Department of Materials Science and Engineering

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) continues its intellectual and educational leadership, capturing the top position in the US News and World Report ranking of graduate programs offered by materials science departments nation-wide for the twelfth consecutive year. Professor Nicola Marzari will be joining our faculty and a brief description of his background can be found in the following pages. Department faculty and students continue to be honored with prestigious awards and medals from various professional societies and international organizations. We have initiated extensive and exciting renovations and modernization of many of our facilities, including laboratories, faculty and student offices, and administrative space; these projects will be discussed later in this document.

Our total enrollment stands at approximately 300 students, including five students who began our new Master of Engineering program in June of this year. The Department Graduate Committee, chaired by Professor Harry Tuller, has worked diligently this year in restructuring our graduate degree programs and creating four new academic programs: Bio- and Polymeric Materials; Electronic, Photonic, and Magnetic Materials; Emerging and Fundamental Studies in Materials; and Structural and Environmental Materials. Our Undergraduate Committee, chaired by Professor Ron Latanision, and the undergraduate instructors have spent the past year in intensive self-assessment in preparation for an accreditation visit from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in Fall 2001.

Faculty members from the department continue significant involvement with major Institute initiatives. Six department faculty members are affiliated with the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) and Professor Carl Thompson is the MIT Co-Chair of the Advanced Materials for Micro- and Nano-Systems Programme. The Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI), a global alliance with Cambridge University, is directed at MIT by Professor John B. Vander Sande.

Several major new research efforts, funded through the Multi-University Research Initiative Program (MURI), the Defense University Research Initiative on NanoTechnology Program (DURINT), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), were awarded to DMSE colleagues and their MIT collaborators in the past year. The following list provides a summary of these programs, all of which are multi-departmental and, in most cases, multi-institutional efforts, and are led by DMSE faculty or have active participation from DMSE faculty.

Another project awarded this year is the "Summer Institute in the Materials Science of Material Culture," Professor Heather N. Lechtman, PI; Professors Dorothy Hosler, Samuel Allen, and Linn Hobbs, co- PIs. This grant was made through NSF's Division of Materials Research and is expected to provide $250,000 per year for a three-year period to bring faculty from liberal arts universities to our campus to pursue the study of archaeological and ethnological materials through materials science research.

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Undergraduate Education

Our undergraduate enrollment remains steady at about 105 students and currently includes 66 percent women, nine percent underrepresented minorities, and five percent international students. We continue extensive recruiting efforts to maintain our undergraduate student body, including participation in Academic Expo during Freshman Orientation, an Open House, the annual John Wulff Lecture, direct mailings to the freshman class, Freshman Advisor Seminars, and Independent Activities Period (IAP) Activities. Our III-B Internship Program continues to attract the majority of DMSE undergraduates; 45 DMSE students were placed at 27 host institutions during the summer of 2001.

Professor Lorna Gibson and Professor Linn Hobbs have worked this past year with the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). Two DMSE students participated in an exchange with the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at Cambridge University during fall 2000 and two participated during the spring semester. During IAP, a short course on Materials Selection and Design was presented both to MIT and to Cambridge University students through distance learning. Three students from Cambridge will participate in research projects at MIT this summer and two Cambridge students will enroll in classes at MIT in the fall semester 2001. One DMSE undergraduate will be going to Cambridge in the fall semester 2001.

Graduate Education

The department has a very healthy graduate student enrollment, which currently stands at 172. Approximately 25 percent of our graduate students are women and 2.8 percent are underrepresented minorities. The following table shows the distribution of students among our Ph.D. graduate degree programs as of February 2001.

Table 1. Distribution of Students Among Ph.D. Graduate Degree Programs

Degree Program Percent of Total Graduate Students
Ceramics 10.5%
Electronic Materials 33.1%
Materials Engineering 9.9%
Materials Science 13.3%
Metallurgy 4.7%
Polymers 14.5%
Biomaterials 1.8%
Masters (III-B, S.M., and M.Eng.) 12.2%

Two of our students were enrolled in the Technology and Policy Program (TPP) and six were enrolled in the Leaders for Manufacturing Program (LFM). Sixteen of our polymer students were enrolled in the Program for Polymer Science and Technology (PPST). We anticipate for the fall of 2001 a total graduate student enrollment of about 185. Our continuing work to expand offers of one- and two-semester fellowships to a large percent of domestic applicants has been successful. We will register an incoming class of fifty for the coming fall, over 70 percent of whom are domestic.

