Outreach and Teaching

Educational Outreach

Materials Science lies at the confluence of physics and chemistry, and finds broad application in chemical, mechanical, electrical, and biomedical engineering. However, despite its importance to many areas of modern technology, many aspiring scientists and engineers at the K-12 level aren't exposed to materials science in the same way as more traditional science and engineering fields. We are therefore committed to raising community awareness about the importance of materials in society and creating opportunities for interested students to engage in research. 

Courses Taught at UMN

MATS 3001: Thermodynamics of Materials (Lead Instructor: Fall 2023)

This course covers microscopic and macroscopic viewpoints of thermodynamics to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the direction of physical and chemical changes in a system and in the world around us. You will be introduced to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Laws of Thermodynamics and will learn to apply these ideas to various processes and to use them to understand the phase behaviors of gases, liquids, and solids. You will then learn how to predict important features of phase diagrams for one- and two-component systems from minimal data, including the derivation of the solidus and liquidus lines in the eutectic phase diagrams. Finally, we will address thermodynamic concepts related to gases and condensed phase reaction equilibria, including understanding how to write equilibrium constants and predict reaction directions.

MATS 3011: Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (Recitation Instructor: Fall 2017, Fall 2018; Lead Instructor: Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022)

This course introduces students to the world of materials science and engineering. Students begin by learning how to describe, to visualize and to think about the structures of materials building progressively from atomic structures and types of bonding to crystal structures. The course then discusses crystal structures and how to determine them, crystal defects, multicomponent phase diagrams, and materials microstructures as a basis for understanding mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of materials. Students are introduced to important processes such as diffusion and heat treatment in materials processing and learn to understand the important interrelationships between synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of materials . The latter third of the course draws upon these concepts to study and to understand specific materials such as metals, polymers, ceramics, and semiconductors and their applications.

MATS 4301W: Materials Processing (Co-Instructor: Spring 2018, Lead Instructor: Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023)

This course covers the fundamentals of materials processing: starting materials, forming operations, additive manufacturing, post-forming treatments and associated scientific and engineering principles. Topics span ceramics (powder processing, pressing, casting, sintering), polymers (thermoplastic and thermoset starting materials, extrusion, injection molding, thermoforming, fused deposition modeling); and metals (alloy preparation, casting, deformation processing, heat treating). Emphasis is placed on common principles of that are important to processing of engineering materials. This writing-intensive course includes a laboratory component involving individual and group experiments, reports, and projects.