Materials Science

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the year.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course teaches students to appraise engineering with alloys, and evaluate multi-objective engineering design problems (cost, temperature, performance – e.g. creep, fatigue, strength, processability, light weighting, material costs & lifecycle). Students discuss approaches to engineering design and lifing, where failure and optimisation of alloys dominate function (drawing in ideas of process-microstructure properties) in solid stage metal components and consider the science of alloys as a microstructure system with an engineering goal. 

This course focuses on the principle of chemical thermodynamic of refining process of metals and specific knowledge of the process for each metal. The course first analyzes the principle of equilibria of chemical reaction of metal processing, and then the refining process of steels, copper, aluminum and other metals to understand their basic procedure and characteristics. The course aims to understand the thermodynamic equilibrium of metal refining process and understand the basic knowledge of various refining process of metals.

This course offers an introduction to materials technology. Topics include: ferrous alloys; non-ferrous alloys; fundamentals of forming by casting; casting techniques; fundamentals of forming by plastic deformation; deformation techniques; powder technology; processing of ceramics; processing of polymers; processing of polymer matrix composites; fracture; fatigue; creep; friction and wear; corrosion of metals; welding; adhesives; surface treatments and coatings; non-destructive testing.

This class consists of an extended laboratory, over 10 weeks, to investigate how a particular processing parameter influences the structure, properties and performance of a material. Each group of students is asked to determine the processing parameters that optimizes the performance of a material for a particular application. Students design and perform a systematic series of experiments to meet the objective, each student produces an individual report on the investigation. 

This course introduces students to fundamentals of thermodynamics, including the laws of thermodynamics, entropy, thermodynamic relationships, chemical and phase equilibrium, etc. This course explores their application in renewable energy technologies. The course expands upon fundamental thermodynamics to provide a brief overview of renewable energy technologies as well as design considerations, energy efficiency, and global market potential. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course explores the materials in electronic devices used to emit light, transmit light, and detect light and shows you how these elements can be combined to create integrated systems for fibre optic communications, solar energy conversion, and displays.

This course gives students an understanding of the fundamental science governing the electronic and ionic conductivity of metal oxides and to then use this knowledge to describe the operation of devices based on these properties, such as gas sensors, fuel cells, batteries, varistors, and PTCRs.