Welding Engineering moves to MSE

Fusion weld in ferritic stainless steel, detail

In February 2010 the university's Board of Trustees approved the transfer of the Welding Engineering program from the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The science of joining is closely allied to the study of materials and each program plays an important part in the advancement of engineering theory and practice. The MSE department is excited to partner with the Welding Engineering faculty, students, and staff in the pursuit of academic and research excellence.

[more about Welding Engineering]

Studying MSE

The MSE department at Ohio State offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. degrees. Learn about our undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as application instructions, financial aid, and more.

Undergraduate degree information

Graduate degree information

What is Materials Science and Engineering?

Silicon chips, artificial limbs, body armor, nanomachines, fuel cells, aerospace alloys, biomaterials, "green" technology--materials are everywhere! All that we see and use is made of materials. This field, so fundamental to all engineering, seeks to understand the structure of a material and thus be able to tailor-make desired properties.

Go to more about the field of materials science and engineering

MSE Social Networks

MSE student blog Follow the thoughts of our students as they discuss life in the MSE department and at Ohio State.

OSU Materials on YouTube The field of materials is broad and touches every aspect of our daily life. View a small sampling of videos describing materials.

OSU Materials social networking site A "Facebook" for the OSU Materials family! Bringing together students, alumni, faculty, and staff of The Ohio State University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Student profiles

Why study MSE? A few of our students share their perspective on why they chose to major in MSE.

Go to MSE student profiles]

 

MSE word search mug

 

MSE Day & scholarship competition winners

Prof. Nitin Padture pours liquid Nitrogen to demonstrate the unique properties of superconducting materials in the MSE Day demo "Defying Gravity."

On Friday, May 1, 2009 the MSE department hosted high school sophomores and juniors and their parents for our annual MSE Day, a time of introduction and exploration of the field of materials. Our guests received an overview of the major, its specializations, and information on job prospects. Following this introduction the students rotated through a series of brief demonstrations that highlighted an important materials concept.

Following the demonstrations, our guests took part in a scholarship competition. The students answered essay questions on materials related topics such as "How has materials science and engineering helped or advanced your favorite hobby or pastime?" The essays were read by various MSE department personnel and ranked according to creativity, communication, and application of basic materials knowledge.

Congratulations to our MSE Day 2009 Essay Scholarship Winners, Andrew D., Tara N., and Heath W. Each are recipients of a $1000 MSE departmental scholarship!

Ohio State Awarded NSF Center for Emergent Materials

A new $10.8 million interdisciplinary research center at Ohio State University will study and develop materials for tomorrow's electronics.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that Ohio State would receive funds over six years to establish a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). With this the university will join a national network of 27 MRSECs that foster active collaboration between universities and industry. To the $10.8 million in NSF funds, the university will add a $6.2 million cost share, bringing the total funds to $17 million.

CEM Director Nitin Padture, left, works with doctoral student Jenny Dorcena on materials that would boost computer memory and processing speed while consuming less power.

The Ohio State MRSEC will be called the Center for Emergent Materials (CEM), and it will marshal Ohio State's considerable expertise in electronic materials. From plastics to semiconductors to unique hybrid materials, the CEM faculty are experts in understanding and manipulating materials on the atomic, molecular, nanometer, and micrometer levels. Ohio State CEM is among five new MRSECs that were awarded by NSF out of 87 applications, in a national competition that is held every 3 years. "This is a first for Ohio State and the state of Ohio," said Nitin Padture, professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State and director of the CEM. Ohio State is already home to another NSF-funded materials-related center, the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), which supports research in nanotechnology. Only eight universities nationwide boast both an NSEC and a MRSEC: University of California, Santa Barbara; Cornell University; Harvard University; University of Pennsylvania; Northwestern University; University of Massachusetts; University of Wisconsin; and now Ohio State University. [more about the NSF MRSEC award | more about Dr. Nitin Padture]

D. Scott MacKenzie, 2008 Distinguished Alumni

2008 Distinguished Alumni D. Scott MacKenzie

On November 21^st the MSE department was pleased to award alumnus D. Scott MacKenzie the MSE Distinguished Alumni Award for 2008. Scott received his BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Ohio State University in 1981. Later he received MS and PhD degrees From the University of Missouri-Rolla. He is currently a Technical Specialist at Houghton International in Valley Forge, PA, where he directs laboratory investigations on new products and solutions to customer problems. Scott is an active member of technical societies and in 2008 was named a fellow of ASM International. He was cited by ASM for his seminal R&D work on the heat treatment of nonferrous alloys.

Scott presented a talk to the faculty and students entitled, "Application of CFD and FEA to Predicting Distortion in Heat Treated Gears" [view abstract]. The MSE department was pleased to host Scott and his wife Pat during their stay, including dinner and an OSU-Michigan game.

J.-C. Zhao part of select NAE Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

Dr. Ji-Cheng (J.-C.) Zhao

Dr. J.-C. Zhao was among eighty-two of the nation's brightest young engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) 14th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The participants -- from industry, academia, and government -- were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from more than 230 applicants.

"America's competitiveness will largely depend upon the next generation of innovators," said NAE President Charles M. Vest. "The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering program brings some of the country's rising-star engineers, from a diverse range of disciplines, together for an exchange of ideas that will surely help contribute to keeping us at the forefront of technological advancement and may even spark a breakthrough that changes the way we live."

The symposium was hosted Sept. 18-20, 2008 by Sandia National Laboratories at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and will examine emerging nanoelectric devices, cognitive engineering, drug delivery systems, and understanding and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. [view press release | go to Dr. Zhao's bio page]

Upcoming events

• 3/29: Start of SP10
• 4/2: Seminar--Rajarshi Banerjee, Univ of North Texas, "Re-visiting Fundamental Issues in Phase Transformations: Role of Advanced Characterization Techniques"
• 4/5: Seminar--Mo Li, Georgia Tech, "Applications of Science and Technology in the Study of Works of Art in an Art Museum Laboratory"
• 4/14: Seminar--Pieter Meyers, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Nanomaterials for Sensors and Biotechnology"
• 4/16: Third Friday of SP10
• 4/23: Seminar--Perena Gouma, SUNY Stony Brook, "Nanomaterials for Sensors and Biotechnology"
• 5/5: Seminar--Subra Suresh, MIT, IMR-CEM guest seminar, "Engineering the Future of Human Health"
  Please note the time and location of Dr. Suresh's presentation:
  2:30 p.m., U.S. Bank Conference Theater, 1st Floor, Ohio Union, 1739 North High Street
• 5/10: Seminar--Frank Ernst, Case Western Reserve University
• 5/14: Seventh Friday of SP10
• 5/14: Seminar--Bastian Maier, PhD Candidate advised by Dr. Jerry Frankel
• 5/19: Seminar--Federico Gambina, PhD Candidate advised by Dr. Rudy Buchheit
• 5/24: Seminar--Jed Johnson, PhD Candidate advised by Dr. John Lannutti
• 5/28: Seminar--Amy Wagoner Johnson, Un of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 5/31: Memorial Day Holiday--no classes, offices closed
• 6/2: Seminar--Hojun Lim, PhD Candidate advised by Robert Wagoner
• 6/4: Last day of SP10 classes
• 6/7-10: SP10 finals
• 6/11-20: SU10 break
• 6/21: Start of SU10

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The MSE word search

"Fuelcells," "corrosion," "composites," "nanotechnology," "metallurgy," "ceramics," and many more--forward, backward, up, and down, can you find them all? The new MSE mug features a word search puzzle highlighting the many areas of study in the exciting field of materials science and engineering. Go to MSE word search puzzle.