Materials Science and Engineering

Binghamton University offers both a master of science and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). There are two tracks that students can take in the program. One is led by the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences and the other is led by the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. The information below is for those interested in Watson College's track of the Materials Science and Engineering program.

Students from a variety of disciplines are invited to apply to the engineering track of the Materials Science and Engineering graduate programs. 

The expectation is that MS students will complete their degree in 12–15 months, and they have the option for an all-course or a course and thesis degree. PhD students are expected to
complete all course work in 12–15 months, start their research in the first year and normally complete the degree in four years.

Entering our program with an MS degree can allow completion of the PhD in less than
four years. All students take a common set of courses in the first year covering: the properties of materials, techniques for studying materials, thermodynamics and reactivity of materials, and materials communications. Our faculty have an extensive legacy of research and of offering relevant materials science and engineering academic training. Our graduation record
supports this training excellence and our graduates readily find positions in academia, industry and national labs.

To be eligible for graduate study in MSE, you must have:

• A bachelor's or master's degree in a physical science or engineering discipline from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university
• A 3.0 GPA in your undergraduate and/or graduate degree and with most courses graded regularly (not as "pass/fail")

Research facilities

The campus has an outstanding central materials characterization facility as well as
access to the Synchroton and nanofabrication/characterization capabilities at National

Laboratories. In addition, several large research centers provide specialized facilities:

• NECCES, a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center is a materials consortium that studies the fundamental limitations to lithium batteries. It has dry room facilities for manufacturing cells.
• CAMM, a Federal flexible roll-to-roll materials consortium provides forefront capabilities for flexible devices.
• CASP provides state-of-the-art facilities for making and studying solar cells.
• The Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) provides facilities for pursuing research in electronic systems integration and packaging.
• The Institute for Materials Research coordinates research activities focused on surfaces and interfaces important within smart energy devices.

Research areas and faculty

Materials is by its very nature interdisciplinary, so all students can expect to collaborate across several research groups. In addition, there is ample opportunity to collaborate with industry from the multi-national to the start-up. Students are expected to choose a research advisor by the end of their first semester. Below are listed some of the potential research areas:

Energy conversion and storage (batteries, fuel cells, solar, etc.):
Tara Dhakal, Guangwen Zhou

Biomaterials:
Guy German

Flexible electronics and electronics packaging:
Junghyun Cho, Bruce Murray, Mark Poliks, Bahgat Sammakia

Theory and modeling:
Ron Miles, Bruce Murray, Xin "Frank" Yong, Guangwen Zhou

Processing, microstructure and mechanical behavior of materials:
Junghyun Cho, Changhong Ke, Bruce Murray, Timothy Singler, Guangwen Zhou