Nearly all undesignated gifts to the department are currently being used to fund endowed fellowships (including the Nicholas J. Grant Fellowship, the John F. Elliott Fellowship, the Ronald A. Kurtz Fellowship, the Gilbert Y. Chin Fellowship, the R.L. Coble Fellowship, the Carl M. Loeb Fellowship, the David V. Ragone Fellowship, the H.H. Uhlig Graduate Fellowship, the Stuart Z. Uram Fellowship, the Class of '39 Fellowship, the Julian Szekely Fellowship, the Anthony D. Kurtz Fellowship, and the Department Endowed Fellowship). Our endowed fellowships now provide sufficient annual income for one-semester fellowships for approximately four students and two-semester fellowships for seven students. In addition to the above, we are grateful recipients of a number of grants from corporations and foundations to aid our first-year students. We have received three fellowships from the Whitaker Foundation, an Ida Green Fellowship, and a Leventhal Fellowship. These have been instrumental in assisting us in maintaining the size and quality of our incoming domestic student class. We have fellowship support from a number of corporations including SRC and Lucent Technologies. In addition, many students have other outside fellowship support; of the 35 domestic students expected to enter in the fall of 2001, 21 will be entering on fellowships from the department and from a variety of sources including: MIT, NSF, Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) program.

This spring the department voted to replace the present degree programs in Electronic Materials, Ceramics, Polymers, Biomaterials, Metallurgy, Materials Science, and Materials Engineering with four new academic programs: Bio- and Polymeric Materials; Electronic, Photonic, and Magnetic Materials; Emerging and Fundamental Studies in Materials; and Structural and Environmental Materials. These new programs, which focus on the integrative nature of the field rather than on specific materials classes, will begin this fall. The current programs (including the existing interdepartmental Archaeological Materials program) are described below.

The Bio- and Polymeric Materials curriculum concentrates on the science and technology of synthetic and natural materials characterized by carbon-bonded, long-chain molecules of seemingly limitless architectural diversity, and their composites with inorganic materials. Polymer and nanocomposite processing by molecular-level assembly, self-assembly, and field-directed approaches are employed to create new materials displaying a wide range of structure and properties. Materials Science and Engineering principles are applied to the development of new products and therapies including photonic devices, battery electrolytes, organic Light Emmiting Diodes (LEDs), filtration membranes, highly recyclable plastics, resorbable implants, biosensors, and drug delivery devices.

The Electronic, Photonic, and Magnetic Materials program includes the science and technology of materials for electrical, magnetic, and optical device applications. It is concerned with the design and fabrication of useful materials and devices through understanding and control of the interplay between electronic, magnetic, and optical properties; the micro- and nanostructure of materials (atomic arrangements, defects, interfaces, phase constitution, and morphology); and processing methods. Research within this field includes materials processing in bulk and thin-film form; device fabrication; characterization of the semiconducting, dielectric, optical, and magnetic properties of materials and devices; and theoretical study of the characteristics of bulk materials, thin-film materials, and interfaces and their implications for devices.

The Emerging and Fundamental Studies in Materials program encompasses the study of fundamental and emerging concepts and technologies in Materials Science and Engineering. The common principles that underlie the structure and properties of materials are those associated with electronic structure and bonding, atomic arrangement, phase stability, and the role of imperfections and microstructure. Fundamental phenomena considered include structural and phase transformations, reactivity, mass and charge transport, and the optical, electronic, and mechanical response to internal and external stimuli. Tools of study include theory, computer modeling, and experimental characterization methods such as electron microscopy and diffraction. This program also stimulates the integration of important developments from other fields such as Mathematics, Biology, Physics, and Economics into Materials Science and Engineering, and allows students to propose relevant interdisciplinary course programs that may lead to emerging disciplines in Materials Science and Engineering.

