Structure of Materials
Discover the structure of the materials that make up our modern world and learn how this underlying structure influences the properties and performance of these materials.
Structure of Materials
Discover the structure of the materials that make up our modern world and learn how this underlying structure influences the properties and performance of these materials.
Structure determines so much about a material: its properties, its potential applications, and its performance within those applications. This course from MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering explores the structure of a wide variety of materials with current-day engineering applications.
What you'll learn
- How we characterize the structure of glasses and polymers
- The principles of x-ray diffraction that allow us to probe the structure of crystals
- How the symmetry of a material influences its materials properties
- The properties of liquid crystals and how these materials are used in modern display technologies
- How defects impact numerous properties of materials—from the conductivity of semiconductors to the strength of structural materials
Prerequisites
- University-level chemistry
- Single-variable calculus
- Some basic linear algebra
Meet your instructors
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Visiting Professor -
Principal Lecturer and Digital Learning Scientist
Silvija Gradečak
Silvija Gradečak
Visiting Professor
Silvija Gradečak is a former Visiting Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Prof. Gradečak's research focuses on nano-photonics and electronics and is based on the synthesis, characterization and integration of low-dimensional systems. By taking the advantage of unique material properties on a nanoscale, she explores novel optoelectronic applications such as nanoscale light-emitting sources, single photon sources, or nanowire lasers.
Understanding the properties of such nanosystems requires multidisciplinary approach and new instrumental tools. Prof. Gradečak uses rational synthesis of free-standing nanoscale objects like nanocrystals, nanotubes, and nanowires and combine spectroscopic techniques, transport measurements and advanced electron microscopy techniques to directly correlate structural and physical properties on the nanometer scale. Experimental techniques and methodologies that are being developed as a part of her research endeavor are generally applicable to any material system where interplay between nanostructure, properties, and performance becomes significant.
Jessica Sandland
Jessica Sandland
Principal Lecturer and Digital Learning Scientist
Jessica Sandland is a principal lecturer in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), where she leads online learning initiatives-- developing massive open online courses (MOOCs), collaborating with faculty, researching best practices in online learning, and designing blended learning experiences for the MIT community. She has overseen the development of a wide variety of DMSE’s online courses, including 3.086x (Innovation and Commercialization), 3.032x (Mechanical Behavior of Materials), 3.024x (Electronic, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Materials), 3.15x (Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Materials and Devices), and 3.054x (Cellular Solids).
Jessica is one of the co-founders and leads of the MICRO program, whose mission is to provide a remote research and education experience for engineering undergraduates from disadvantaged backgrounds. She also serves as a senior member of Open Learning’s Digital Learning Laboratory. Her current research interests include the utility of peer review in open online courses and the use of humor in MOOCs, and she’s received awards for Best Paper in ‘20 and ‘22 for her contributions to the IEEE LWMOOCs Conference. Jessica also received the 2019 MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs and was a finalist for the 2019 edX prize. Jessica holds a Ph.D. in electronic materials from MIT.