Why Join MSE

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Why Join MSE

Did you know that UConn MSE is annually offering $80,000 in alumni sponsored scholarships to our students? Or that students from ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT are eligible for reduced tuition?

UConn MSE is the highest ranked engineering department in the school and also the
#1 public MSE program in the Northeast.

With an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of less than 10 to 1, personal attention is guaranteed. Our students are undergraduate researchers, volunteers, athletes, and
leaders. They attend major professional conferences, enjoy internships around the world, and all spend 1 year with faculty and industry mentors on commercial senior
design projects. And in 2022, MSE will move into the newest building on campus.

MSE students focus on the fundamentals of metallurgy, ceramics, polymers, and composites. Advanced electives include biomaterials, nanomaterials, energy systems, electronic and multifunctional applications, additive manufacturing, and other popular topics.

Our graduates go on to highly rewarding positions in industry, win scholarships to attend top 10 graduate programs, and are increasingly leaders in their professions.
Learn more online about the work Materials Scientists are doing here, and visit us in Gant North, IMS 110, to discuss earning your bachelors degree in MSE.

Materials science and engineering is at the center of solving some of our most
important technological problems.

How can we develop higher efficiency solar panels and wind turbines?
What materials will enable greener batteries?
Can we replace our reliance on rare earth elements with sustainable materials?
Which materials will improve the performance of cell phones, or jet engines, or artificial limbs?

These are all questions that materials scientists are uniquely positioned to solve in the coming years. Combining experiments, testing, and machine learning, we are
especially propelling the discovery and creation of new materials.

Join this “materials revolution” to be at the center of nearly every advanced technology you can imagine.

Learn more online about the work Materials Scientists are doing here, and visit us in Gant North, IMS 110, to discuss earning your bachelors degree in MSE.

At a school as large as UConn, it is difficult to narrow down your choices for a major. We understand the weight of this decision, and we want to give you a choice that will enhance your mind with a bright future. Consider Materials Science and Engineering as the right path for you...

As the #1 MSE public program in the Northeast, studying Materials Science and Engineering at UConn provides:

Hands-on Lab Experience
- State-of-the-art laboratory equipment
- Topics include Materials Synthesis & Processing, Materials Characterization, Measurement of Materials Properties, and Theory & Modeling.
Award Winning Faculty
Financial Benefits
- The New England Region Student Program permits residents of New England states to study with reduced tuition in the MSE program at UConn.
- During the 2016-2017 academic year, out-of-state tuition is $33,016, compared to the reduced MSE tuition of $19,366 for students from RI, ME, MA, VT, and NH.
- Departmental scholarships
Excellent Selection of Classes
- Choice of five academic concentrations
- Various clubs and societies to meet and network with other engineering students:
- Engineering Ambassadors, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, UConn Materials Advantage student chapter, etc.
Meet your future employer through Industry Sponsored Senior Design Projects
- Exposure to real-world engineering problems, stimulating design challenges, and collaboration with local companies

JOBS

Prepared for the demands of current industry jobs, the overwhelming majority of our students receive job placement upon graduation.
Our graduates have been employed by Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky,

The Materials Science & Engineering Senior Design Project is a two-semester course for seniors to exercise their creativity and to apply materials science and engineering principles to solve real-world engineering problems, mentored by MSE faculty members and industry engineers.

The Senior Capstone Design Project course educates UCONN’s MSE students in innovation in the materials engineering arena, leadership, and provides the students with deep exposure to real-life challenges. Throughout their final year, students planned, designed, and researched projects dealing with unsolved material issues local companies face.

Faculty member Dr. Harold Brody maintains strong collaborative relationships with local companies to provide students with the opportunity to examine real-world problems. He also works closely with industry advisors and MSE faculty to guide the students through their Senior Capstone Projects. “We are very appreciative of the continuing strong support of regional industry for our educational program, which is unique among public universities in New England. I am pleased to see so many graduates of the UConn-MSE program advance to leadership positions and to return to campus as industry advisors to our Capstone Design Project students”, says Professor Brody.

