Innovative Materials in Design

Prerequisites include completion of introductory technology courses in materials and structures (GSD 6111, 6112, 6203, and 6201) or their equivalents.This course will systematically explore innovative materials and their properties. The initial part of the course reviews primary types of materials with a particular emphasis on high performance materials (e.g., carbon fibers). Formal material selection methods based on computer databases will be discussed. This part of the course will include a making and load-testing component. The next part of the course addresses smart materials (which exhibit transient or changeable properties that allow a multiplicity of design states), and related smart systems. Students will conduct design experiments with different types of property-changing materials. Finally, the provocative world of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies will be briefly introduced. The course is offered in a combined lecture/workshop format. Lectures will normally be held on Mondays and workshops on Fridays. There will be both individual and team assignments, including a final project. See the iCommons courseware site for a more detailed course description, topic outline, and other information.