Materials Science & Engineering About
Stronger. Faster. Lighter. Smaller. Better.
Materials scientists and engineers are pioneers: We discover new materials and take existing ones to new heights. Your success as a materials scientist or engineer is rooted in developing a fundamental understanding of our pioneering concepts.
Our fundamental concepts for the 21st century include the cutting-edge fundamentals: how physics, chemistry and thermodynamics dictate the structure of materials at the nano, micro and mesoscale; how the structure of material across these length scales determines its properties; and how to economically synthesize and process these materials to give them the best structures for the right properties to address a technological problem. Your understanding of our fundamental concepts will help you develop the materials of our future.
Materials scientists and engineers use an array of advanced tools and techniques in our quest for better materials. As a student at UW-Madison, you’ll have many opportunities to use some of the most advanced tools available today to materials scientists and engineers. They include:
- Atomic resolution microscopes—these incredibly high-power microscopes allow you to “see” atoms and nanometer features in materials that are impossible to see using standard light microscopes. Using atomic resolution microscopes, you’ll be able to map out the composition and structure of materials, atom by atom.
- Analytical instruments—you’ll learn to handle tools that use x-rays, electrons, neutron scattering and spectroscopy to determine the structure and composition of materials.
- Mechanical, electrical and optical testing instrumentation—these tools allow us to characterize the properties of a material related to its structure and processing.
- Computer-based modeling software—we use advanced software to simulate and understand the characteristics of a material virtually. You’ll use the software to design new materials and predict their behaviors before they’re even made.
- Human ingenuity—the ultimate driver in our quest to invent, discover and engineer ever more advanced materials.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Materials Science and Engineering is enriched by the diversity of our community. We value diversity as a key component for promoting an intellectually stimulating, welcoming, and creative environment for all participants. We strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment, including in teaching, research, outreach, and professional activities. We seek to recruit and retain a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty. We recognize and celebrate diversity in many forms including gender identity, culture, background, experience, physical abilities, and perspectives in all aspects of our mission.
The Department joins the UW-Madison College of Engineering and the entire University of Wisconsin-Madison community in acknowledging the crucial role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our mission. The statements of the UW-Madison College of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a whole further describe these goals.