Materials Science: the Essential Evolution of Materials
The dramatic progress in living standards, over the last hundred years especially, has been possible only by the evolution of new materials. This course introduces the wide breadth of Materials Science. It shows how the radically different responses of the huge range of materials we use in quite varied situations in everyday life enable us to exploit and benefit from their distinctive characteristics.
Topics include atomic structure and its relevance to all classes of materials, the basis of mechanical and physical properties, environmental degradation and optimisation using anisotropy. Examples of materials evolution will be used to show how diverse materials are tailored to specific applications including transportation, power generation, communication and health care. Further understanding and development of materials are essential given the demanding and growing challenges of sustainability. Science and technology must provide some solutions and Materials Science has a pivotal role in enabling innovation and change.
Throughout the course, participants will be encouraged to draw on and ask questions about their own experiences of materials. Online resources will be introduced to underpin some of the concepts and a full set of lecture notes is provided at the start of the course.
Intended Audience
The course is science and engineering based but is not necessarily limited to those majoring in science or engineering. It should be accessible to liberal arts students providing they have a good background in science, and if they are motivated to understand the world around them. Hence the course is for any student wishing to discover why and how so many of the materials around us are designed to meet our needs, as well as what the future might hold.
Previous Knowledge
Pre-requisite knowledge is minimal but an awareness of and interest in scientific approaches plus at least high-school physics and chemistry are essential. An open mind is needed plus a willingness to engage with scientific and technological concepts related to the world we share.
Dr Rob Wallach
Dr Rob Wallach is an Emeritus Senior Lecturer in the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy and former Vice-Provost of King’s College; his degrees are from Cambridge and also Queen’s University, Canada. His research has focused primarily on joining materials, both developing new approaches and addressing challenging applications (aircraft engine turbine blades, car bodies, electronic circuits). The aim is to tackle real problems and find solutions of a generic nature through modelling and experiments, thus optimising uses of new materials and their exploitation.
Dr Wallach also has been extensively involved in a wide range of University educational and welfare issues. Additionally, he participates in outreach activities to broaden access for future students, and to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability and the role of materials science. He recently was the University’s Director of the Postdoctoral Academy, addressing the needs of the postdoctoral community (numbering ~4,000 across all disciplines) in the University.