Soap Bubbles, Snowflakes, and Steps: Interfacial and Surface Phenomena in Materials Science

3.0 credits · Graduate

Surface and interface phenomena play a critical role in the processing and performance of advanced materials. Students and the instructor will identify topics of joint interest that build on the fundamentals of surfaces and interfaces contained in the core materials science curriculum (diffusion and growth, surface structure and energy, adhesion, etc.) and that address phenomena such as interfacial electronic states, gas adsorption at surfaces and surface forces in air and liquid. Course content will be organized collaboratively with necessary background provided in lectures and readings, and with students contributing oral presentations and student-led active learning exercises.