Implementation of a New Undergraduate Curriculum in Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project supports planning for a new undergraduate curriculum in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Based on several recent reports that call for renewing the emphasis on inquiry- and research-based learning in higher education that enables students to experience science and engineering from the perspective of a researcher, undergraduate MSE curriculum will integrate research and education at multiple levels using a common theme of Energy and the Environment into the core curriculum, and establish several "Materials Tracks" for the upper level courses. The proposed tracks are: Ceramic Materials, Magnetic Materials, Metallic Materials, Polymeric Materials, Biomaterials, and Semiconductor Materials. The energy theme has been identified as one of the main strategic research interests at CMU, and is of central importance to nearly all engineering disciplines. The proposed program builds on the strong history of the integration of research and education at CMU, and will create opportunities for undergraduates from all engineering fields to participate in materials research, starting in the Freshmen year. Through a strong collaboration with the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, the proposed program will use sound pedagogical and cognitive principles to develop, implement, and evaluate the proposed curriculum changes. One of the outcomes of this program will be a materials laboratory teaching reference, a manual for faculty and teaching assistants, which will be disseminated in print and on-line. This manual can also be used by faculty of other engineering disciplines, and will be created by the MSE faculty, closely guided by experts in cognitive science. The implementation of the new curriculum will enable cognitive psychologists to acquire data about student learning in newly designed courses and lab experiments. The proposed program will also integrate computational methods with materials courses, using the energy theme as a common thread. Computational methods at various length and time scales will be coupled to one another, to reflect the widely different scales at which materials processing and manufacturing are used in industry. The undergraduate students will acquire important computational skills, which will benefit them in their redesigned senior year capstone course, as well as in their engineering careers. The proposed program will significantly impact several societal and industrial needs. Through a collaboration with Chatham College, a women-only college near the CMU campus, a new "Teaching Track" will be created, which will enable materials engineering undergraduates to obtain a Pennsylvania teaching certificate. When these students graduate and commence teaching, they will be able to transfer some of their knowledge of materials engineering and adapt it to a high school audience. The materials laboratory teaching reference will include lab experiments developed in collaboration with chemistry faculty of Chatham College. Students from Chatham will be able to take a Summer lab course at CMU, and instrumentation for these lab experiments will be located at both schools.