Syllabus
CHEN 313-500 Spring – 2017
Catalog Data
Chemical Engineering Materials - CHEN 313- 3 Credits
Introduction to materials science and engineering for engineers
Pre-requisites: CHEN 205 or registration therein; MATH 251 or registration therein.
Instructor Information:
Name: Jorge M. Seminario
Course URL: http://chenseminario.wpengine.com/Materials_S17_v1.htm
Office: 239 JEB
E-mail: [email protected]
Class Hours: Mo & We, 4:10-5:25 pm in JEB106
Office hours (OH): Right after classes or by appointment to
[email protected] (subject line should start with
“materials-s17”)
Virtual OH: 24 × 7, just send me your question by e-mail and I will respond in a matter of seconds (through the web
site) most of the times or in a few hours in case I am away or the question is difficult. Always start the subject line of
your email with “materials-s17” in order to get a quick response.
Class make-ups, tutorials, etc.: Class make-ups, tutorials, problem solving, etc.: on Tuesdays 7 PM-9:00 PM when
needed (room tba).
Course Goals
The purpose of this course is to introduce engineering students to the basic principles of materials science. The course
is designed to understand the atomistic nature of materials, including applications in emerging areas such as, energy,
nanotechnology biomedical. Basically the course has two main goals:
1) To introduce all students to the basics and tools of the exciting field of materials science and technology. This
includes a review of the state of the art as well as discussions of present research such that presently or after
graduation the student can be ready to work in this multidisciplinary field; and
2) For students who are not working in materials: re-orient and re-tool them with nanomaterials related approaches
and algorithms to analyze, design, and simulate systems of their own interest or of their own research. For students
already working in materials, the effort will focus on developing, modifying, adapting, and creating tools to solve
specific problems in the field.
By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:
1. Estimate the mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of materials
2. Recognize the strong impact of nanomaterials in modern materials.
3. Get acquainted with the experimental and theoretical techniques available for state of the art materials.
4. Recognize the impact of computers to solve modern materials problems
5. Recognize the applicability of multidisciplinary principles and their interplay with traditional chemical engineering
principles in materials design.
6. Recognize various methods to analyze, synthesize, fabricate, and process materials
7. Effectively perform in teams.
Textbook:
Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering: An Integrated Approach, William D Callister, Jr., David G.
Rethwisch, Wiley, Inc., Fifth Edition, ISBN: 978-1-119-17548-3.
If you are using other version of the book, please make sure that your HW assignments correspond to the
material in the official version. No credits will be recovered or revisions accepted due to the use of another
version of the book.
Grading
Homework/class participation/quizzes/etc.: 15%
Special Assignment: 10%
Exam 1: 10%
Exam 2: 15%
Exam 3: 15%
Final Exam: 35%
Fairness is the most important feature of teaching. The same formula is used for everyone. No student may obtain
extra credit by special arrangement; please do not ask me so. If you need to get a specific grade, such a need cannot
be used to modify your grade. Final grades are assigned as indicated below. I am not committed to give a certain
percentage of A’s, …, or F’s. Notice that fairness has nothing to do with the easiness or difficultness of the exams.
The following table will give you a precise idea of your grade:
Grading Scale:
90-100: A
80-90: B
70-80: C
60-70: D
Less than 60: F
Two decimal figures after the decimal point will be used, e.g., 89.995 is an A, but 89.994 is a B.
Exams (partials and final)
No books are allowed; no laptops are permitted; you cannot communicate to any living being anywhere in the
universe. Cell phones should be turn off for the whole duration of the exam and stored in your backpacks.
The only allowed items during the exam are
1) Pens/Pencils
2) Calculators & Batteries
3) Rulers&Protractors
4) Scantron Sheet (fill in and bubble in advance your personal information)
We will provide you with any other items needed for the exam
Regardless of whether they were specifically covered in class or not, you may be tested on any material from:
1) Assigned reading from textbook chapters,
2) Class discussions
3) Labs or special assignments
4) HW, quizzes, and reading assignments.
Exam questions may contain definitions and derivations as well as numerical calculations.
You do not need to memorize fundamental formulas but you have to be able to get them from basic principles.
Certainly, complex empirical formulas will be provided to you.
I cannot tell you in advance specifics of what will or won't be asked in the exams, neither can I tell you what formulas,
tables, figures will be provided during the exam.
I encourage you to check your HW problems, class presentations, and assigned reading.
There are not parts of a chapter that are more important than others.
Please disregard any statement leading to the reduction of material covered in the exams.
Information posted in the web site of this course has precedence over any other contradicting information.
Homework (HW)
Remember that the HW assigned in this class is not focused on preparing you for the exams as it is the case in math or
other courses. The HW covers relatively difficult problems, similar to those you will find in real life. For such
problems, you will need more time than whatever is possible to assign in an exam. Make an effort to solve the HW
for yourself, never give up; otherwise, you are not forcing yourself enough and thus you are not becoming an
engineer, which is mostly, a state of mind.
