ph.D. (University of Heidelberg); powder metallurgy technology, mechanisms of sintering, precipitation and dispersion strengthening mechanisms.
MacCrone, R.J.—D.Phil. (University of Oxford); electric properties of polymers and oxides, polarons, electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetic behavior of glasses, phase transformations, nucleation, electrical properties of thin oxide and nitride films, one-dimensional conductivity.
Nippes, E.F.—P.E., Ph.D. (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); physical metallurgy, welding metallurgy.
Stoloff, N.S.—Ph.D. (Columbia University); mechanical behavior of crystals, order-disorder reactions, fracture, stress corrosion.

Manager of Electron Microscopy Facilities
Dove, R.

Manager of Instruction Laboratories
Van Steele, D.

Manager of Metallographic Facilities
Planty, R.

Undergraduate Program

Objectives of the Undergraduate Curriculum
While the objectives stated in the School of Engineering’s Overview of Undergraduate Programs apply to all departments, achievement of the third objective requires a subset of specific objectives to ensure all graduates have specialized technical knowledge in their chosen fields. In this regard, the Materials Science and Engineering Department’s baccalaureate programs will ensure that its graduates will:

• Exhibit specialized knowledge in the field of materials science and engineering, including the traditional areas of metals, ceramics and glasses, polymers, composites, and electronic materials, as well as emerging areas such as nano-structured materials.
• Recognize the interdependence of the structure, properties, and processing of materials, and will be able to integrate fundamental materials science with quantitative modeling, as well as with experimental analysis, laboratory synthesis, and processing.
• Receive meaningful design experiences within materials engineering and in relationship to other engineering disciplines.

All materials engineering students will meet these objectives through a four-year curriculum that provides a broad background in Materials Science and Engineering.

Baccalaureate Program
The sample curriculum shown below, which results in the B.S. degree in Materials Engineering, requires a minimum of 128 credit hours and completion of the required elective courses that follow.

1. This course will be fulfilled from a published list at the start of each semester.
2. This course can be taken in either semester of senior year.

Electives
The following is a list of courses from which the electives indicated above should be selected.

Minors Programs
Students not majoring in materials science and engineering may receive a minor in this discipline by completing 15 credit hours of department courses with a MTLE designation.

Graduate Programs

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering offers programs leading to the M.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. degrees.

Master’s Programs

Both the M.S. and the M.Eng. require completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours.

Master of Science
For the M.S., students must complete 24 credits of course work, with at least 18 credits in materials courses. Three credits each are required in the areas of thermodynamics and kinetics, structure, and mechanical properties. Students who have not taken courses equivalent to undergraduate work at Rensselaer in X-ray diffraction, thermodynamics, mechanical properties, and their area of specialization must take graduate courses in these areas. Six credits of research work leading to an M.S. thesis are also required.

Master of Engineering
At least 21 credits of course work toward the M.Eng. degree must be materials courses. These must include one course each in structure and defects, thermodynamics and kinetics, and mechanical properties. A capstone independent study project is also required.

Doctoral Programs
A minimum of 45 credits in course work is required for the Ph.D. degree in materials engineering. In addition to the course requirements for the M.S. degree, a minor of nine credits in a subject area outside the materials department is required. The student must pass an oral preliminary examination and an oral candidacy examination, as well as the final examination on the Ph.D. thesis.

Courses   Courses offered by the Department of Materials Science & Engineering are described in the Course Description section of this catalog under the department code MTLE.