Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Richard D. Sisson, Jr., George F. Fuller Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA

Title:  The Future of Materials Engineering Education

Abstract:  Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) education may be at a crossroad. In the past the focus was on processing -structure – property – performance relationships. The fundamentals of thermodynamics, phase transformations, kinetics and diffusion, and properties were applied to materials processes and service exposure to understand the effects of processing or service parameters on the material’s properties and performance. Now there are a proliferation of application-based courses: biomaterials, solar cells, aerospace and automotive materials and batteries. These courses were created to present the details of these applications and use the fundamentals to understand the performance of these products.

In the future what will a successful materials engineer know and how will they learn it? Should their education’s focus be on specific technologies or fundamentals? What currently distinguishes very successful MSEs from their colleagues?  What will be the most important tools on the successful MSEs