The first class of students for this new degree program was accepted for Summer 2001 enrollment. Five students with backgrounds ranging from Mechanical Engineering/Materials Science and Engineering to Athletic Physiology began the program this June. They took 3.205 Thermodynamics and Kinetics and 3.225 Properties of Materials for the Summer Semester; these two subjects provided an overview of the traditional DMSE graduate core. In addition to those subjects, they attended 3.206 Introduction to Materials Engineering Practice Speaker Series. The series included seminars by Prof. Michael Cima speaking on “Materials for Microdevices and Manufacturing Tools,” Mr. Jurgen Michel speaking on “Silicon Microphotonics,” Prof. Vladimir Bulovic speaking on “Organic Materials for 21st Century Optoelectronic Applications,” Prof. Carolyn Ross speaking on “Magnetic Materials for Data Storage,” Prof. Michael Rubner speaking on “New Multilayer Coating Tech. Based on Polyelectrolytes,” Mr. Mayank Bulsara speaking on “Transitioning Technology (and Career Paths) from Research to Commercial Application,” and Prof. Yoel Fink speaking on “Hollow Dielectric Fibers and The Future of Telecommunications.”
The students must complete coursework on campus during Fall Semester and will complete either an on-campus engineering project and technology evaluation course or an off-campus project, arranged through a faculty advisor, at an industrial site. Students who choose to pursue the on-campus option for the Spring Semester will attend a class that features both speakers and sessions that guide their project. Speakers will be chosen to compliment project development and will include technologists, patent attorneys, entrepreneurs, and financiers.