Opportunities For First-Year Students
Interested in learning more about DMSE in your first year? There are many opportunities for first-year students to learn about materials science and engineering, known at MIT as Course 3, participate in research, join community activities, and meet faculty and students.
SUMS Events
The Society of Undergraduate Materials Scientists, or SUMS, hosts social and informational events for first-year students throughout the year. To receive updates on upcoming events, email the DMSE Undergraduate Office at dmse-ugoffice@mit.edu.
First-Year UROP
Want to get started doing research in materials science in your first year? DMSE welcomes first-year students in its Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, known as UROP, including those without prior experience in the field. For more information on available opportunities, email the DMSE Undergraduate Office at dmse-ugoffice@mit.edu.
DMSE Breakerspace
The Breakerspace is a laboratory for the characterization of materials—that is, the probing and measuring of materials’ properties and structure. Located on the Infinite Corridor, the Breakerspace is open to all undergraduates at MIT, giving them access to powerful state-of-the-art equipment for research and exploration. It also features an undergrad-only lounge with the best espresso on campus! For more info on training and access, go to breakerspace.mit.edu
Wulff Lecture
Held twice a year, the Wulff Lecture is a general-audience lecture that aims to encourage MIT undergraduates to learn more about materials science and engineering. Speakers come from industry or academia and highlight how materials science and engineering is changing the world by addressing challenges of recycling, energy, manufacturing, water needs, and more. The lecture series honors the late MIT Professor John Wulff, a skilled teacher who inaugurated the popular first-year subject 3.091 (Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry).
Independent Activities Period (IAP)
Keep an eye out for DMSE courses offered during IAP, typically including welding, blacksmithing, and metalcasting. These activities are popular and often fill up quickly, so if you would like get on a list for advance notice, email the DMSE Undergraduate Office at dmse-ugoffice@mit.edu.
Materials Science and Engineering FPOP
Sign up for DMSE’s First Year Pre-orientation Program, commonly known as FPOP, and spend five days with current Course 3 students learning about materials science and engineering, meeting our professors, touring materials science startups, and exploring the Boston area.
Subjects for First-Year Students
3.000 Coffee Matters: Using the Breakerspace to Make the Perfect Cup
Uses the Course 3 (DMSE) Breakerspace to delve into the world of materials science through brewing, sipping, and testing several forms of coffee and espresso. Presents cutting-edge materials characterization tools, including optical and electron microscopes, spectroscopy techniques, and hardness/strength testing. Through experiments to analyze the composition and microstructure of coffee beans, grinds, and brewing equipment, students have the opportunity to learn how material properties influence the taste, aroma, and quality of espresso. Equips students with the knowledge and skills to appreciate coffee on a whole new level through application of materials characterization techniques, consideration of relevant physics and chemistry, and sampling.
3.001 Science and Engineering of Materials
Provides a broad introduction to topics in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s core subjects. Classes emphasize hands-on activities and conceptual and visual examples of materials phenomena and materials engineering, interspersed with guest speakers from inside and outside academia to show career paths.
3.002 Materials for Energy and Sustainability
Materials play a central role in the ongoing global transformation toward more sustainable means of harvesting, storing, and conserving energy, through better batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen electrolyzers, photovoltaics, and the like. Methods for producing materials such as cement, steel, ammonia, and ethylene, which rank among today’s largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, are being re-invented. Much of this work is taking place at MIT and surrounding cleantech startups. This class discusses the underlying science of selected new technologies, the challenges that must be overcome, and the magnitude of their potential impact. Visits to the startups behind each case study and meetings with the scientists and engineers creating these technologies are included.
A popular first-year class, 3.091 is a General Institute Requirement. It provides an introduction to the fundamental principles and concepts of solid-state chemistry, the study of the properties and behavior of materials in the solid state. The class aims to develop a foundational understanding of the structure, bonding, and properties of solids, including crystals, ceramics, and metals. It covers topics such as crystal structures, crystallography, crystal defects, phase diagrams, thermodynamics, and electrical and magnetic properties of solids.
To get a preview of the class, check out videos from prior years.
Want to get a head start on your DMSE degree or minor? If you’ve taken the chemistry GIR, and have taken or will concurrently take 18.03, you may want to consider taking 3.020 in the spring of your first year. 3.020 is a core requirement for all three DMSE degrees (3, 3-A, 3-C), as well as for both minors.