Materials Science

Degrees Offered

• Master of Science (Materials Science, thesis option or non-thesis option)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Science)

Program Description

The interdisciplinary graduate program in Materials Science exists to educate students, with at least a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or science in the diverse field of Materials Science. This diversity includes the four key foundational aspects of Materials Science – materials properties including characterization and modeling, materials structures, materials synthesis and processing, and materials performance – as applied to materials of a variety of types (i.e., metals, ceramics, polymers, electronic materials and biomaterials). The Materials Science graduate program is responsible for administering MS (thesis and non-thesis) and PhD degrees in Materials Science.

This interdisciplinary degree program coexists alongside strong disciplinary programs in Chemistry, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Mining, and Physics. The student’s graduate committee will have final approval of the course of study.

Fields of Research

• Advanced polymeric materials
• Alloy theory, concurrent design, theory-assisted materials engineering, and electronic structure theory
• Applications of artificial intelligence techniques to materials processing and manufacturing, neural networks for process modeling and sensor data processing, manufacturing process control
• Atomic scale characterization
• Atom Probe Tomography
• Biomaterials
• Ceramic processing, modeling of ceramic processing
• Characterization, thermal stability, and thermal degradation mechanisms of polymers
• Chemical and physical processing of materials, engineered materials, materials synthesis
• Chemical vapor deposition
• Coating materials and applications
• Computational condensed matter physics, semiconductor alloys, first-principles phonon calculations
• Computer modeling and simulation
• Control systems engineering, artificial neural systems for senior data processing, polymer cure monitoring sensors, process monitoring and control for composites manufacturing
• Crystal and molecular structure determination by X-ray crystallography
• Electrodeposition
• Electron and ion microscopy
• Energetic materials (explosives) and processing
• Energy storage
• Experimental condensed-matter physics, thermal and electrical properties of materials, superconductivity, photovoltaics
• Fuel cell materials
• Fullerene synthesis, combustion chemistry
• Heterogeneous catalysis, reformulated and alcohol fuels, surface analysis, electrophotography
• High-temperature ceramics
• Intelligent automated systems, intelligent process control, robotics, artificial neural systems
• Materials synthesis, interfaces, flocculation, fine particles
• Mathematical modeling of material processes
• Mechanical metallurgy, failure analysis, deformation of materials, advanced steel coatings
• Mechanical properties of ceramics and ceramic composites
• High entropy alloys
• Mössbauer spectroscopy, ion implantation, small-angle X-ray scattering, semiconductor defects
• Nano materials
• Nondestructive evaluation
• Nonferrous structural alloys
• Novel separation processes: membranes, catalytic membrane reactors, biopolymer adsorbents for heavy metal remediation of ground surface water
• Numerical modeling of particulate media, thermomechanical analysis
• Optical properties of materials and interfaces
• Phase transformations and mechanisms of microstructural change
• Photovoltaic materials and device processing
• Physical metallurgy, ferrous and nonferrous alloy systems
• Physical vapor deposition, thin films, coatings
• Power electronics, plasma physics, pulsed power, plasma material processing
• Processing and characterization of electroceramics (ferro-electrics, piezoelectrics, pyroelectrics, and dielectrics)
• Semiconductor materials and device processing
• Soft materials
• Solidification and near net shape processing
• Surface physics, epitaxial growth, interfacial science, adsorption
• Thermoelectric materials
• Transport phenomena and mathematical modeling
• Weld metallurgy, materials joining processes
• Welding and joining science

Combined Degree Option

Mines undergraduate students have the opportunity to begin work on an MS non-thesis degree while concurrently completing their Bachelor’s degree at Mines. 

Dual-Degree Program Option

Students have the opportunity to earn two degrees with the dual degree option.  Students complete coursework to satisfy requirements for both a non-thesis MS in Materials Science from Colorado School of Mines and an MS of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics from the University of Bordeaux. 

Program Directors

Eric Toberer, , Associate Professor, Physics

Brian Trewyn, Associate Professor, Chemistry

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Moises Carreon, Professor

Matthew Crane, Assistant Professor

Diego Gomez Gualdron, Assistant Professor

Andrew Herring, Professor

Carolyn Koh, Professor

Melissa Krebs, Associate Professor

Ramya Kumar, Assistant Professor

Stephanie Kwon, Assistant Professor

David Marr, Professor

Joseph Samaniuk, Assistant Professor

Colin Wolden, Professor

David Wu, Professor

Department of Chemistry

Dylan Domaille, Assistant Professor

Tom Gennett, Professor and Department Head

Dan Knauss, Professor

Annalise Maughan, Assistant Professor

C. Michael McGuirk, Assistant Professor

Christine Morrison, Assistant Professor

Svitlana Pylypenko, Associate Professor

Ryan Richards, Professor

Alan Sellinger, Professor

Jenifer Shafer, Associate Professor

Brian Trewyn, Associate Professor

Bettina Voelker, Professor

Kim Williams, Professor

David Wu, Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Timothy Strathmann, Professor

Lori Tunstall, Assistant Professor

Department of Geology and Geological Engineering

Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Associate Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mohsen Asle Zaeem, Professor

