MSE 43000-44000  Materials Processing and Design I and II

Credits and Contact Hours: 3 credits. Weekly Schedule for 15 weeks: two 50 minute lectures. Meetings with faculty advisors and laboratory time is by arrangement.

Instructors or Course Coordinators: E. E. Marinero

Textbooks: Design and Analysis of Experiments: Edition 9, Douglas C. Montgomery, Wiley 2017, Barry Hyman, Fundamentals of Engineering Design, 2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 2003 Eugene S. Ferguson, Engineering and the Mind's Eye, MIT Press, 1992. (Advisor Dependent).

Specific Course Information

  1. Catalog Descriptions: MSE 430: Experience in the initiation and execution of a specific materials project or study involving research, processing, and design; a written proposal on the project prepared by the student under the supervision of an individual faculty member; oral progress report at the end of the semester. MSE 440: Continuation and completion of the materials project or study initiated in MSE 43000 and presentation of a written dissertation on the results and conclusions. Competence in technical writing is emphasized in the preparation of the dissertation. 
  2. Prerequisites: MSE 43000: MSE 33500 or MSE 36700; MSE 44000: MSE 43000.
  3. Course Status: MSE 43000 and 44000 are required courses.

Specific Goals for the Course

1. All Students

A. Exhibit effective oral and written communication. Example:

  • Prepare and present technical presentations to their peers following a basic presentation outline including slides pertaining to background, need, past and current research, and conclusions.

B. Become aware of the complexity of working in teams to achieve goals, including issues related to the importance of individual ownership of project assignments, communication, leadership roles, establishing goals, and recognizing a diversity of talents among group members.

C. Have a basic understanding of different ethical systems, including legal positivism, ethical egoism, utilitarianism, deontological, etc. Understand consequences of unethical behavior in the profession.

D. Understand and apply the basic tools of engineering design. Examples:

  • Be able to discuss the basic steps in the engineering design process including a brief description of what occurs in each step.
  • Draw simple logic diagrams that relate the important precedent relationships for tasks required to complete an engineering program.
  • Develop and learn necessary modelling, processing and characterization tools needed to successfully execute the project.
  • Be able to use statistical analysis to infer conclusions from experiments.

2. Objectives for All Student Research Groups

Working with the context of their team with regard to the specific industry project, all student research groups are expected to do the following:

A. Develop a mission statement that succinctly describes what their project goals are and are not. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the industry problem and its importance.

B. Develop a list of tasks necessary to complete the project and apply the project planning methodology to their project. Consistently update these tasks as more information is known about the project. Develop an understanding of the complexity of project planning.

C. Design and conduct experiments that specifically address the industry project. Analyze and interpret data gained from these experiments.

D. Develop the communication skills to effectively interact with project sponsors, faculty advisor and instructors for the successful execution of the projects.

E. Apply entrepreneurial skills (think outside the box, risk taking, identify alternative solutions) in goal accomplishment and solutions to industry problem.

Relation of Course to Student Outcomes:

(MSE-2, ABET-2) an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.

(MSE-3, ABET-3) an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

(MSE-4, ABET-4) an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

(MSE-5, ABET-5) an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.

Topics Covered: Transitioning from being a student to becoming a Materials Engineer, Elements of Effective Teaming, Project Planning/Open Ended Problems, Project Planning/Multivariate Decision Making, Project Planning /Gantt Charts, How to Give an Awful Presentation, Constructing an effective elevator pitch, Project Planning/Critical Path, Analysis of Bottlenecks/Scheduling Solutions, Statistics/Design of Experiments, Drawing conclusions from limited data, Theory of Constraints, Professionalism and Ethics, Five Disfunctions of a Team, Industrial Speaker Seminars, Technical Project Progress group discussions