EM 280 - Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering

The main objective of this course in MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING is to develop in the engineering student the ability to analyse a given problem in a simple and logical manner and to apply to its solution a few fundamental and principles according to the state of the art. This course is designed at an introductory level of Material Science and it is of interest for any branch of engineering, not only for students majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Material Science is an essential course to engineers and scientists from all disciplines. The course will assume previous knowledge of basic Chemistry, such as knowledge of the periodic table, electron distribution and types of bonds. At a minimum, all material science and engineering students must have the basic knowledge of the structure; properties, processing, and performance of various classes of materials. This is a crucial first step in the materials selection decisions in everyday rudimentary problems. We will focus on key concepts in science of materials (basic knowledge) followed by application of scientific principles in selection and engineering of materials (applied knowledge). The basic and applied concepts are integrated through concise textual explanations, relevant and stimulating imagery, detailed sample problems, electronic supplements and homework problems.