The Structural and Environmental Materials program encompasses the study of the mechanical response of materials to internal and external stimuli as well as the design and use of materials to minimize environmental impact. Examples of research topics in the area of Structural Materials include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanomechanics, functionally graded materials, superalloys, ceramic turbine blades, polymers, biomimicking of natural structural materials, and mechanics of cellular materials. Examples of topics in Environmental Materials include: processing to minimize materials degradation and environmental impact, recycling of materials, materials for energy conversion and storage (e.g., advanced battery systems, fuel cells, solar photovoltaics, smart windows, and hydrides), and sensors and actuators for environmental monitoring and control.

The Archaeological Materials field utilizes the scientific principles and laboratory methods of Materials Science and Engineering to study the natural and cultural artifacts central to archaeological inquiry. It involves determination of the materials of early and non-industrial societies exploited from the natural environment, their processing, and the engineering design that, together, transformed them into cultural objects. Research includes archaeological fieldwork coupled with laboratory analysis and experiment in an effort to reconstruct the materials technologies of societies known principally from their archaeological remains.

The department initiated an exciting new program of invited lectures on current research and activity in the field of Materials Science and Engineering. Our first-year graduate students were strongly urged to attend and the rest of the Department and the MIT community were invited. The six lectures were well-attended, some standing-room-only, and we plan to continue the program next year. This year's invited speakers included: Professor Michael F. Ashby of the University of Cambridge; Professor Jeffrey Hubbell of ETH and the University of Zurich; Professor Edward J. Kramer of the University of California, Santa Barbara; Professor Shuji Nakamura of the University of California, Santa Barbara; Dr. Stuart S. P. Parkin of IBM Almaden Research Center; and Professor George M. Whitesides of Harvard University.

Master of Engineering Degree in Materials

This new degree program was approved in 2000 and the first class of students was accepted for summer 2001 enrollment. Five students with backgrounds ranging from Mechanical Engineering/Materials Science and Engineering to Athletic Physiology began the program this June. They have enrolled in 3.205 Thermodynamics and Kinetics and 3.225 Properties of Materials for the summer semester; these two subjects provide an overview of the traditional DMSE graduate core. In addition to those subjects, they are attending 3.206 Introduction to Materials Engineering Practice Speaker Series. The series includes seminars by Professor Michael Cima speaking on "Materials for Microdevices and Manufacturing Tools," Mr. Jurgen Michel speaking on "Silicon Microphotonics," Mr. Vladimir Bulovic speaking on "Organic Materials for 21st Century Optoelectronic Applications," Professor Carolyn Ross speaking on "Magnetic Materials for Data Storage," Professor Michael Rubner speaking on "New Multilayer Coating Tech. Based on Polyelectrolytes," Mr. Mayank Bulsara speaking on "Transitioning Technology (and Career Paths) from Research to Commercial Application," and Professor Yoel Fink speaking on "Hollow Dielectric Fibers and the Future of Telecommunications." The students must complete coursework on campus during fall semester and will complete either an on-campus engineering project and technology evaluation course or an off-campus project, arranged through a faculty advisor, at an industrial site. Students who choose to pursue the on-campus option for the spring semester will attend a class that features both speakers and sessions that guide their project. Speakers will be chosen to compliment project development and will include technologists, patent attorneys, entrepreneurs, and financiers.

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Student Organizations

Officers of the Society of Undergraduate Materials Students (SUMS) for 2000-2001 are Jeff Colton, President; Lauren Frick, Vice-President; Brad McCoy, Secretary; and Jamie Mak, Treasurer.

The Graduate Materials Council (GMC) officers for 2001-2002 will be Marc Richard, President; Ashley Predith, Vice President; Ellen Siem, Treasurer; Lori Kensel and Ryan Williams, Social Chairs; Todd Stefanik and Joe Bullard, Athletic Chairs; Douglas Cannon and Garry Maskaly, Departmental Committee for Graduate Studies (DCGS) Representatives; and Josh Hertz, Graduate Student Council (GSC) Representative.

