Materials and Energy Science and Engineering

Program Overview

Materials and Energy Science and Engineering

Course Fees

Some courses may carry fees beyond the standard tuition costs to cover additional support or materials. Program-, subject- and course-specific fee information can be found on the Office of the Bursar website.

Course Descriptions

MESE 593. Independent Study in Materials and Energy Science & Engineering

• Units: 1-6
• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600, MESE 601, or permission of instructor
• Description: Independent research and/or studies conducted with the approval and supervision of a faculty member on a particular topic that fits in scope within Materials and Energy Science & Engineering. Note: Cross-listed with MESE 693.

MESE 600. Energy Science and Engineering

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Description: This course presents an overview of global challenges associated with energy/environment nexus, energy demand, generation and storage. In particular, the course will cover fundamentals of thermodynamics, physics, chemistry and kinetics as applied to various energy technologies.

MESE 601. Materials Science and Engineering

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Description: Provides a background in materials for students coming from various majors in engineering and science. The course will review fundamental crystal structures, structure, bonding relations and defects in crystals.

MESE 603. Fundamentals of Electrical, Optical and Thermal Properties of Solid Materials

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 601 or permission by instructor
• Description: This course is intended to introduce the fundamentals of electrical, optical and thermal properties of materials along with relevant characterization methods.

MESE 610. Materials Characterization: Microscopy & Diffraction

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Summer Only
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 601
• Description: This course provides graduate students fundamental understanding of some of the most important material's characterization techniques.

MESE 612. Photovoltaics and Solar Fuels

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600, MESE 601
• Description: This course develops the fundamentals of semiconductor physics specific to solar energy and uses these key concepts to understand solar cell behavior.

MESE 614. Biomass Processing and Biofuels

• Units: 3
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600 or permission of instructor
• Description: Manufacturing of bio-based products (materials, chemicals and energy produced using sustainable resources such as agricultural biomass) offers socio-economic and environmental benefits.

MESE 616. Energy Storage Systems

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Prerequisite(s): ME 440
• Description: This course will cover functional knowledge of various energy storage modes with emphasis on electrochemical energy storage.

MESE 619. Industrial Catalysis

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Description: This course will teach scientific and technological concepts involved with industrial catalysis in many chemical processing applications.

MESE 622. Roll to Roll Processing

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
• Description: Continuous manufacturing through roll-to-roll processes has been a staple within several industries over the past century including film, newspaper and other traditional low cost high volume products.

MESE 640. Entrepreneurship in Renewable Energy

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600; MESE 618; or ECE 531
• Description: The renewables market will continue to grow as the world seeks and finds cleaner and more sustainable techniques to produce energy.

MESE 642. Techno-Economic Analysis and Energy Policy

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600 or instructor approval
• Description: While many novel scientific ideas are being explored for renewable energy generation and energy storage, a successful technology will require more than a proof-of-concept and an efficient prototype.

MESE 644. Smart Manufacturing

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600, MESE 601
• Description: Smart Manufacturing are systems that are "fully-integrated, collaborative manufacturing systems that respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the factory, in the supply network, and in customer needs" (NIST).

MESE 690. Master's Project

• Units: 3
• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600, MESE 601
• Description: Students enrolled in this course will engage in an engineering project or research activity and produce a report that demonstrates both mastery of the subject matter and a high level of communication skills.

MESE 693. Independent Study in Materials and Energy Science & Engineering

• Units: 1-6
• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Prerequisite(s): MESE 600, MESE 601, or permission of instructor
• Description: Independent research and/or studies conducted with the approval and supervision of a faculty member on a particular topic that fits in scope within Materials and Energy Science & Engineering. Note: Cross-listed with MESE 593.