Computational approaches are beginning to play a fundamental role in MSE. This course will focus on the computational methods and tools used in the MSE community. In the introductory part of the course, students will have broad exposure to the advantages, disadvantages, and pitfalls associated with various methods, the concepts behind the methods, and the basics of numerical modeling and simulation. The hands-on laboratory sessions, homework problems, and class project will provide a first-hand learning experience in modeling.

The MSE Department views computational materials science and engineering as an important subfield of MSE. Therefore, the course can be counted toward the selective requirement.

There is no required textbook. Hand-outs are provided in the class. Occasionally, reading materials will be given from papers or books. There are also books that will be on reserve.

Course Requirements:

Grading
In-Class Exam (Midterm)30 percent
Homework/Lab Reports 30 percent
Project Report 20 percent
Final Oral Presentation 10 percent
Project Peer Evaluation 5 percent
Participation During Oral Presentation 5 percent

Attendance will be considered when giving a letter grade, especially in border-line cases.

Intended Audience:

The course is primarily intended for undergraduates in materials science and related fields. Basic understanding of relevant science (materials science in particular) is required. Most of the work would involve running tools and writing a small MATLAB scripts or modifying them. While programming experience is not required, it is expected that students learn what is needed to carry out the homework and project. Basic mathematics covered in the required math courses (MATH 115/116/215/216) are required. We will review and cover some mathematics (epecially partial differential equations), but if some topics look unfamiliar to you, please let me know so I can provide reading materials.