About Us
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) is one of the leading research and education institutions in the nation.
We have major research activities in several focus areas in materials science and engineering including nanomaterials/nanotechnology, bio materials, energy systems, advanced structural materials, and electronic materials.
Our state-of-the-art research facilities, excellent faculty and support staff, combined with generous external funding, allows advanced studies in these critical materials research areas of national priority. Our program has a tradition of excellence in education and training. It is exciting for our faculty to help students to progress through the selective admissions procedure, the rigors of modern courses, the presentations of oral seminars and proposals, the challenging work of independent thesis research, and the writing of dissertations and publications.
It is a rewarding experience to observe the dedicated student grow from a probing beginner to a creative scientist and engineer who is able to make significant contributions to the knowledge of his/her field. It has been satisfying to see graduates excel in subsequent industrial, postdoctoral, governmental, or academic positions. Our program provides the intellectual atmosphere and all the help necessary for every aspect of that growth.
UT Arlington, the third largest component of The University of Texas System, is located in the center of the economically and culturally vibrant Dallas/Fort Worth "Metroplex" and looks confidently into the future. We at UT Arlington have the oldest, largest, and most diversified MSE program in North Texas. We invite you to visit us and meet with the faculty, or call any of us with your inquiries.
History
The History of the Materials Science and Engineering Program at UT Arlington
The Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Texas at Arlington dates from the mid 1960’s when Dr. Carl Wiseman was hired by The College of Engineering to initiate a graduate program in Materials Science. That occurred in Fall 1966 when The College of Engineering became the first component of UT Arlington authorized to offer graduate degrees. Thus, Fall 1966 became the genesis of all graduate programs at UT Arlington, and the Materials Science Program was one of that special group. In 1969 the materials program, was authorized to offer doctorate degrees, along with most programs in The College of Engineering.
The first materials courses taught that fall of 1966 were within The Department of Engineering Mechanics. In fact, the early graduates of the materials program had their degrees titled “Engineering Mechanics”. That would change over the next decade and a half of the program’s evolution, as the materials faculty and materials degree responsibilities were changed to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The degrees were clearly identified as “Materials Science” or “MATS” by that time. In the early years, the materials faculty consisted only of Dr. Carl Wiseman and Dr. Robert Johnson. In 1980, Dr. Roger Goolsby joined the materials faculty.
The next significant change in the materials program came in 1990, after an extensive external review of the doctoral program. The reviewers endorsed substantial changes in the structuring of the program that had been proposed by an interdisciplinary group of faculty from The College of Engineering and The College of Science, led by chemistry Professor John Reynolds. The UT Arlington administration followed the recommendations of the reviewers and made a sustained commitment to the program by providing additional resources, approving an increase in the number of materials faculty, and hiring the first Director for the program, Dr. Ron Elsenbaumer. In 1990 the name of the program was changed to “Materials Science and Engineering”, reflecting the broader interdisciplinary scope of the expanded program. The program also was moved from being under the umbrella of the Mechanical Engineering Department. During the following years, an effective interdisciplinary program developed that involved faculty in MSE and faculty in several departments in The College of Science and The College of Engineering. 1990 also was the year in which the founder of the program, Dr. Carl Wiseman, retired. A year later, Dr. Pranesh Aswath joined the faculty, bringing the total number of materials faculty back to three.
Dr. Elsenbaumer served as Director of Materials Science and Engineering from 1992 until 2003, leading an impressive growth in the program. During his tenure, Dr. Choong-un Kim joined (1996) the faculty. Elsenbaumer stepped down as Director so that he could assume his new role as Vice President for Research for the university and currently being appointed as Provost. Dr. Robert Johnson also retired from the program in 2003. With the departure of Dr. Elsenbaumer, Dr. Roger Goolsby served as Interim Director for MSE from 2003 until 2005. At that time, Dr. Efstathios I. Meletis joined UT Arlington as the new Director for the program. Under his leadership MSE expanded tremendously obtaining national and international recognition. In August 2006, the MSE Program granted departmental level following the decision of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The current core faculty in MSE now number 8, with the additions of Dr. Seong-Jin Koh (2003), Dr. Michael Jin (2005), Dr. Yaowu Hao (2005) and Dr. Fuqiang Liu (2009). The program presently has close to 70 graduate students, with about half being doctoral students. Curriculum and research have evolved to broadly cover almost all technological and scientific aspects of materials. In 2006, a University-wide Minor in Materials Science and Engineering was established offering materials science educational opportunities at the undergraduate level. It’s come a long way from the Fall of 1966, when Dr. Carl Wiseman and an adjunct faculty member taught those first two graduate courses.