Top Reasons to Join Materials Science & Engineering Hands-on Lab Experience

New and exciting changes have arrived in the department of Materials Science and Engineering by way of laboratory renovations. Thanks to financial support from both the School of Engineering (SoE) and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), the undergraduate teaching laboratories received more than $160,000 for equipment upgrades in the last two years.

The MSE undergraduate labs have been improved upon by the addition of new equipment, including a hydraulic press, band saw, and vacuum oven. A new computer lab boasting a suite of modeling software, including the widely used CES Edupack, will supplement the department’s course Material Selection and Design.

The new equipment, in addition to three one-credit and one three-credit hands-on laboratory courses, work in tandem to create a truly state-of-the-art education for MSE undergraduate students. Supplementing these courses and new lab equipment is the work of students and faculty members on enhancement of the lab experience. Mr. Adam Wentworth (MSE Lab Manager – UConn MSE B.S., 2009, and MSE M.S., 2011) and Ms. Alexandra Merkouriou (MSE junior), for example, have already developed new lab modules on the synthesis, characterization, and measurement of properties of high-temperature superconducting yttrium barium copper oxide ceramics. “All of our new equipment will expand the opportunities for undergrads to work with all classes of materials, enhancing their hands-on experience in the lab, thus promoting and broadening their materials education”, states Ms. Merkouriou.

MSE Department Head Dr. S. Pamir Alpay notes the positive effect that such improvements will have both within the Department and the School of Engineering as a whole: “These additional facilities will significantly enhance MSE’s capability to support a wide range of senior capstone design projects. The laboratories and equipment will also be made available to students from all departments within the School of Engineering who are working on senior design projects.”

UConn MSE faculty carry out state-of the art research covering all areas of materials science, including Materials Synthesis & Processing, Materials Characterization, Measurement of Materials Properties, and Theory & Modeling with particular emphasis on:

• Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing
• Nanomaterials/nanotechnology
• Biomaterials
• Functional Materials
• Materials for Energy Applications
• Multiscale Predictive Modeling

MSE faculty has taught to 705 students in Spring 2013. The average class size in MSE UG courses is 25.

Want an average entry-level salary of $66,069*? Want to help advance technology for society?

Major in Materials Science and Engineering

Develop higher efficiency solar panels, stronger wind turbines, and longer lasting batteries
Manufacture the best materials for cell phones, jet engines, and artificial limbs
Increase the use of sustainable materials for consumer products
Get hands-on lab experience with metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites
Travel to national conferences with the Materials Advantage club, or craft your own knife or jewelry with the Metalworking club

Join the highest ranked engineering program at UConn, and also the #1 MSE program in the Northeast!

We are annually offering $80,000 in alumni-sponsored scholarships exclusively for MSE majors, recognizing academics, lab work, leadership, volunteerism, diversity,
and program year! These scholarships can support up to 30 students, and students can also earn scholarships from the School of Engineering. Apply here by 3/1.

• Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing
• Nanomaterials/nanotechnology
• Biomaterials
• Functional Materials
• Materials for Energy Applications
• Multiscale Predictive Modeling

MSE faculty has taught to 705 students in Spring 2013. The average class size in MSE UG courses is 25.

ELON MUSK DESERVES AN HONORARY MATERIAL SCIENCE DEGREE...

On building the ‘starship’ out of 301 stainless steel: “The thing that’s counterintuitive about the stainless steel is, it’s obviously cheap, it’s obviously fast—but it’s not obviously the lightest. But it is actually the lightest. If you look at the properties of a high-quality stainless steel, the thing that isn’t obvious is that at cryogenic temperatures [which matters for rockets], the strength is boosted by 50 percent.” Popular Mechanics, 2019.

His brand is also manufacturing batteries with “the highest energy density of any EV battery, as well as the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour.” By 2017, the Tesla Gigafactory “already produced more batteries than any other factory in the world.” Maxim Integrated, 2018.

Of course these battery enhancements are crucial to Tesla’s electric car and truck business. Musk said, “People think of Tesla as an eclectic car company but the whole purpose of Tesla was to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy.” Inverse.com, 2016.

And from a CNBC article about ‘Building Integrated Photovoltaics:’ “The goal is to have solar roofs that look better than a normal roof, generate electricity, last longer, have better insulation and have a lower installed cost than the price of a roof plus the price of electricity.