Personnel

We are pleased to announce that Nicola Marzari will be joining our faculty as an Assistant Professor working in the field of computational materials in August 2001. Most recently, Professor Marzari has been a research staff member at Princeton University where his research used computer modeling and simulation studies based on first-principles quantum theory to study the atomic structure, dynamics, and underlying electronic structure of real materials. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge. We are also pleased to announce that Professor Anne Mayes has been promoted from the rank of Associate Professor to the rank of Full Professor, effective July 1, 2001. Professor Caroline Ross has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, effective July 1, 2001. As mentioned in last year's report, Darrell Irvine will join our faculty for fall semester 2001. Professor Irvine holds a Ph.D. from the department and has spent the past year in postdoctoral study in immunotherapy at Stanford University.

Professor Merton C. Flemings and Professor Kenneth C. Russell have both retired from the department as of July 1, 2001. Professor Flemings holds an S.B., an S.M., and an Sc.D. in Metallurgy from MIT and joined our faculty in 1956. He has served as Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, as Director of the Materials Processing Center, as Associate Director of the Center for Materials Science and Engineering, and most recently as Co-Director at MIT of the Singapore-MIT Alliance. Professor Russell joined the DMSE faculty in 1964 after completing a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. In recent years, Professor Russell has served on the Department Graduate Admissions Committee and has been an able resource in matching graduate students with open Teaching and Research Assistantships. Although retired, both Professor Flemings and Professor Russell will continue working with the department and with the Institute. Professor Chris Scott resigned to take a position at Exponent Failure Analysis Associates at the beginning of spring semester 2001.

Research Highlights

Research in Professor Allen's group is working develop materials systems and processes for fabricating metal parts by Three-Dimensional Printing, and in characterization of ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy actuators. Professor Carter and his students develop a wide range of computational approaches to understand fundamental aspects of microstructure development and their effects on materials properties in diverse materials that range from bone to relaxor ferroelectrics. Professor Ceder's group has developed an understanding of an electronic origin for diffusion in manganates that has promise for the development of improved rechargeable lithium battery systems. Professor Chiang and his students have developed a new family of alkaline-bismuth perovskites, which in polycrystalline form exhibit properties comparable to current lead-perovskites such as PZT and PMN. Professor Cima's work focuses on the processing and fabrication of complex ceramic and electronic components via Three-Dimensional Printing and microfabrication/micromolding, biomedical applications and controlled-release drug delivery, and thin-film superconductors. Professor Clark developed a methodology for predicting costs of virtual designs of autobodies that incorporates alternative materials and processes.

In Professor Eagar's group, a new method of scaling order-of-magnitude solutions of complex combinations of differential equations has been developed and demonstrated for modeling of welding processes. Professor Fink's group has initiated research on the synthesis of novel high-purity optical materials which include: Chalcogenide glasses, block-copolymers, and SnS2 nanocrystals. Professor Fitzgerald's group is exploring mobility enhancements in heterostructure MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) grown on relaxed SiGe virtual substrates. Professor Flemings initiated a research program to produce three-dimensional structural metallic MEMS components by metal casting. Professor Gibson and her students are studying cell-matrix interactions in porous scaffolds used in skin regeneration. Professor Hobbs' work on orthopedic joint prosthesis materials has investigated the formation of new bone apposing hydroxyapatite-coated cementless implants in hip prostheses. Professor Hosler continues her work on rubber processing technology and on the development of metallurgy in ancient Mesoamerica. Professor Latanision's group has developed an approach for corrosion protection of reactor materials by control of the in-reactor water chemistry. Professor Lechtman carried out mineralogical and lead-isotope analyses of copper ores she assembled from mines and ore deposits in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. Professor Lupis explored the application on Input-Output Models to the optimization of the flow sheets of large metallurgical plants and the impact of regulations on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.

Professor Mayes' group has developed a simple analytical model for the free energy of mixing of compressible polymer blends, based on a modification of the regular-solution model that has been used to predict phase diagrams for 30 separate blend systems. Professor McGarry's group is working to improve the fracture toughness of rigid silicone resins. Dr. O'Handley and his students have studied the effects of strain on magnetic thin-film properties, and also made significant advances in characterizing ferromagnetic shape-memory actuator performance at frequencies up to several hundred Hz. Professor Ortiz's group focuses on nanomechanical studies of noncovalent, intra-, and intermolecular interactions in biological and biomimetic macromolecular systems using techniques such as high-resolution force spectroscopy and atomic-force microscopy. Professor Paul is studying the interaction between two ferromagnetic grains with grain boundary structure in the presence of segregation.

