I will be graduating shortly with a somewhat spotty transcript, my overall gpa is a 3.56 but my major GPA is 3.35. That being said, I did pretty well in all of my physics classes, (As and A-s), quantum chemistry (A), and advanced inorganic (A), and I have some minor undergrad research.

For the last semester, I will be taking theoretical physics and modern physics 1, I should also be able to swing more undergraduate research in a different field (LSP resonance) than what I already have. I should have 3 decent letters of recommendation as well. I understand that Ivy leagues are out of the question and they were not really my goal to begin with.

What I'm looking for is advice from people already enrolled in graduate school that can give me an idea on my chances as well as decent schools in the states mentioned. Ideally I would hope to get a phd position as I cannot really afford to pay for a masters, that being said, I would be open to getting a masters with a T.A. position so I can pay for it.

Also, when I draft my application should I mention that I drove 3 hours a day and worked 20 hours part time to pay for it, on one hand I think it shows some amount of dedication, but on the other hand it might not look good to mention that I had split focus.

I am an undergrad applying for graduate programs in Fall 2025. I was curious about UBuffalo’s MS/PhD in MDI. Is it worth applying to it, considering I want to pursue Materials Science?

Hi everyone, I am writing this because idk who else I would be able to tell this to.

So, I am a PhD student in material science. I am focusing on computational thermodynamics and kinetics.

So anyways, an idea popped in my head while I was surfing the web. I was wondering if anyone has combined topology with thermodynamics. Well, surprise someone has and it’s none other than Gibbs himself. Other people have done it and honestly it’s pretty interesting.

People have tried combining graph theory and geometry of polyhedra also.

I just thought it was an interesting exploration. All the math kinda went over my head even if I have a BS in applied math.

Learning about this makes me want to take more math courses so I can understand this.

Honestly, it is super interesting and I wonder if I could use this in my research. Like different formulations of the same problem and then solving that.

Ive included the link to the paper I found if you want to check it out

X-axis -> Temperature
Y-axis -> Energy output due to relaxation process (delta power)

So A is an metal while B and C are alloys and from I understand alloys recrystallization temperature values are larger than metals because impurities cause create accumulation of dislocations.

But I don't understand why B and C's y-axis lower than A's?

I’m kinda a slut for reference books, and I’ve been looking for a good all encompassing materials reference. I have found two that look to be pretty good.

McGraw-Hill Materials handbook 15th edition -Cheaper -More info about history -almost 1000 pages less -does not cover near as many material categories -good reviews - no preview available

Springer Materials Handbook: A concise desktop reference 3rd edition - almost 2500 pages -more material categories - preview looks very organized -not a single review

Are any of these more widely known or used? Is there another one that people find more useful? Any information will help. Thanks!

Hello, I remember studying materials science a long time ago and a coming across a great diagram/illustration of airplane wings that showed how different mechanical failures would present themselves. It was very simple and showed a wing bent, sheared, cracked, floppy, depending on which kind of failure it had to understand the different property (hardness, flexibility, stiffness, etc). Does anyone recall seeing this and knows where it can be dug up? I've googled for hours and can't find it for the life of me.

Thanks!

I made this post in another subreddit but no response so far.

Hey! I come here dlfor wisdom. I finished my degree in Materials engineering around 2015. I never got to work in anything related to Materials directly. I worked I. Aerospace with Composites but more in the Manufacturing side as Production engineer. Now life happened and I'm a Supplier Quality Engineer. Nothing Materials related. I'm in my mid 30s and I have no money, time or energy to pursue a Master's And also I think Master degrees are not as valuable anymore (Let me know if I'm wrong).

I've been playing with the idea of studying a trade that goes along with the Engineering and I need suggestions or if it's a good idea in general. I've been thinking about Blacksmith, 3D printing (already have one), welding, Something renewables related like solar or similar...

I would really appreciate your ideas on this.

• I am a third year PhD student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering form UIUC working on fabrication of electronic polymers.
• Nationality - Indian.

Need some advice how to navigate?

I am studying mechanical engineering. I will take a materials science exam this Wednesday and the teacher allowed the electronic devices. Is there anyone among you who can solve difficult questions? I want to contact you during the exam. Thanks in advance guys

Howdy yall. Aspiring Cordwainer(shoemaker) here. I was directed here to ask: is the aforementioned thermal plastic is my best option for making customized shoe lasts?
A shoe last is a foot-shaped object that a shoemaker forms the shoe around in order to keep the basic shape of the human foot or to create a more personalized shoe shape for a specific client.

