1. To teach the elementary relationships between structure, properties, processing and performance of materials that are essential for understanding the role of materials in the design of engineering systems. 2. To introduce students to the various classes of materials (metals, ceramics, polymers, semiconductors, composites) and their fundamental chemical and structural nature 3. To illustrate application of thermodynamics (through phase diagrams) and kinetics (through diffusion) to the design of materials and their properties. 4. To introduce students to the functional properties of materials and the roles of microstructure, defects and environment play in typical engineering applications.
Upon succesful completion of this course, a student will be able to
1. look at materials of different sorts as structures on the atomic level, on the microscopic level and on the macroscopic level.
2. understand why atoms, ions and/or molecules assemble into particular crystal structures.
3. understand how certain structures dictate certain properties.
4. select engineering materials for different applications
5. identify appropriate materials based on required physical and chemical properties