Materials research at Oregon State University is undergoing rapid growth, with new faculty hires in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Wood Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
Currently, there are over 50 faculty members and 40 graduate students in the Materials Science program at OSU. Research funding comes from a wide range of sources, including the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the Department of Energy. In 2015 alone, Materials Science faculty at OSU authored over 90 papers in peer-reviewed materials science-related journals and their work was cited over 2,800 times according to Web of Science.
The discipline of materials science is inherently interdisciplinary, involving fundamental aspects of chemistry, physics, biology, geoscience, agricultural science, mathematics, and engineering.
Reflecting this character, the materials science program at Oregon State University, initiated in the 1980s, is spread over nine different departments spanning three OSU colleges. This allows students to earn M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science in many different areas of concentration, including all classes of materials, and in a wide range of materials behavior. The coursework requirements are extremely flexible to allow students to tailor their program of study to directly support their research activities.
For undergraduates we have a B.S. degree via the Atlantis Program. Here, Oregon State and Saarlandes University (Saarbrucken, Germany), have created a unique bachelors degree program focused on creating a new kind of engineer with a global perspective that will enable them to operate in the complex multinational workplace of the future. Students who complete the program will receive two bachelors degrees in a four to five year program - a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from OSU and a B.S. in Materials Science from Saarlandes University.
Somayeh Pasebani, assistant professor of advanced manufacturing, leads cutting-edge research in additive manufacturing.
Next-generation materials research focuses primarily on structural materials, biomaterials, electronic ceramics, energy materials, sensors, and bulk and thin film materials processing.
Samuel Briggs, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, and Julie Tucker, associate professor of materials science, are developing materials that survive harsh conditions of nuclear reactors.
Stephanie Grigar
Graduate Program Coordinator
stephanie.grigar@oregonstate.edu
