Summer Camps and Career Explorations

Summer Camps and Career Explorations

The Ubiquitous Discipline of Materials Science and Engineering

Look around you! Materials compose everything you see. You can observe both man-made and natural materials in everything from your cell phone, to your bike, to your own backyard. Materials scientists and engineers create the materials that touch our everyday lives and drive advances in civilization, including

  • Nanotechnologies that make computers smaller, faster, and more economical;
  • Solar photovoltaic systems that provide affordable power;
  • Metamaterials, which may someday be fabricated into a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak or a superlens;
  • Tough composites that make mountain bikes lighter and stronger;
  • Nanotubes and buckyballs; and
  • Artificial skin for burn victims and other biomaterials.

Mold a Rewarding Career in Almost Any Field with MSE

The field of materials science and engineering (MSE) offers career opportunities as boundless as your imagination, in just about every industry. The “science” component of the field seeks to understand the natural and man-made properties and phenomena of materials through the scientific method. Once a material is thoroughly researched and characterized, engineering can be employed to create, fabricate, or improve the material to suit the needs of society.

MSE is a hub discipline, having strong connections with other disciplines that rely on materials including chemistry, biology, archeology, economics, and physics. Experts in these fields collaborate with materials scientists and engineers to understand the role of materials in their own work.

Discover MSE in Summer Youth Programs

Come join us on a quest to learn about MSE! Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Program offers activities in materials science and engineering (outlined below) that will provide you with an array of opportunities to explore this fascinating field—and may help you decide if MSE is a good career fit for you.

Explorations in Engineering

Have fun exploring the world of materials! Get hands-on experience with materials science and engineering:

  • Create materials by pouring molten metal.
  • Process materials by hammering and heating.
  • Peer into the structure of materials through a microscope.

Look around--materials are everywhere! Learn how processing changes structure, and how structure controls the behavior of materials. Understanding the basic science of a material allows us to engineer and improve the material. Experience scientific methodology, hands-on engineering, critical thinking, and discovery-based learning.

Group Program Sessions

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering hosts weeklong sessions as part of Summer Youth’s Women in Engineering program and Engineering Scholars Program. Peruse the descriptions below.