A Description

of

Materials Engineering

Recent studies have identified advanced materials as a key technology critical to the stability of the U.S. economy. The development of more efficient engines, faster computers, and lighter aircraft that can travel at faster speeds is dependent on our abilities to improve currently available materials and to develop novel materials. Advances in materials also find immediate application in consumer products such as automobiles, sports equipment, home appliances, and medical implants. Furthermore, new and improved materials permit product differentiation in the market place. As a result, materials engineering is an enabling technology, which opens wider the window for possible advances in other fields, and is vital to remaining competitive in the world economy.

The curriculum for the Materials Engineering program has been developed with specific goals in mind, as stated in our Mission Statement:

"The Materials Engineering program will educate and prepare students to become professionals who combine an understanding of engineering materials with the engineering design process. The curriculum will expose students to a broad spectrum of basic and engineering science disciplines. Materials processing, testing, and selection will be taught in the context of product design and implementation. Through integration and participation with industry, students will achieve an understanding of how products are developed, manufactured, and commercialized."

The focus of this program is on the processing, application, selection, and use of materials, or materials engineering design. Students are well prepared upon graduation to begin their professional career or a program of graduate study. The materials engineering curriculum, in addition to a sound foundation in general education, includes basic courses in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and electrical, industrial, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering. Advanced courses in science and business are an integral part of the program. Coursework in the major includes computer programming, engineering statistics, material and energy balances, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, and kinetics, as well as materials science, metallurgy, polymers, ceramics, composites, corrosion, fracture, and materials joining. The design aspect of materials engineering is present throughout the curriculum and culminates in the senior-level, two-quarter capstone materials selection and design sequence. Elective courses in physical metallurgy, materials characterization, and advanced electronic materials are also offered. The materials engineering laboratories include facilities for metallography, heat treating, mechanical properties testing, particle size analysis, and advanced materials processing.

Students desiring to major in Materials Engineering should have a particularly high aptitude for science and mathematics, and first time college students should have taken substantial college preparatory courses in these disciplines in high school. Incoming transfer students should have completed at least one year of college calculus, one year of college physics (with laboratory), and one year of college chemistry (with laboratory) prior to beginning the program at Cal Poly Pomona. The community college student planning to transfer to this department should consult a school counselor or this department to determine which courses meet the program requirements.

Beginning in Fall of 1996, Cal Poly Pomona was authorized to offerbe a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering. This Bachelor of Science Degree is be open to incoming freshman, transfer students, and any currently enrolled Cal Poly Pomona student. The curriculum has been designed for easy transfer into the Materials Engineering Bachelor of Science Degree up to the junior year of study. Cal Poly Pomona also offers a Minor Field in Materials Engineering. Any major working for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona is eligible to take the additional courses required for a Minor in Materials Engineering.

Materials Engineering students are encouraged to become active in the student chapters of ASM International and SAMPE.

	Materials Engineers are involved in the design and manufacturing of this composite jet engine housing
as well as the design and manufacturing of this filament would composites pressure tank
	The use of aluminum as an engineering material is shown in this custom wheels
Fiber optics is another area of Materials Engineering
	as well as the more traditional rolling of steel used for automobiles and appliances
The rolled coils of steel are formed in rolling mills such as this that require a detailed knowledge of the metallurgical structure and the desired finsished properties
	Many metallurgical parts start as castings
The joining of materials to make safe structures can use Electric Resistance Welding