Drexel's MSE Department is very unique. Being such a small group, all students can easily participate in undergraduate research... in fact the MSE Department would like to see 100% undergraduate research participation! Early undergraduate experience in research is becoming increasingly important for all engineering students, providing a foundation for future careers in either academia or industry. Research experience enables students to gain hands-on expertise in basic and advanced research techniques prior to their first co-op, to become involved in leading-edge research, and to develop a portfolio of skills extending beyond the classroom. All of these contribute to a résumé that distinguishes students with such experience from their peers. Check out the research opportunities available below!! As always, please go see a faculty advisor if you have any questions or have any interest in their research field. Getting involved in research now can save you a lot of time and energy in the future when it comes time to chosing a Senior Design Project. Research is exciting... why wait until Senior year???

Go to the link at the top of the page to see the undergraduate research opportunities!!

Course Overview

Early undergraduate experience in research is becoming increasingly important for all engineering students, providing a foundation for future careers in either academia or industry. Research experience enables students to gain hands-on expertise in basic and advanced research techniques prior to their first Co-op, to become involved in leading-edge research, and to develop a portfolio of skills extending beyond the classroom. All of these contribute to a Resumé that distinguishes students with such experience from their peers.

This special topics sequence comprising 2 courses, offered in the Winter and Spring terms, which, together with the MatE-100 2-day course offered in the Fall term, represents a total of 6 credits of materials science and engineering related technical electives in the Freshman Year.
Key components of this course sequence include:

    * Freshman-year participation in current materials-related research programs.
    * Hands-on experience working as a member of an established MSE Dept. research group.
    * Improved preparation of students for their first Co-op.
    * Opportunities to publish and present a technical paper in a Journal or at a Conference.

Learning Objectives

    * Fundamentals of rigorous, safe and professional research laboratory practice.
    * The importance of maintaining good research records.
    * Laboratory safety.
    * The research process – formulation of hypotheses, design of experiments, analysis and reporting of results, presentation of experimental research data and teamwork.

Course Requirements

    * Minimum of 5 hours/week working on defined/agreed research project in the lab.
    * Participation in regular lab. research group meetings, meeting with Faculty Advisor.
    * Maintenance of a laboratory notebook.
    * Writing and submission of a term paper summarizing each term’s research activities. Papers will be graded (letter grade) by the Faculty Advisor.
    * Presentation of a poster summarizing the students’ research experiences and accomplishments at the end of the course sequence.
    * Submission of an abstract, approved by the Faculty Advisor, for a materials-related conference, and if accepted, writing and presentation of the resulting technical paper.

Registration

    * Students should select and submit their top 3 choices of MSE faculty they would like to work with. Follow for details of faculty interest areas and contact information.
    * An MSE faculty member must formally agree to serve as the student’s advisor.
    * Preference will be given to Freshmen declaring Materials Engineering as their major, Freshmen taking a minor in Materials Engineering, and dual majors with Materials Engineering as one of their designated programs.
    * There is no GPA requirement, however, enrollment will require permission from the MSE Department.

Notes: The MSE Dept. will cover the cost of travel, hotel and registration (up to a total of $1,000) for students whose abstracts/papers are accepted for presentation at a materials-related conference.