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Course: Materials Engineering
In 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the top of Mount Everest, they wore heavy layers of wool and cotton. On their way up, they slept in a cotton tent. Today’s mountain climbers wear lightweight polyester fleeces that keep them warm. They have thin, wind-resistant shells to help keep out the cold air, and warm boots that are light enough to run in. Tents are waterproof and windproof.
High-tech gear like that wouldn’t be possible without modern materials. Everything is made out of something, whether cotton, titanium, or GORE-TEX -- materials engineering majors study that something.
As a materials engineering major, you’ll use math and science to study ceramics, metals, polymers (such as glass, rubber, and plastic), and other materials. You’ll learn how to invent and manufacture new materials.
“What makes materials engineering exciting is the constant discovery of new materials that outperform existing materials.” Alan Lawley, A.W. Grosvenor Professor of Materials Engineering, Drexel University
Are You Ready To...?
- Do an internship or co-op
- Present the results of your research to classmates and professors
- Choose a specialty, such as metallurgy or ceramics
- Take possibly five years to finish your degree
It Helps To Be...
A creative fan of math and science who’s able to look at many sides of a problem. You’ll need to be a visual thinker who can imagine what concepts on paper will look like in 3-D.
College Checklist
- Are specializations, such as thin film or petroleum engineering, available to undergrads as well as grad students?
- Will you get the chance to do a senior project or thesis?
- What are the labs like? Is there enough room for everyone to do their work?
- What internships or co-ops have other students done?
Did You Know?
Velcro was inspired by nature when a Swiss engineer noticed the way burrs caught and clung to other materials.
Course Spotlight
As a materials engineering major, you’ll attend lectures, but you’ll also have plenty of labs where you can get hands-on experience. For example, you might go to a lecture where you learn about the chemical makeup of a metal. Then you’ll do a lab where you grind and polish a piece of metal, and look at it under a microscope to see its structure firsthand.