Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
3111 Engineering V
Box 951595
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1595
Materials Science and Engineering
310-825-5534
At the heart of materials science and engineering is the understanding and control of the microstructure of solids. Microstructure is used broadly in reference to electronic and atomic structure of solids—and defects within them—at size scales ranging from atomic bond lengths to airplane wings. The structure of solids over this wide range dictates their structural, electrical, biological, and chemical properties. The phenomenological and mechanistic relationships between microstructure and the macroscopic properties of solids are, in essence, what materials science is all about.
Materials engineering builds on the foundation of materials science and is concerned with the design, fabrication, and optimal selection of engineering materials that must simultaneously fulfill dimensional, property, quality control, and economic requirements.
