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About Our Department

Materials Science and Engineering examines the effect of the structure of a material on its behavior. Materials Scientists develop materials that have certain properties, and that meet specific design and economic requirements.

Our program prepares students to be successful materials scientists, as well as performing cutting-edge research in a variety of areas. We are located near the Research Triangle Park, and within NCSU's Centennial Campus.

Academics

Our department provides top-notch training for graduate and undergraduate students. Our program qualifies graduates for positions in industry, laboratories, government agencies, and educational institutions. The MSE department is one of the smallest in the university. This allows us to provide smaller class sizes and more personal attention than other departments. We also provide many opportunities for students to get valuable research experience. US News and World Report ranks our graduate program 25th in the nation.

Research

Our researchers are exploring every part of this new world, looking at a wide range of materials, using diverse techniques. What they discover is opening up a new world of applications that can improve our lives in many different ways. Within the last several years, we have hired a number of new faculty members with expertise in nanomaterials, biomaterials, and computational materials. Additionally, we frequently collaborate with other departments, other universities, and industrial partners.

Below are some examples of recent areas of investigation, and collaboration.

• Yuntian Zhu is working on carbon nanotubes. He was recently involved in developing (with colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory) the longest double wall carbon nanotube arrays yet created. The article describing them was profiled in Science Watch's "Fast Breaking Papers." Zhu and coauthor Quingwen Li describe "transparent conducting films, solar cells, and supercapacitors for energy harvesting and storage, all of which can help solve the global energy issue."
• Don Brenner and Yaroslava Yingling create sophisticated simulations of nanomaterials, and use them to make predictions and perform virtual experiments. Brenner is developing models and simulations to characterize nanostructured metals, which he then compares with experiments carried out by Carl Koch.
• Yaroslava Yingling is currently investigating the use of RNA as a drug delivery system and the use of lasers for surgical applications.
• Don Brenner and Tzy-Jiun Mark Luo collaborated with researchers from the Russian Academy of Science and the International Technology Center in Research Triangle Park. They researched the use of nanodiamond particles to absorb toxic mold byproducts in the intestine, potentially making moldy feed edible during food shortages.
• Jerry Cuomo and Brent Thomas collaborated with MSE alumni and adjunct Roger Narayan from the NC State University and UNC Chapel Hill Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, the NCSU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, and the University of Tennessee collaborated to author an article on creating "improved tissue-implant interfaces for orthopedic and dental implants."