The Certificate Program in Materials provides opportunities for Undergraduate students wishing to investigate the world of materials science and engineering that is available at Princeton. The program allows students to take materials-related courses, and to conduct research in coordination with engineering and science departments affiliated with the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM). This program permits students to satisfy their departmental degree requirements and obtain a certificate at graduation attesting to their command of an area of materials knowledge. The breadth and flexibility of the program accommodates a wide range of interests and gives students both the theoretical foundation and practical knowledge needed to function in the rapidly developing field of modern materials.

Admissions

Admission to the program normally occurs at the beginning of the sophomore year. However, students can be admitted at almost any point up to the end of their junion year. In general, students are expected to have satisfactorily completed a first year program that would permit them to enter one of the participating departments. Freshman courses may be selected to facilitate progress in the study of materials, and sample certificate curricular for the participating departments are given in this document. The departments participating in the certificate program are: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Geosciences, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Operations Research and Financial Engineering, and Physics.

Application for admission is made to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the term prior to the beginning of program participation. At that time, the student should indicate the department in which the major will be pursued. Upon acceptance to the program, the Director of Undergraduate Studies assists the student in planning a program of study and research that emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of the materials arena. Students should also notify the PRISM Undergraduate Office of their intent to participate in the program.

Mary Monahan PRISM Graduate/Undergraduate Office 321 Bowen Hall Phone: 609-258-6704 Fax: 609-258-1177 E-mail:  mmonahan@princeton.edu

Wole Soboyejo Director of Undergraduate Studies D404 Equad Phone: 609-258-5609 Fax: 609-258-5877 E-mail: soboyejo@princeton.edu Assistant Tina McCoy D404 Equad Phone: 609-258-5041 Email: tmmccoy@Princeton.edu

Participants in the program will satisfy the degree requirements of their departments as well as the courses and independent work requirements for the certificate. In the term prior to graduation, the student is required to meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to ensure that all of the program requirements will be satisfied by the end of the intended graduation date. The senior thesis must also be reviewed and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies prior to the award of a Certificate in Materials at the time of graduation.

Program Requirements

All Certificate Program students must take:

1.	One year of general physics (PHY 103, 104 or 105, 106), one term of general chemistry with a laboratory (CHM 207, 203, or 204), one year of mathematics, and a course in thermodynamics (CHE 246, MAE 221, CHM 306, or PHY 301).
2.	One core course in materials before the end of the junior year, selected from the options: CEE 364, MAE 324, or MSE 301, and an experimental methods course: MSE 302 or either CHM 371 or 372.
3.	Three additional program-approved courses at the 300 level or above, one of which must be from a department in which the student is not concentrating.
4.	A two semester senior thesis on a topic in materials that has been approved by the program committee.

To remain a member of the program in good standing, students are expected to maintain at least a B- average in their technical courses. To be awarded a program certificate upon graduation, students must achieve a minimum grade of B- in program courses. Program courses may not be taken on a Pass/D/Fail basis.

Course Descriptions

MSE 301, "Materials Science and Engineering" An introduction to the synthesis, structure, properties, and technical performance of important current and future materials (i.e. semiconductors and biomaterials) from an atomistic and molecular perspective. Topics include: microscopic interactions and resulting structures; property and performance determination; materials application and environmental impact. Three lectures. Staff MAE 324, "The Structure and Properties of Materials" This course is an introduction to the properties of engineering materials that emphasizes the correlation between their atomic and microscopic structure and their macroscopic properties. Topics include structural, mechanical, thermodynamic, and design related issues important to engineering applications. This course satisfies the "first course' requirement for the Materials Certificate and the materials requirement of the MAE Department. Three lectures and one precept. Staff.  CEE 364, "Materials in Civil Engineering" The structure and properties of building materials including cement, concrete, steel, asphalt, and wood; fracture mechanics; strength testing; mechanisms of deterioration (corrosion, freeze-thaw cycles, pollution). Laboratories on brittle fracture, heat treatment of steel, strength of concrete, and mechanical properties of wood. Prerequisite: CEE 205 or instructor's permission. G. W. Scherer MSE 302, "Laboratory Techniques in Materials Science & Engineering" Laboratory techniques and structure/property relationships in materials. The course includes lectures on the theory of electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, electrical and mechanical properties and the processing of materials. Corresponding laboratory sessions introduce students to techniques for characterization of structure and properties at different length scales as well as providing an opportunity to process materials. Aspects of performance and their economics will be featured. Prerequisite: MSE 301 or equivalent. two lectures one laboratory. C. Arnold CHM 371, "Experimental Chemistry I" A broad range of quantitative chemistry laboratory methods. Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic complex. Experiments in kinetics, thermodynamics, spectroscopy, and magnetic resonance. Lectures on mass spectroscopy and apparatus design. Two lectures, two three-hour laboratories. CHM 372, "Experimental Chemistry II" Physical chemistry experiments in kinetics, thermodynamics, spectroscopy, and magnetic resonance. Some work in electronics and instrument design. Lectures on data reduction methods and apparatus design. Two lectures, two laboratories. K. K. Lehmann

Approved Courses In Materials Science and Engineering 

Thesis Topics

This is only a partial list of topics that could be undertaken for a two-term thesis or a term of independent work. You should contact the faculty associated with these projects and discuss how you might participate. If you have ideas of your own, talk to the faculty about how you might explore them.

Sample Certificate Curricula for Participating Departments

The Role of the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials

In addition to the interdisciplinary academic programs, the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM) houses comprehensive facilities used for materials research. These facilities acquaint students with advanced methodologies for fabricating, probing, testing, and analyzing materials, and for computation. PRISM is also a focal point for multi-investigator research, education, and outreach across the Princeton campus. This includes the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM). Moreover, it provides the major connection with industry through outreach activities that offer mutual benefits to students and industries at the leading edge of materials technology.

The faculty involved in PRISM as well as the academic program have been assembled in accordance with four basic capabilities:

1.	New Materials: Design, Synthesis and Fabrication. Search for new materials with special properties and find ways of producing these materials in useful physical manifestations. The group comprises expertise from chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, molecular biology, and civil engineering.
2.	Computational Materials Science: Chemistry, Microstructure, and Properties. Activities and expertise range from discovery of materials via first principles, simulation of microstructure topology, and modeling of properties. A computational and modeling capability that covers all length scales, is a unique feature of materials science at Princeton. It involves chemistry, and mechanical, electrical, chemical, and civil engineering.
3.	Analysis and Characterization: Measurement and Testing. Characterization and analysis of materials and measuring key properties are essential requirements for understanding new materials and selecting viable candidates amenable to engineering implementation. PRISM has a unique array of sophisticated electron-based imaging facilities.
4.	Devices and Systems: Performance and Reliability. Materials only merit sustained research if they have strong potential for implementation. Accordingly, studies of novel devices and systems that assess the attributes of a new material ultimately decide its fate. Activities of this type interrelate strongly with the materials effort. PRISM facilitates these connections through a mix of internal programs and outreach to industry.

Undergraduate Program Committee

The following faculty members serve on the committee:

• Craig B. Arnold, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Jay B. Benziger, Chemical Engineering
• Andrew B. Bocarsly, Chemistry
• Robert J. Cava, Chemistry
• Robert H. Austin, Physics
• Claire F. Gmachl, Electrical Engineering
• Mikko P. Haataja , Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Winston O. Soboyejo, Director of PRISM Undergraduate Studies, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
• James C. Sturm, PRISM Director, Electrical Engineering