Graduate
Application
• US Citizens
• International

Degree Programs
• M.S in Mechanical
Engineering (thesis)
• M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering (non-thesis)
• Doctor of Philosophy

Interdisciplinary Programs
• Aerospace Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Enrollment Requirements

Graduate Courses

Graduate Student Associations

 INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN MATERIALS ENGINEERING 

Principal Objective
The Materials Engineering Program at the University of Houston is an interdisciplinary program with faculty from Mechanical,  Chemical and Electrical Engineering Departments.  In addition, significant collaboration occurs with the materials faculty in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.  The principal objectives of the materials engineering program may be summarized as follows:  to study the mechanical, optical, electrical and electronic behavior of engineering and engineered materials used in all engineering applications.  The specific areas covered by this program range from metallic alloys, polymers, ceramics and composites for advanced mechanical/aerospace engineering applications to thin films and coatings for electronics and superconducting ceramics for energy-related applications.  For more information on the program, contact the program director, Professor Ken White ( 713-743-4526).

Facilities:
The Materials Engineering Laboratories possess all the modern processing, testing and diagnostic facilities necessary for state-of-the-art materials research.  The laboratories contain several automated furnaces and presses used in material preparation.  They have several screw-driven Instron test machines, several servohydraulic testing machines, nano indenter, back scattered Kikuchi Analysis equipment, and many special purpose test facilities such as the High Temperature Ceramic Test Facility, Scattered and Transmitted Light Polariscopes, and an RF generator for induction heating.  The laboratories for Composite Materials and Structures contain facilities for thermomechanical studies of high-temperature polymers, ceramics and their composites, for micromechanics and interface studies for multiphase material systems, and for electro-magneto-mechanical studies, conducting polymers and composites as well as superconducting composites.  The laboratories also include thin film deposition equipment:  Electron beam evaporation, sputtering, laser ablation, and Ion beam proximity printing system and mask etching system.  An image processing system, a general-purpose data acquisition system and a control system are also available.  In addition, all students have access to the College Computations Laboratory and the Engineering Computing Facility.  Optical and scanning electron microscopes are available in the Cullen College of Engineering.  Transmission electron microscope, electron microprobe, EDS and other devices for microstructural investigations are available through the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston.  Facilities in the Chemical Engineering Department include Rheometrics ARES Melt State Rheometer.

Background
Recent technological and economic developments, emphasized by the urgent need for new energy sources, have led to increasing demands for materials, which have unusual engineering properties and applications.   From both the technical and economic points of view, it is recognized that the controlling factor in these developments is frequently a materials problem.  These concerns are further compounded by growing difficulties in assuring continuous availability of various strategic materials.  For these reasons, the need for research and graduate education in materials engineering has never been greater.

Because of its broad interdisciplinary nature, and its strong relationship with many engineering disciplines, the Materials Engineering Program leads to an interdisciplinary degree in the Cullen College of Engineering.  Relevant research and teaching facilities, however, are developed by individual engineering departments, where continuous efforts are made to expand and to strengthen materials engineering research and graduate programs.

Admission Procedures
Applications for entry into either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs should be made on the standard Graduate School Form, listing "Materials Engineering", for the major.  These applications are forwarded to the Office of the Dean of Engineering for preliminary evaluation in accordance with the general admission requirements of the Cullen College of Engineering.  Applications are then forwarded to the Director of the Materials Engineering Program for evaluation.  The Director is appointed by the Dean of Engineering and operates according to the administrative procedures recommended in the rules of Procedure of the Graduate Standards Committee.

Course Offerings

• MECE 5307 Fracture of Structural Materials
• MECE 6339 Introduction to Engineering Alloys
• MECE 6358 Super conducting Ceramic Materials
• MECE 6361 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
• MECE 6363 Physical Metallurgy
• MECE 6364 Solidification and Heat Treatment
• MECE 7371 Advanced Fracture of Mechanics I
• MECE 7374 Mechanical Behavior of Ceramics I
• MECE 6321 Polymer Materials and Mechanics I
• MECE 6322 Polymer Viscoelasticity and Fracture
• MECE 6384 Methods of Applied Mathematics I
• MECE 7372 Nanmechanics of Materials
• MECE 7382 Physical Properties of Crystals
• MECE 6301 Nanostructured Materials
• MECE 6300 Applied Magnetics
• MECE 7397 Nanostructured Materials
• CHEE 6377 Intro to Polymer Science
• CHEE 6385 Processing of Electronic Materials
• CHEE 6396 Intstrumental Characterization of Materials
• CIVE 6320 Constitutive Modeling of Materials
• CIVE 6350 Advanced Mechanics of Materials
• ECE 6312 Fundamentals of Ferromagnetic Materials and Devices
• ECE 6314 Design and Fabrication of Nanoscale Devices
• ECE 6348 Material Science of Thin Films
• ECE 6397 Electrochemical Nanofabrication Technology
• ECE 7366 Advanced Processing Integration of VLSI
• ECE 7395 Thin Film Technology

