cse.umn.edu/cems
Pioneering Research + Comprehensive
Interdisciplinary excellence
The University of Minnesota’s Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program is where pioneering research meets comprehensive education. The Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science is uniquely structured to combine these two dynamic fields. This integration offers students expansive educational opportunities that foster cross-disciplinary collaborations, rigorous coursework, and hands-on laboratory experiences.
Strong industry and research partnerships
Our department has strong ties to a number of industrial partners. These partnerships create opportunities in research, training, and student placement. Faculty also raise substantial research funding from a broad spectrum of agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Training the next generation
Our program in Materials Science and Engineering is known for producing graduates who are well-equipped to become leaders in both industry and academia. Our flexible curriculum balances core fundamentals with specialized training that fosters wellrounded expertise. The program’s focus on professional development includes unique opportunities such as “teamteaching” undergraduate courses that provide students with valuable teaching and mentoring experience.
Research highlights:
Our excellence is enabled by a collaborative environment coupling materials science and chemical engineering.
Sustainable polymers and processes
Block polymer additives make biodegradable plastics mechanically competitive with petroleum-derived incumbents by promoting crazing
Chris Ellison
Education = Excellence by the Numbers MATERIALS SCIENCE
Novel processing schemes for energy and electronic materials
Thin film deposition methods for functional oxides; atom-by-atom composition and interface control via molecular beam epitaxy
Electrochemical engineering for sustainable fuels
Kelsey Stoerzinger
Understanding catalyst performance guides their distribution on composite electrodes for nutrient recovery
>25
Years of continuous funding for the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)
Ph.D.s granted over the last 5 years 100%
First-year graduate students funded by fellowships
50+
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS):
41 Faculty
240 + Graduate students
40 + Post-doctoral researchers
3
Grad programs, including the new M.S. in Data Science for Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Graduate students are co-advised /3 1
4
CEMS-housed centers focused on energy and sustainability
Bharat Jalan
MRSEC advantage
The National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Minnesota connects more than 30 faculty members and 60 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from six academic departments within the College of Science and Engineering. MRSEC embodies a vision of international distinction in materials research, fostering excellence through education, outreach, industry engagement, and global collaboration.
Data-driven materials discovery
Data-Driven Discovery and Engineering from Atoms to Processes is an NSF research traineeship program that bridges chemical, biological, and materials engineering with data science. It includes a graduate curriculum covering the fundamentals of data science and their domain application, interdisciplinary research addressing problems in chemical and materials discovery and design, and industryuniversity collaborations.
Cutting-edge facilities
Our researchers benefit from world-class experimental and computational facilities such as the Characterization Facility (CharFac), Minnesota Nano Center (MNC), and Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI). The MNC is a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI).
Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and Materials Engineering (IPRIME)
IPRIME is a university/industry partnership based on two-way knowledge transfer. The partnership is a consortium of 14 companies supporting materials research with University of Minnesota members. IPRIME includes 49 faculty as well as graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from seven departments conducting research in seven program areas. Research spans polymers, coatings, surfactants, electronic and optical materials, nanomaterials, and biomaterials.
On the cover | Large image: Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals for luminescent solar concentrators (Ferry Lab) Small images (from left): Non-woven fibers for environmental remediation (Ellison Lab); Ultrafast TEM for probing thermal transport (Flannigan Lab); Metal-halide perovskite photovoltaic cell (Holmes Lab); Iron pyrite crystals for earth-abundant photovoltaics (Leighton Lab)
Materials science post-doctoral researcher Emily McGuinness was one of only five recipients nationwide of the 2024 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship that recognizes U.S.-based female researchers for their outstanding contributions in STEM fields. Credit: L’Oreal USA