Overview of Graduate Study in Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) offers graduate degree programs that emphasize applied as well as fundamental aspects of mechanical engineering and materials science. The graduate training and research programs are supported by modern computational and experimental emphasis and a strong tradition of applied sciences and mathematics. The graduate programs lead to degrees of Master of Science (MS), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Mechanical Engineering (MME), and Master of Materials Science (MMS). The MS and PhD degrees require research and theses, while the MME and MMS are non-research degrees.
Graduate students in mechanical engineering receive training and conduct research in the traditional mechanical engineering areas as well as the specialized interests of its outstanding faculty, which include mechanics, computational mechanics, stochastic mechanics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, dynamics and control, robotics, biomedical systems, and aerospace sciences.
The graduate program in materials science and engineering is an interdisciplinary program with a core activity in advanced materials research and special research opportunities in nanotechnology, metals physics, statistical mechanics, metallic solid thermodynamics, materials chemistry, aspects of composites, coatings and thin films, and interface science. Materials science has several faculty with joint appointments in other science and engineering areas, assuring a diverse program in a broad materials science field.
The MEMS graduate program also partners with other departments in its educational and research activities. The collaborations with the Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics involve computational methods and optimization. Work on expert systems and robotics is done in cooperation with the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science. Computer graphics research involves the cooperation of the Department of Computer Science and the School of Architecture. The campus wide Rice Quantum Institute is also active in the research of electronic materials and other aspects of materials science. Finally, biomechanics and biomaterials research involves several institutions in the Texas Medical Center. These collaborations reflect the comprehensive scope of the research activities that make graduate study in MEMS an enjoyable challenge.
Graduate Study Admissions Brochure - 2010 - Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
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