Faculty affiliated with the Materials Engineering Program

• Stanko R Brankovic, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  Electrochemical Thin Film Growth, Magnetic Materials and Nanostructures, Nanofabrication,Electrocatalysis, Sensors, Physics and Thermodynamics of Electrified Interfaces
• Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Professor, Chemical Engineering
  Structure processing property relations for multiphase polymers. Polymer Crystallinity in bulk and thin films. Thermodynamic interactions and Viscoelasticity of polymer blends and copolymers. Macro and Nanocomposite Structure and Viscoelasticity.
• Yashashree Kulkarni, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Computational nanomechanics, multi-scale modeling of material at finite temperature, atomistic simulations of nanostructures for optimal functionality.
• Dmitri Litvinov, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  Nanomagnetic materials and devices for biomedical applications, magnetic storage technologies, and magnetic computing. Synthesis of advanced materials, device patterning at the nanoscale, analysis of materials and devices performance characteristics, theoretical modeling of observed behaviors.
• Kamel Salama, Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering
  Processing of superconducting materials; nondestructive characterization; mechanical properties; elastic behavior of metal-matrix composites.
• Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Epitaxial thin film growth, Single crystalline films on polycrystalline/amorphous substrates, Solidification and crystal growth, Oxide & nitride materials, Thin film coatings on flexible substrates, Bulk ceramic processing, Control of nano-scale interfacial and bulk defects, Texture evolution and grain boundary control, Nucleation and growth kinetics in vapor phase and liquid phase growth
• Pradeep Sharma, Bill D. Cook Associate Professor
  Multi-disciplinary research on properties, behavior and performance of materials and systems spanning the length scales from atomistic level to the gross macroscale. Current topics: nanoscale piezoelectricity, quantum dots, self-assembly of nanostructures, energy storage and nanocapacitors, quantum definition of stress, surface energy effects at the nanoscale.
• Peter Strasser, Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  Electrocatalytic surface reactivity at electrified nanometer-sized electrodes, relations between synthesis, lattice geometry, electronic structure and electrocatalytic activity of novel nanostructured multi-component alloy particles.
• Li Sun, Bill D. Cook Endowed Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Size effects on thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of materials; Nanomagnetics and spin transport in thin films, multilayers, nanowires, and network structures. Nanomatials fabrication and manipulation; Spintronics; application of magnetic nanostructures in sensoring and biomedical devices.
• Su Su Wang, Distinguished University Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Polymers and polymer-matrix composites; conducting polymers and composites.
• Lewis Wheeler, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Reliability, analysis, stability.
• Ken W. White, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  Ceramic and ceramic/ceramic composite microstructures for improved toughness and mechanical behavior; Ferroelectric ceramics, Ultra-High Temperature materials.
• John C. Wolfe, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  Superconducting thin films; fabrication of nanometer-scale structures; Ion beam lithography; reactive ion etching; sputtering.

Admission Requirements
For students entering the Master of Science program:

• A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, materials science, metallurgy, physics, chemistry, geology or closely related fields of physical sciences.
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (of 4.0) on the last 60 semester credit hours attempted.
• Approval of the Director of the Materials Engineering Program and the Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering.
• A minimum of 79 on the TOEFL for all students whose native language is not English.

For students entering the Doctoral program:

• A Master of Science Degree or completion of 30 semester hours graduate credit in engineering, materials science, metallurgy, physics, chemistry, geology or closely related field of physical sciences, from an accredited college or university.
• A successful applicant must demonstrate the ability to perform at a GPA of at least 3.4 (of 4.0) in our program.  A GPA of 3.4 is required to stand for the screening exam.
• Approval of the Director of the Interdisciplinary Materials Engineering Program and the Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering.

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Master of Science Degree Requirements
I. WITH THESIS

Course Requirements
A total of 21 hours of course work, exclusive of  thesis, must be completed for the Master of Science with thesis, adhering to the following:

1. The following three courses (9 hours) are required for all Materials Engineering students: MECE 6361, MECE 6363 and MECE 6364 or equivalent courses.
2. At least 3 hours of courses must be taken from the course offerings in Materials Engineering. No credit is allowed for courses at the 5000 level.
3. Three credit hours of graduate-level mathematics must be satisfied by the first course in one of these approved sequences:
   • MECE 6384, 6385
   • CHEE 6331, 6332
   • PHYS 6303, 6304
     
   • or the two-course undergraduate sequence, MATH 4335 and 4336. The student must complete both courses (6 hours) to satisfy the three-hour requirement. Contact the Materials Engineering Admissions Analyst to register for MATH 4335/36
4. At least 6 credit hours of courses NOT listed in Materials Engineering course offering must be applied toward the degree. These 6 credit hours require approval of the Materials Engineering Director.
5. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in all courses applied toward the degree must be attained to qualify for graduation.
6. Student must submit a degree plan to the Director of Materials Engineering Program after completion of one long semester.

