MATERIALS SCIENCE PROGRAM

John Booske (Director) Susan Babcock (Associate Director) 264 Materials Science and Engineering Building 1509 University Avenue Madison, WI 53706-1595 Tel: 608/263-1795 E-mail: rhoads@engr.wisc.edu www.engr.wisc.edu/interd/msp

ADVANCED MATERIALS AND DEVICES

The Materials Science Program (MSP) is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary graduate program in a burgeoning field that applies principles from traditional scientific and engineering disciplines to create advanced materials and devices. Progress in these areas hinges upon controlling the preparation of compounds and interfaces at the atomic level to tailor the chemical and physical properties of materials and devices to produce the desired properties and performance.

THE CUTTING EDGE OF RESEARCH

MSP personnel are at the cutting edge of research in such areas as advanced metals and polymers, atomic imaging and surface science. Their research results have had a national impact. Recently, faculty, staff and students have invented nuclear-powered nanobatteries for microelectromechanical devices, used plasma-aided engineering to protect food-industry surfaces from bacteria, led the way in discoveries that boost the potential of the new superconducting material magnesium diboride, and developed a new technique for cheaply and simply manufacturing DNA chips.

INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED CURRICULUM

Students entering the MSP generally have undergraduate degrees in physics, chemistry or an engineering discipline. They design a curriculum from cross-campus offerings with input from their research advisors, and select thesis research topics based on materials and interfaces that involve polymers, superconductors, advanced metals and alloys, semiconductors, ceramics, composites and biomaterials.

PROVIDING TOP-NOTCH OPPPORTUNITIES

The MSP is committed to providing leadership in research, education and outreach. It provides excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary research through its faculty advisory committee, with members throughout campus, including most engineering departments, the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Geology and Geophysics, and Soil Science, and the School of Pharmacy.