Material Science and Engineering Program
Program in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics, sharing teaching and research with the faculty of the Henry Krumb
School of Mines.
200 S. W. Mudd, MC 4701,
212-854-4457
www.apam.columbia.edu
www.seas.columbia.edu/matsci
Materials science and engineering (MSE) focuses on understanding, designing, and
producing technology-enabling materials by analyzing the relationships among the
synthesis and processing of materials, their properties, and their detailed structure.
This includes a wide range of materials such as metals, polymers, ceramics, and
semiconductors. Solid-state science and engineering focuses on understanding and
modifying the properties of solids from the viewpoint of the fundamental physics of the
atomic and electronic structure.
Undergraduate and graduate
programs in materials science and engineering are coordinated through the Materials
Science and Engineering Program in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics. This program promotes the interdepartmental nature of the discipline and
involves the Departments of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Chemical
Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and Earth and Environmental
Engineering (EAEE) in the Henry Krumb School of Mines (HKSM) with advisory input from
the Depart-ments of Chemistry and Physics.
Students interested in materials
science and engineering enroll in the materials science and engineering program in the
Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. Those interested in the
solid-state science and engineering specialty enroll in the doctoral program within
Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics or Electrical Engineering.
The faculty in the
interdepartmental committee constitute but a small fraction of those participating in
this program, who include Professors Bailey, Chan, Herman, Im, Neumark, Noyan, O’Brien,
Pinczuk, and Stormer from Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics; Brus, Durning, Flynn,
Koberstein, O’Shaughnessy, and Turro from Chemical Engineering; Duby, Somasundaran, and
Themelis from EAEE; and Heinz, Osgood, and Wang from Electrical Engineering.
Materials science and engineering
uses optical, electron, and scanning probe microscopy and diffraction techniques to
reveal details of structure, ranging from the atomic to the macroscopic scale—details
essential to understanding properties such as mechanical strength, electrical
conductivity, and technical magnetism. These studies also give insight into problems of
the deterioration of materials in service, enabling designers to prolong the useful life
of their products. Materials science and engineering also focus on new ways to
synthesize and process materials, from bulk samples to ultrathin films to epitaxial
heterostructures to nanocrystals. This involves techniques such as UHV sputtering;
molecular beam epitaxy; plasma etching; laser ablation, chemistry, and
recrystallization; and other nonequilibrium processes. The widespread use of new
materials and the new uses of existing materials in electronics, communications, and
computers have intensified the demand for a systematic approach to the problem of
relating properties to structure and necessitates a multidisciplinary approach.
Solid-state science and
engineering uses techniques such as transport measurements, X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy, inelastic light scattering, luminescence, and nonlinear optics to
understand electrical, optical, and magnetic properties on a quantum mechanical level.
Such methods are used to investigate exciting new types of structures, such as
two-dimensional electron gases in semiconductor heterostructures, superconductors, and
semiconductor surfaces and nanocrystals.
Current Research Activities
Current research activities in
the materials science and engineering program at Columbia focus on thin films and
electronic materials that enable significant advances in information technologies.
Specific topics under investigation include interfaces, stresses, and grain boundaries
in thin films; lattice defects and electrical properties of semiconductors; laser
processing and ultrarapid solidification of thin films; nucleation in condensed systems;
optical and electric properties of wide-band semiconductors; synthesis of nanocrystals,
carbon nanotubes, and nanotechnology related materials; deposition, in-situ
characterization, electronic testing, and ultrafast spectroscopy of magnetoelectronic
ultrathin films and heterostructures.
In addition, there is research in surface and
colloid chemistry involving both inorganic and organic materials such as surfactants,
polymers, and latexes, with emphasis on materials/environment interactions.
The research activities in
solid-state science and engineering are described later in this section.