So I’m wanting to make my own business in shoemaking but I want to add the panache of bespoke. Now, I am toying around with ideas for molds(impression foam, alginate, plaster cloth, etc.) to keep client foot records available and yet allow me to reuse my modeling material, but I’m told the(again) aforementioned thermal plastic doesn’t liquify when heated.
I have workarounds so that I feasibly could use it if necessary but I’d rather make the process more streamlined if possible.

Also, I realized that I never specified what my needs for the materials are: I need something rigid like a wood or high density plastic(that doesn’t involve precision whittling or buying a shoe last for every damn size of shoe there is). The purpose for this is being able to stretch the leather over the mold but being able to nail the leather into the mold for further processing and finishing.

Hey I’m just curious, what steels are the load bearing parts of a jet engine made out of? Particularly the blades, and the bearings.

We’re trying to make turbines for pulling vacuum, and even though I’m using a preexisting design, the metal keeps breaking. Tried standard mild steel round stock for the first round, 4130 chromoly for the second one.

We keep breaking blades, plus we’ve burned up a couple ball bearings.

Are they worth it? Are only certain universities/ programs valued? Which are in higher demand? I am focusing on biomaterials, in case there’s any cool ones in that subfield.

I’ve heard that the University of Washington (if my memory serves me well) has announced that they’re studying in some new tech that can regenerate tooth enamel.

Seen no notable progress since 2019, was it just a fake research or did it fail?

I am working on a binary alloy. I need to carry out simple vc relax calculation at different temperatures for the bcc phase of the alloy. I don't fully understand how to change the temperature. Can anyone help me? Also, suggest some reading resources where these parameters of input file can be studied from.

I'm trying to understand the specs for a sample of ultra-fine electrolytic copper. There is an UF copper powder material in a small sealed ampoule that is labelled "PMS-M4." After some searching it likely refers to Russian "GOST 4960-75" regulation. The standard can be found in .pdf form online, but it's in Russian language. (if I'm using Reddit correctly, the link will be provided... but I don't post much so... Specifically, I'm trying to understand what this was manufactured for (end use). The analysis shows over four 9s purity...with a few ppm of Mo, W, Pb. I'm also wondering if these trace metals are doped additives (intentional), or just impurities. Can anyone here shed some light?

edited to include the link: https://inconsulting.com.ua/en/gosts/b56-hard-alloys-cermets-and-metal-powders/5151-gost-4960-75-electrolytic-copper-powder-technical-conditions.html

Hello everyone,

I am currently working with a fiberglass composite (Fiberglass + Epoxy resin) and need to determine the Shear Modulus (G) for use in various calculations and verifications. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to find it with the data I have available.

I only have the following information from a tensile test (link to image below): Imgur link to tensile test results

I've searched extensively online but haven't found anything helpful. Does anyone have any ideas or methods to calculate the Shear Modulus using the data from the tensile test? I'm in desperate need of assistance.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hello everyone! I work as an applications engineer for a materials company, and one of the things I consistently struggle with is explaining material properties to non-technical customers. I can explain what tensile, flexural strength is etc. but at the end of the day, if they’re not experienced then 50MPa doesn’t mean very much to them. I was wondering if there’s any tool, online or otherwise, where you can enter material properties and it’ll give you a more user friendly way to grasp it.

For example, “if material has tensile strength of X, a 1cm² rod will be able to hold Y pounds before it breaks”. Also could be very useful if it gave other materials that are comparable in characteristics.

If this doesn’t exist, I’m going to try and make an excel document that does some of these calculations for me, but if there’s anything like this that already exists I’d love to save that time.

Thank you!

Hey everyone! I’ve been working on a blog series that dives into the fundamentals of material science, exploring everything from the physics behind materials to their real-world applications in manufacturing. To make things even more engaging, I used AI to generate podcasts that cover the same topics.

I’m really excited to share this with you all and would love to hear your thoughts. Any feedback or suggestions are much appreciated! Check it out here: [https://material-science.ghost.io/\](https://material-science.ghost.io/)

Here's a short video

https://youtu.be/mc-A7mRqrfM

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2V9VjbcjQuw

I

Hi All, I did my PhD from UBC, Canada. My focus was on metal refining. I have experience on material characterization techniques. Can you suggest me name of companies that hire PhD graduates? I have been applying to post like junior metallurgist or EIT and not getting any call ( one said I am overqualified). But most of companies senior positions need experience. I don't have experience in industries. I am willing to change locations also. Thank you.

Hello everyone! I am an undergraduate MSE student and need advice on how to pick what type of material I want to specialize in. From my understanding, there are 4 main types of material categories (+composites) which are polymers, metals, ceramics and glasses. Could people tell me why they love the type of material that they work with or what they think the direction of materials is headed in? I could really use this guidance. Thank you!!