Mission
The Materials Science Ph. D. Program of The University of Alabama System (UAS) is an interdisciplinary doctoral program linking the three universities that make up the UAS: the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (UA), the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB), and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). The program was started in 1988 and awarded its first PhD degree in June 1990. The program was deliberately constructed without erecting new Materials Science departments on the three campuses. This approach combined the strengths of the various campuses and their resources. Each student selects a program of study in a home department on their resident campus; and a research advisor to direct his/her research program. The course offerings straddle departmental as well as campus boundaries. The qualifying examinations are administered jointly by all three campuses. However, subsequent exams and the student’s program of study are controlled by the home campus. The student’s doctoral committee must contain at least one faculty member from a sister campus.
Research
Research in Materials Science focuses on the fundamental relations that exist between the structure of materials on the one hand, and properties and the methods for synthesizing and processing these materials on the other; otherwise known as the materials triangle. The material may be a metal, a ceramic, or a polymer, and it may be dispersed in the solid, liquid or gaseous state. Depending upon the desired application, the structure of the material may have to be investigated at the nuclear, atomic, molecular, granular, or larger length scales. The property that is determined by the structure may be mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, thermal, chemical, or biological. Synthesizing may be done by thermal, mechanical, photochemical, electrochemical, or biological processes. Many basic academic disciplines can be fruitfully applied to the solution of materials science problems. Among them, we note particularly chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. Faculty members guiding students in the Materials Science Program represent all four of these areas.
Further information on the Materials Science program can be found at the Materials Science website and also the Tri-campus site.