Steven DeCaluwe, Associate Professor

Veronica Eliasson, Associate Professor

Joy Gockel, Associate Professor

Owen Hildreth, Associate Professor

Greg Jackson, Professor

Robert Kee, Professor

Leslie Lamberson, Associate Professor

Neal Sullivan, Associate Professor

Brian Thomas, Professor

Xiaoli Zhang, Associate Professor

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Gerald Bourne, Teaching Professor

Geoff Brennecka, Associate Professor

Amy Clarke, Professor

Kester Clarke, Associate Professor

Robert Cryderman, Research Associate Professor

Kip Findley, Associate Professor

Brian Gorman, Associate Professor

Megan Holtz, Assistant Professor

Michael Kaufman, Professor

Jeffrey King, Professor

Jonah Klemm-Toole, Assistant Professor

Suveen Mathaudhu, Professor

Vladan Stevanovic, Associate Professor

Department of Physics

Serena Eley, Assistant Professor

Tim Ohno, Associate Professor

Meenakshi Singh, Assistant Professor

Eric Toberer, Associate Professor and Program Director

Jeramy Zimmerman, Associate Professor

Professors Emeriti

Thomas E. Furtak, Department of Physics

Stephen Liu, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Brajendra Mishra, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

P. Craig Taylor, Department of Physics

Steven Thompson, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Chester J. Van Tyne, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

J. Douglas Way, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Program Requirements

Each of the three degree programs (non-thesis MS, thesis-based MS, and PhD) require the successful completion of three core courses for a total of 9 credits that will be applied to the degree program course requirements. Depending upon the individual student's background, waivers for these courses may be approved by the program director. In order to gain a truly interdisciplinary understanding of Materials Science, students in the program are encouraged to select elective courses from several different departments outside of their home department regardless of the existence of a cross-listed MLGN course number. Course selection should be completed in consultation with the student's advisor and/or program director as appropriate.

Mines’ Combined Undergraduate / Graduate Degree Program

Students enrolled in Mines’ combined undergraduate/graduate program may double count up to six credits of graduate coursework to fulfill requirements of both their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. These courses must have been passed with “B-” or better, not be substitutes for required coursework, and meet all other University, Department, and Program requirements for graduate credit.

Students are advised to consult with their undergraduate and graduate advisors for appropriate courses to double count upon admission to the combined program.

Listed below are the three required Materials Science core courses:

Master of Science (Thesis Option)

The Master of Science degree requires a minimum of 30.0 credits of acceptable coursework and thesis research credits (see table below). The student must also submit a thesis and pass the Defense of Thesis examination before the Thesis Committee.

Master of Science (Non-Thesis Option with a case study)

The Master of Science degree requires a minimum of 24.0 credits of acceptable course work and 6.0 additional credits of either case study or designated design course including:

 *MLGN Design Courses

Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires a minimum of 72.0 credits of course and research credit including:

A minimum of 15 course credits earned at Mines is required for the PhD degree. In exceptional cases, this 15 Mines course credit requirement can be reduced in part or in full through the written consent of the student's advisor, program director, and thesis committee.

PhD Qualifying Process

The following constitutes the qualifying processes by which doctoral students are admitted to candidacy in the Materials Science program.

Core Curriculum – The three required core classes must be completed in the first full academic year for all doctoral candidates. Students must obtain a grade of B or better in each class to be eligible to take the qualifying examination at the end of the succeeding summer semester. Students who do not meet the grade requirements may submit a written appeal to the program director by June 1st, outlining their rationale and providing any supporting documentation for the exemption. The graduate affairs committee will review the appeal on a case-by-case basis and will typically require the student to undertake additional assessments, independent study, or interviews to evidence their mastery of the subject matter. These remediations must be completed by the end of the summer semester following completion of the core classes. 

PhD Qualifying Examination – A qualifying examination is given annually at the end of the summer semester under the direction of the Materials Science Graduate Affairs Committee. All first-year Materials Science PhD students are expected to successfully complete the qualifying examination to remain in good standing in the program. 

The examination consists of a written report and an oral examination defending the written report.  The written report should serve as a proposal for a research endeavor worthy of a single publication and discuss both the background that would motivate such an effort and the specific activities proposed.  Students submit their research proposal to a panel of reviewers to include a member of the Materials Science Graduate Affairs Committee and one invited subject matter expert approved by the Materials Science Graduate Affairs Committee.  The oral examination will investigate the extent to which the student understands the background, motivation, and proposed work of their proposal.

If a student performs below the expectations of the Materials Science faculty on either component of the qualifying exam, they must revise their report and be re-examined by the end of the ensuing fall semester (typically month 15).   Satisfactorily completing the oral exam will allow the student to proceed with the PhD program.  Not passing the reexamination will lead to the student being removed from the PhD program.  Additional details will be provided to the students by the program director including, exact dates, details expectations, and a rubric for grading. Upon completion of these steps and upon completion of all required coursework, candidates are admitted to candidacy.

PhD Thesis Proposal – While the proposal itself should focus on the central topic of a student’s research efforts, during the proposal defense, candidates may expect to receive a wide range of questions from the Committee. This would include all manner of questions directly related to the proposal. Candidates, however, should also expect questions related to the major concept areas of Materials Science within the context of a candidate's research focus. 

Following successful completion of coursework and the PhD qualifying process, candidates must also submit a thesis and successfully complete the PhD Defense of Thesis examination before the PhD Thesis Committee.

Courses