Thesis Requirements
A minimum of 9 credit hours of master's thesis must be completed, for a total of 30 credit hours for the MS degree. The student will enroll for research and thesis in the department of his/her faculty advisor. Prior to the initiation of research, the student and advisor shall prepare and submit a brief description of proposed research and suggested thesis advisory committee for approval by the Materials Engineering Director. The thesis committee shall consist of the student's advisor, as chairman, and at least two faculty members, one of whom shall not be from the materials engineering interdisciplinary faculty.

II. WITHOUT THESIS 

A total of 30 hours of course work must be completed for the degree of Master of Science without thesis.

1. The following three courses (9hr) are required for all Materials Engineering students: MECE 6361, MECE 6363 and MECE 6364 or equivalent courses.
2. 9 to 12 hours of courses must be taken from the course offerings in Materials Engineering. No credit is allowed for courses at the 5000 level.
3. Three hours of graduate-level mathematics must be satisfied by the first course in one of these approved sequences:
• MECE 6384, 6385
• CHEE 6331, 6332
• PHYS 6303, 6304
  
• or the two-course undergraduate sequence, MATH 4335 and 4336. The student must complete both courses (6 hours) to satisfy the three-hour requirement. Contact the Materials Engineering Admissions Analyst to register for MATH 4335/36
4. 6 to 9 credit hours must be completed from the colleges of engineering or natural science and mathematics, NOT listed in Materials Engineering course offerings. These courses require approval by the Materials Engineering Director.
5. A GPA of 3.0 in all courses applied toward the degree must be attained to qualify for graduation.
6. The student must submit a degree plan for approval by the Director of Materials Engineering Program after completion of one long semester.

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Doctoral Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. is the highest degree granted by the University and its possession signifies that the holder has demonstrated the ability to perform independent, original research. The student's principal objective is to produce a dissertation that can be considered a significant contribution to the field of knowledge in materials engineering. Our standard Ph.D. program assumes a completed M.S. degree prior to admission. Our Direct Admit program allows the exceptional student to be admitted to doctoral candidacy without a completed M.S. degree.

Course Requirements
A minimum of 51 semester hours of approved graduate study beyond the admission requirements. A GPA of 3.4 in all courses applied toward the degree must be attained. Further, a GPA of 3.4 is required in all courses from the Materials Engineering Course offerings. The graduate study must include the following:

1. 9 to 12 hours of courses listed in the Materials Engineering course offerings.
2. 9 to 12 hours of courses in related fields.
3. 30 hours of research and dissertation in the department of the student's faculty advisor.

Screening Examination
This is a written examination designed to determine if the student has a level of understanding of the fundamentals of materials science and engineering that is considered a minimum for all candidates in the Ph.D. program. A minimum U of H GPA of 3.4 is required to stand for this exam. The examination is closed book and is given in three 2-hour periods, covering the fundamentals of applied mathematics, materials science, and materials engineering. The examination will cover master's degree level basics. The student is strongly advised to take this examination before the completion of 12 semester hours of graduate credit.

Qualifying Examination and Dissertation Proposal
Before proceeding with research the doctoral student must pass an oral qualifying examination in his/her major field of specialization. The Director of the Materials Engineering Program will approve the student for this exam and form the qualifying examination committee, consisting of at least three faculty members in exclusion of student's advisor. The student’s advisor may attend the exam, but may not vote.

This oral exam is focused on two objectives: a) Determine the suitability of the student’s proposed research proposal to lead to a satisfactory PhD dissertation, and b) Determine the student’s background and command of the proposed subject and all supporting fields of study. Normally, the student will be assumed to be familiar with all course work offered in his/her field of study as well as all relevant literature. The student shall submit to the Director a brief (three page maximum) proposal that has been approved by the student’s advisor.

Dissertation Defense
Each doctoral candidate will be required to present and defend his/her dissertation at a public meeting. The Director shall approve and form the examination committee, consisting of at least four faculty members in addition to student's advisor, one of whom shall not be among the Materials Engineering Program faculty. The thesis advisor shall be the examination committee chairman, and shall recommend the four committee member names to the Director. Following the exam, the chairman shall report the recommendation of this committee to the Director, who will make the final judgment.

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General Requirements
This document outlines the Interdisciplinary Program requirements for the M.S. and the Ph.D. degrees. The student is also expected to be familiar with the Enrollment Requirements in the Graduate Studies Catalog of the University of Houston.

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