Current research in Professor Powell's group includes modeling of the Electric Field-Enhanced Smelting and Refining of Steel Project, using fluid-flow and phase-field approaches. Professor Ross' group has succeeded in making the smallest magnetoresistive elements and characterizing their properties. Professor Roylance's research has centered on process-structure-property investigations of polymers and composite materials, dealing especially with mechanical properties.

Professor Rubner and his group have devised a simple spin-coating technique for fabricating thin-film light-emitting devices from ruthenium complexes that have high brightness and long lifetimes. Professor Russell is studying materials systems that are self-organizing under irradiation. Professor Sadoway's group has designed, constructed, and tested a flexible, thin-film microbattery that has exhibited record-breaking values of energy and power density. Since joining the Department in August 2000, Professor Smith's research has focused on correlating the structure and properties of surface-active materials, and understanding the mechanics of surface-mediated processes such as those occurring at Li-ion battery electrodes. Professor Suresh's group has developed a variety of new theoretical and experimental methods for the analysis and measurement of mechanical and coupled properties of small-volume structures, thin films and active materials; several patents filed based on these discoveries are currently being pursued by industry for a variety of practical applications.

Professor Thomas's group has used directional solidification and epitaxy to obtain precise control of nanopatterns in block copolymer microdomains. Through experiments and modeling, Professor Thompson and his students have demonstrated that the conventional methods for making circuit-level estimates of the reliability of IC interconnects are inaccurate, and are neither consistently conservative nor optimistic. Professor Tuller's group has been exploring lead perovskite systems as potential candidates for high-strain actuators with large thermal stability and low hysteresis. Professor Vander Sande is studying high magnetic-field processing of superconducting oxides at elevated temperatures to produce highly textured, high-performance superconducting wires. Professor Witt's group conducted solidification experiments to optimize the design of a crystal growth research facility for the International Space Station. Professor Wuensch's group has determined the atomistic nature of chemically-driven disorder processes using in-situ neutron diffraction experiments at temperatures up to 1500°C.

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Awards and Honors

Professor Anne Mayes was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow this year. Lorna Gibson, Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, was named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers International (ASME) this March. Professor Donald R. Sadoway was elected a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences this past year. Professor Samuel M. Allen was named a Fellow of ASM International, the society for materials engineers and scientists, last October. In April, Professor Yet-Ming Chiang, along with Harold D. Ackler, was presented with the Ross Coffin Purdy Award for the best paper in the Journal of the American Ceramics Society. Professor Linn Hobbs was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to UK-US Academic Relations in recognition for his work with the British Marshall scholarships. The formal investiture will take place in September at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. Professor Subra Suresh received the Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award of The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) at the Society's annual meeting in February. The award recognizes an individual who has made a long-lasting contribution to the fundamental understanding of microstructure, properties, and performance of structural materials for industrial applications. Professor Suresh delivered the third annual Kelly Lecture at Cambridge University on June 14, 2001. This lecture is sponsored and hosted by the Gordon Laboratory and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cambridge. The lecture was entitled "Nano- and Micro-Scale Mechanical Properties for Miniature Technologies."

Among this year's inductees to MIT's Quarter Century Club were Leslie Lawrence and Professors Joel Clark and Harry Tuller.

The department was proud to have three of its employees presented with a School of Engineering Infinite Mile Award for Excellence. Mindy L. Baughman was recognized for her work with the "MIT Artists Behind the Desk" series. Kathleen R. Farrell and Angelita Mireles were both recognized for their dedication to students and their hard work in the Department's Student Services Office.