HW will be performed in of groups of 3 students chosen by the instructor. However, all students should solve all
problems. Students who do not work all the problems, cannot sign the cover page
Only homework (HW) submitted on the due date at the beginning of class will be able to receive credit. If you all in a
group have other plans for that time, please submit the HW at least one day before is due to the TA. (Drop it under the
TA’s door if the TA is not there.). Late HW will be assigned a grade of zero. Finally, DO NOT submit HW to the
instructor.
Homework should be written clearly and professionally; it will be graded by the TAs. Please follow this procedure:
1) Leadership of the group is rotated, staring with the first student in the group list.
2) Each student solves all problems and submits them to the leader during a meeting set by the leader.
3) During the meeting, the team discusses all solutions and decides on the best to way to submit the HW
4) Submit the HW at the beginning of the class in which is due.
5) Include only the names of those who worked ALL problems.
Also, while writing the HW please consider the following:
1, Fill in and sign the cover sheet. Download here the template in MSWORD or PDF.
2. Make sure you are using the same book edition for the assigned HW.
3. Work out 1 or 2 problems max per page
4. Preferable use engineering paper
5. Make sure you do not forget units and show your work
6. Use a pen instead of a pencil or you can use a printer if you prefer.
7. Pencil-written HW cannot be used for regrade requests.
8. It will help you to be systematic in your procedure and
a) write down the problem questions before solving them,
b) list all the data available in mathematical language, and
c) list the unknowns that you need to find.
From time to time, in order to motivate learning, pop quizzes will be taken or assigned in addition to the HW. A pop
quiz will be graded with a 100, if it is fully correct or with a “blank grade” otherwise. A blank grade does not affect
your HW average. A graded quiz has 50% weight of a HW. There are no make ups for pop quizzes.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil
rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with
disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If
you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life,
Services for Students with Disabilities Cain Hall, Room B118, or call 845-1637. For additional information visit
http://disability.tamu.edu
The Texas A&M University Academic Integrity Statement
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do”
The Aggie Honor Code provides a standard of conduct in which each student promises not to lie, cheat, or steal and
not to tolerate violations by others. I support the Aggie code and I assume the students do also. Remember that the
honor system can be effective only if everyone supports it! For further information, please see the Academic Integrity
Task Force, 2004 at http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu. In summary, do not cheat on exams, test, quizzes, special assignments
or homework. Please spare me the difficulty of seeing those sorts of cases through the prosecution system.
Make-Up Policy
If you have a proved emergency (properly documented and submitted to me as soon it is possible, i.e., the next class
you are able to attend after the emergency) that does not allow you to attend any of the partial exams, your final exam
score will be used instead for the exam you missed. If the emergency does not allow you to take the final exam and if
you have a valid reason you will be given an incomplete. If you do not have a valid emergency, you will get a zero in
the final exam. There are few situations in which a make-up final exam has to be done; if so, please provide the
needed information as soon as you can.
Consistent with University Student Rules, students are required to notify the instructor and provide supporting
information if they have a problem to attend the exams. If no documentation is presented after one week of the end of
the emergency, you will receive a zero. If the absence is planned, you will need to provide the documentation in
advance.
The same make-up rules also apply for other cases (planned absences) not explicitly considered as emergencies
such as, jury duty, job interviews, or presentations of your research work in meetings. Please send me an e-mail one
week before the scheduled exam and attach supporting documentation.
There are no make-up arrangements or substitutions for pop quizzes. This is because they do not affect your grade
if you do not take them.
Attendance: Attendance is strongly suggested though not enforced. Please come on time. If you miss a class, please
do not email the instructor; visit the web page to check if something new has been posted and contact your classmates
to make sure you get all information provided in the class you missed. Please do not put this burden on the professor.
Topics to be covered (estimated in academic hours of 50 min)
• Introduction to materials science and engineering (3)
• Atomic Structure and interatomic bonding (4)
• Crystal Structures (Metals and Ceramics) (4)
• Polymer Structures (4)
• Imperfections in solids (4)
• Diffusion (4)
• Mechanical properties (3)
• Corrosion and degradation (3)
• Thermal properties (3)
• Electrical properties (4)
• Magnetic properties (3)
• Optical properties (3)
Instructor Commitment You can expect me to be courteous, punctual, well organized, and prepared for lecture and
other class activities; to answer questions clearly and in a non-negative fashion; to be available for questions remotely
through the e-mail and the course web site or in my office; and to ensure uniform and consistent grading according to
the posted guidelines. However, for obvious reasons, questions leading to solution of assignments will not be
answered individually before the assignment is due.
Good luck to all!!!
