Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rutgers University!

Materials Science and Engineering is the discipline in engineering that combines chemistry and physics to produce all of the devices, gadgets, structures and inventions that enable our lives. Just think, if not for the strong, fracture-resistant glass on the surface of your smart phone, you would not be walking around with a powerful computer in your pocket. That is just one example of how an advance in materials made it possible to assemble this device, without which most of us cannot survive. The Materials Science and Engineering Department has been at the forefront of new materials for over a century. To be sure, engineering is an interdisciplinary endeavor, and engineers work in teams with expertise in design, electronics, applications and processing. As a materials engineer, you are the key component of the team, and in many ways, you make everything and everyone work together.

Here at Rutgers-MSE, we have state of the art laboratories and several major research and education centers focused in critical areas, including energy storage, nanomaterials, optical composites, lightweight armor and computational materials science. Most of our undergraduate students have an opportunity to take on an independent research project, initially with the help of graduate students and postdoctoral scientists. Ultimately, our students pursue original research, which often results in publications and opportunities to present their results at national and international meetings. We encourage our students to become involved in their professional societies, to begin building their network with alumni and practicing engineers. Placing our students in internships in industry and in research laboratories is a common outcome of the relationships that our students form with their faculty mentors.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions. And in 2023, we expect to have a grand salute to materials when our department celebrates its 121st Year.

Lisa C. Klein, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor and Chair