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Materials Engineering
BE in the field of Materials Engineering - 4 years, Clayton campus
Double degrees with: Arts, Biomedical Science, Commerce, Law, Science
What is materials engineering?
The very first materials engineers were metallurgists who for centuries practised the art of shaping, treating and using metals.
Things have come a long way since then, today materials engineering involves developing new materials, or improving existing ones in categories as diverse as steels, light metal alloys, ceramics, concrete, plastic and composites.
A common emerging theme through much of the work is nanomaterials, biomaterials and green materials engineering.
These advances are aided by much improved experimental techniques, such as electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation, which offer a detailed understanding of the complex structures of materials and which can look at materials at the atomic level.
Understanding what these materials do and why they do it, is the first step to inventing new materials, and improving existing ones. Whether it’s a lighter and stronger jet engine, a biodegradable tissue scaffold for growing new organs from stem cells or developing new types of solar cells and batteries, the structure, properties and processing of materials used are absolutely crucial to the success of the final product.
What do materials engineers do? |
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Put simply, they change the properties or behaviour of materials (or both) to make them more useful and include them in new applications. They make a unique contribution to the design of new devices, products or components, and they make existing ones work better. Their work covers everything from the thermal protection of the space shuttle to high-tech artificial hip implants and artifical cochlear implants and muscles, to advanced battery systems for green electric cars, artificial hearts and laptop computers.
Their accomplishments and challenges include:
- Improved thrust-to-weight ratios for aircraft and cars- increasing the operating temperatures of engine components and reducing weight by developing better high-temperature engine alloys and lighter, stronger materials.
- Research into exciting new technologies - developing fibre optics thinner than a human hair able to support much higher amounts of information and suitable for efficient long communication lines.
- High-tech prosthetic limbs - developing ultra-light weight titanium alloys suitable for implantation which are biocompatible and do not corrode.
- Shape-memory alloys (or ‘metals with a memory’) - inventing anti-scald devices for showers, eyeglass frames that snap back into their original shape, or stents that can be used to clear blood veins of clots or obstructions."
- Superplasticity - creating materials that can be stretched as much as 1000 per cent using little force, offering exciting possibilities for unique fabrication.
- More efficient recycling techniques to conserve both materials and energy - improving materials recycling technologies that emphasise environmental protection by reducing harmful solid wastes.
Materials engineers also work as metallurgists, plastics engineers, ceramists, adhesive scientists, process and quality control engineers and corrosion or fracture engineers. They work in a range of industrial activities, including manufacturing, processing and recycling, and select and design materials for:
- Aerospace vehicles
- Ground transportation systems
- Automotive industry
- Solar energy and battery devices
- Biomedical implants and opthalmic devices
- Tissue engineering and drug delivery
- Information and communication systems
- Electronic and magnetic devices
- Optical and opto-electronic components.
Careers in materials engineering
Many Monash materials engineering students secure jobs months before graduating due to strong employer demand. New and improved materials are required now, more than at any other time in our history.
The expertise of materials engineers is required in many areas:
- Conservation of energy and recycling
- New biomaterials to image disease and heal the body
- Novel electro-optic polymers that allow greater amounts of information storage
- Lightweight metal alloys in cars to conserve energy
- New magnetic materials
- Materials for energy storage such as fuel cells
- Functional materials made on the nano scale to reduce costly corrosion
The ability to actually engineer, or create, materials to meet specific needs is only just being realised. Improved processing and characterisation equipments mean the possibilities are endless, and key to almost all aspects of manufacturing and engineering.The result for materials engineering graduates is overwhelmingly positive as unprecedented job opportunities continue to outstrip supply.
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