Faculty Notes

Faculty members of this department include these chairholders: Samuel M. Allen, POSCO Professor of Physical Metallurgy; W. Craig Carter, Thomas Lord Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Gerbrand Ceder, Union Minière Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Yet-Ming Chiang, Kyocera Professor of Ceramics; Michael J. Cima, Sumitomo Electric Industries Professor of Engineering; Eugene Fitzgerald, Thomas Lord Professor in Materials Science; Merton C. Flemings, Toyota Professor of Materials Processing; Lorna Gibson, Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Lionel C. Kimerling, Thomas Lord Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Christine Ortiz, John Chipman Career Development Assistant Professor; Adam C. Powell IV, Thomas B. King Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering; Michael F. Rubner, TDK Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Donald R. Sadoway, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry; Richard L. Smith, AMAX Career Development Assistant Professor; Subra Suresh, R. P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Edwin L. Thomas, Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Carl V. Thompson, Stavros Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; John B. Vander Sande, Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor; and August F. Witt, Ford Professor of Engineering.

Student Awards

Undergraduate Awards

The department award for Outstanding Senior Thesis was presented to Jennifer Meanwell of Ashland, OH, for her thesis entitled "Technical Choice in Pottery Production: A West Mexican Example." The Best III-B Internship Report award was presented to Yuri Shona Pek of Singapore for projects on "Fabrication and Study of Starch-Based Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering" and "Fabrication and Study of Hydroxyapatite-Glass Ionomer Cement (HA-GIC) Composites for Bone Cement Applications." The award for Outstanding Service to the DMSE Community was presented to Jeffrey J. Colton of Garden Grove, CA. Certificates of Honor for a Perfect 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average were presented to Jeremy Cheng of Longmeadow, MA, Albert Hung of Los Altos, CA, Mark Jhon of Pittsburgh, PA, Yuri Shona Pek of Singapore, and Juwell Wu of Tustin, CA. The Foundry Education Foundation (FEF) Scholarships for Outstanding Students with an Interest in Metals Casting were awarded to Amanda P. Smith of Rockport, ME, and Tina Shih of Flushing, NY. Yulun L. Hsi of Potomac, MD was named Outstanding Junior in the DMSE Class of 2002 and Jeremy Cheng of Longmeadow, MA was named Outstanding Student in the DMSE Class of 2001.

Tau Beta Pi inductees this year were Harald Hoegh, Mark H. Jhon, Trisha M. Montalbo, Jill O. Nagle, Caroline Rhim, Tiffany S. Santos, and Lisa A. Scoppettuolo.

DMSE undergraduates who received research awards from the Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Health were Kristin Niece of Covington KY, Yuri Shona Pek of Singapore, and Lara Abaschian of Gainesville, FL. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa membership were Mark H. Jhon of Pittsburgh, PA, and Jennifer H. Meanwell of Ashland, OH. Athletic awards were presented to Kelli A. Griffin (soccer) of Tiverton, RI, to Jennifer A. McKeehan (fencing) of Cambridge, MA, and to Jeffrey J. Colton (water polo) of Garden Grove, CA.

Graduate Awards

Dinesh Balachandran was one of two MIT GSC members presented with the MIT Career Fair Award. Krystyn Van Vliet and Andrew Gouldstone received first prize in the Bodycote Metal Technology Paper Competition. They were awarded $3000 and presented their winning paper, "Determination of Mechanical Behaviour via Instrumented Indentation: Application to Coated Material Systems," at the Bodycote International PLC Annual Dinner in November 2000. The John Wulff Award for Excellence in Teaching was presented to David Dussault of Medford, MA.

Future Plans

Three department search committees are actively pursuing faculty candidates in the areas of Materials Biotechnology (two-key appointment with BEH), Materials Processing and Properties, and Materials for Engineered Systems (two-key appointment with ESD).

Several major renovation and construction projects have been initiated with work to continue over several years. Some of the projects are detailed below:

Other upcoming Building 8 projects include a 1000 square foot Biomaterials Laboratory to be used by Professor Darrell Irvine and his group, a 1250 square foot Nanomechanics Lab, undergraduate teaching labs, and a computational materials science laboratory and faculty office suite. Through an agreement with the Physics Department and the Institute, DMSE will be creating a number of new undergraduate and graduate teaching laboratories and research facilities in Building 8 on the infinite corridor. Architects are working with the department to design new DMSE Headquarters, a Student Services Office, and faculty offices on the first floor of Building 6.

Subra Suresh

More information about the Department of Materials Science and Engineering can be found online at http://dmse.mit.edu/.

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