Research Centers

The Department of Materials Science & Engineering faculty work in many interdisciplinary research centers, including one of only six Centers for Nanotechnology in the country.

Polymers

Research focuses on polymer reaction engineering including devolatilization and heat transfer. Current work emphasizes bulk polymerizations in tubular reactors and segregation phenomena in stirred tank reactors.

Additional Links:
View Polymer Research Topic

NSF IGERT On Fuel Cells

Working in the broader context of "Global Energy Security", MS&E faculty are working on:

• fuel cell development,
• hydrogen generation and storage,
• electrochemistry,
• solid state and polymer science,
• and the application of nano-materials in fuel cell and hydrogen research

Center for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research

Additional Links:
NSF IGERT Fellowship - New Ph.D. program in the Engineering, Science, and Entrepreneurship of Fuel Cells

Nanomaterials

As part of Rensselaer's core research area of nanotechnolgy, MS&E faculty are working on a variety of ground-breaking initiatives in nanotechnology. Highlights include:

• Creating novel materials and devices that can, for example, create stronger and more durable plastics, enable high capacity energy and information storage devices, and produce flame-retardant plastics for planes and automobiles.

Research areas include:

• advanced materials and coatings,
• biosciences and biotechnology,
• nanoelectronics, microelectronics, and nanosystems.

Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center

Additional Links:
MS&E faculty - Nanotechnology

Material Properties

MS&E faculty are working on range of issues related to the mechanical, physical and electronic properties of materials. Topics include:

• Composite Materials Faculty
• Glass Materials Faculty
• Materials for Microelectronic Systems Faculty
• Materials Processing Faculty
• Metals Faculty

Computational Modeling

Computational modeling at the MSE department focuses on atomic and mesoscale-level modeling of materials emphasizing the relationships between material microstucture and various properties, and well as kinetics of the microstructure development. Specific efforts include atomistic modeling of thermal transport at nanoscale applied to nanocrystalline materials, nanocomposites and biomolecular environments. Another focus is on predicting and understanding conformation and dynamics of macromolecules at interfaces applied to polymer composites, polymer solutions and thin films. Mesoscale level studies use phase-field-based models to address kinetic processes driven by surface tension, as is the case for microstructure evolution, phase transition and phase separation, and lipid membrane dynamics. The modeling programs in the MSE department are coupled with a number of campus wide efforts including those associated with the Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations and the Scientific Computation Research Center and involve multiple interdisciplinary programs with faculty from Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics and Chemistry departments.

Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations

Additional Links:
Computational Modeling Faculty

Biomaterials

As part of Rensselaer's core initiative in Biotechnology Research, MS&E faculty are working with researchers at the NSF Center for the Directed Assembly of Nanostructures. They are part of a pioneering group that are examining the effects of nanotechnology in tissue engineering.

Additional Links:
MS&E faculty - Biomaterials