With the help of a $490,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, undergraduates in the materials science and engineering department will be working on experimental research projects.

“Up to recently, teaching and research were separate,” said Mufit Akinc, professor and chair of the materials science and engineering department.

The new “vertically integrated design curriculum” was proposed by several faculty members of the materials science and engineering department.

A key component of the of the new curriculum will include not only students of various skill levels, but also faculty and corporate-sponsored industries of the Non-Destructive Evaluation Center (NDE).

With the new curriculum, undergraduates will be working in the laboratories of the NDE Center.

Students at different levels will have varying responsibilities. Sophomores and juniors will hold assistant or apprentice positions, although juniors will be more involved with the research. Seniors will become project leaders, and graduate students will act as consultants.

Currently, the engineering curriculum requires undergraduates to take a capstone design course only in their senior year. This course combines all experience and knowledge gained throughout a student’s college career in a single research project.

With this grant, the curriculum will incorporate design and hands-on experience earlier in a student’s college career. The research will be extended over three years, incorporating students’ knowledge as they learn.

Kristen Constant, associate professor of material science and engineering, said she expects the new curriculum will mean a lot of work for faculty members this year.

“This is something new for all of us,” she said. “We have our work cut out for us.”

Akinc said the program was devised by the National Science Foundation and will help the materials science and engineering department stand out.

“We may become a model for pioneer work in the future for across the nation,” he said.

Akinc said he sees the program as an opportunity for students of all ages.

“This is a great opportunity for students, especially sophomores and juniors, to understand how research is done at an early stage rather than later,” he said. “Students will be able to get a feel for research having close working relationships with faculty and peers in a tamed environment.”

The new curriculum will officially begin in the spring semester with a small experimental unit, Akinc said. During the summer, faculty will evaluate progress and hope to have a broader group of participants for the fall 2000 semester.