Engineering

David Kisailus, Director and Graduate Advisor
5076 Samueli Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building; 949-824-2116
http://engineering.uci.edu/interdisciplinary-graduate-programs/materials-and-manufacturing-technology

Advanced Manufacturing is concerned with the generation and application of knowledge relating the composition, structure, and processing of materials to their properties and applications, as well as the manufacturing technologies needed for production. During the past two decades, Advanced Manufacturing has become an important component of modern engineering education, partly because of the increased level of sophistication required of engineering materials in a rapidly changing technological society, and partly because the selection of materials has increasingly become an integral part of almost every modern engineering design. In fact, further improvements in design are now viewed more and more as primarily materials and manufacturing issues. Both the development of new materials and the understanding of present-day materials demand a thorough knowledge of basic engineering and scientific principles including, for example, crystal structure, mechanics, mechanical behavior, electronic, optical and magnetic properties, thermodynamics, phase equilibria, heat transfer, diffusion, and the physics and chemistry of solids and chemical reactions.

The field of Advanced Manufacturing ranks high on the list of top careers for scientists and engineers. The services of these engineers and scientists are required in a variety of engineering operations dealing, for example, with design of semiconductors and optoelectronic devices, development of new technologies based on composites and high-temperature materials, biomedical products, performance (quality, reliability, safety, energy efficiency) in automobile and aircraft components, improvement in nondestructive testing techniques, corrosion behavior in refineries, radiation damage in nuclear power plants, fabrication of steels, and construction of highways and bridges.

Subjects of interest in Advanced Manufacturing cover a wide spectrum, ranging from metals, optical and electronic materials to superconductive materials, ceramics, advanced composites, and biomaterials. In addition, the emerging new research and technological areas in materials are in many cases interdisciplinary. Accordingly, the principal objective of the graduate curriculum is to integrate a student’s area of emphasis—whether it be chemical processing and production, electronic and photonic materials and devices, electronic manufacturing and packaging, or materials engineering—into the whole of materials and manufacturing technology. Such integration will increase familiarity with other disciplines and provide students with the breadth they need to face the challenges of current and future technology.

Students with a bachelor’s degree may pursue either the M.S. or Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Advanced Manufacturing. If students choose to enter the Ph.D. program directly, it is a requirement that they earn an M.S. along the way toward the completion of their Ph.D.

Recommended Background

Given the nature of Advanced Manufacturing as an interdisciplinary program, students having a background and suitable training in either Materials, Engineering (Biomedical, Civil, Chemical, Electrical, and Mechanical), or the Physical Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Geology) are encouraged to participate. Recommended background courses include an introduction to materials, thermodynamics, mechanical properties, and electrical/optical/magnetic properties. A student with an insufficient background may be required to take remedial undergraduate courses following matriculation as a graduate student.

Requirements

Core Requirements

Core courses must be completed with a grade of B (3.0) or better.

Electives

Electives are grouped into four areas of emphasis.

It should be noted that specific course requirements within the area of emphasis are decided based on consultation with the Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Concentration.

Two options are available for M.S. students: a thesis option and a comprehensive examination option. Both options require the completion of at least 12 courses of study.

Plan I. Thesis Option

For the thesis option, students are required to complete an original research project and write an M.S. thesis. A committee of three full-time faculty members is appointed to guide the development of the thesis. In addition, students are required to complete minimally 12 courses. At least eight courses as required: four core courses, four area of emphasis courses approved by the graduate advisor. Four units of MS Thesis Research in any Engineering Department count as the equivalence of one course. Up to three courses equivalent of MS Thesis Research. and up to one course (3-unit or 4-unit) of upper-division undergraduate elective courses taken as a graduate student at UCI can be applied toward the 12-course requirement.

Plan II. Comprehensive Examination Option

For the comprehensive examination option, students are required to pass a comprehensive exam. In addition, students are required to complete minimally 12 courses. At least ten courses must be taken as required: four core courses and at least six area of emphasis courses approved by the graduate advisor. Four units of Individual Research in any Engineering Department count as the equivalence of one course. One course equivalent of Individual Research in any Engineering Department and up to one course of upper-division undergraduate elective course taken as a graduate student at UCI can be applied toward the 12-course requirement.

In addition to fulfilling the course requirements outlined above, it is a University requirement for the Master of Science degree that students fulfill a minimum of 36 units of study.