Materials life cycle, primary and secondary resources, resource life and sustainability. Technologies and unit operations used in the production of light metals, non-ferrous and ferrous metals. Energy use and conservation in production of materials. Benefits and technologies of recycling. Treatment of waste streams for value recovery and safe disposal

Bringing together concepts from across our entire curriculum, including Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Phase Transformations, Heat and Mass Transport, and Thermodynamics, this course explores the processing-microstructure-properties-performance underlying several manufacturing techniques. Significant focus is placed on hands-on application of fundamental materials science. Guided hands-on activities support students through both individual and team manufacturing assignments, preparing students with the skills necessary to successfully complete the team project in MSE397H. This course continues the design spine from MSE294H1 and MSE295H1 and further prepares students for the challenges of the team-based design and build project within MSE397H1.These courses in third year connect materials selection, CAD drawing, computer simulation, manufacturing methods and experimental techniques for component and product design in materials engineering.

Focusing on a session long project this course requires students working in small teams to apply concepts from across our curriculum to plan and execute a project of moderate complexity culminating in a final design showcase. Skills and concepts applied include hands-on laboratory techniques, prototyping, simulation, cost modelling and validation of simulation results. This approach requires students to integrate fundamental concepts from throughout materials science and mechanical design. Significant time is allocated to individual meetings and consultation with the course instructor and course teaching staff to address the unique needs of each project. Students will apply design methodology learned from APS111H1/APS112H1, MSE294H1/MSE295H1 and MSE396H1 to their team project. Additionally, elements of the design will be simulated in MSE351H1 and the simulation results will be experimentally validated in this course. The course concludes with a formal oral presentation, technical report, and a competitive design showcase. 

Provides a rationale for materials selection in the design of engineered components and commercial products, with a general aim towards structural optimization and sustainability. Defines concepts of life cycle analysis and embodied energy, reviews material recycling technologies and methods, and environmental issues associated with materials in manufactured products, and waste. Develops a rationale for advanced materials selection, using the Ansys Granta CES materials software (a database for thousands of materials), for component design, based on an identification of the functional requirements. Develops a method for 'eco-audit' estimation of the total embodied energy of products. Altogether, materials selection includes structural and material processing considerations, and a range of case studies provides examples of optimized and sustainable design. Hybrid (composite) materials design and options for sustainable bio-composites discussed, including basic composite mechanics and topology optimization for structural optimization. There are two main design projects associated with proposed products, involving materials selection and multiple component design, to demonstrate an optimization of material usage and overall product sustainability.

Course objectives: (1) Define the role that materials play in product design (properties, performance); (2) Define the embodied energy and sustainability of materials and products; (3) Establish a rationale for materials selection (a material index) by defining a design objective and constraints to optimize structural efficiency and sustainability; (4) Learn to apply software tools (Ansys CES) for materials selection; (5) Find compromise with multiple constraints; (6) Perform iteration in the optimization of product design, considering materials, shape and processing; (7) Design a device/product with multiple components, considering optimal performance, manufacturing and environmental sustainability.

Delving into the cutting- edge field of AI-driven materials discovery, equipping students with the tools to develop advanced algorithms that can autonomously learn from data, make predictions, and direct future experiments.

Students will explore how AI models such as decision trees, Bayesian optimization, and other statistical methods can be combined with adaptive strategies to propose new experiments and calculations in an iterative loop. Building on the foundations from MSE 465, with a hands-on emphasis on the design and implementation of AI workflows. Students will practice balancing exploration and exploitation strategies, as well as design their own. Culminating in a final project where students will deploy their workflows to control a self-driving lab, guiding an autonomous materials optimization campaign.

This course deals with four major areas: electrochemistry of low temperature aqueous solvents, the corrosion of materials, mechano-chemical effects in materials and corrosion prevention in design. Electrochemistry deals with thermodynamics of material-electrolyte systems involving ion-solvent, ion-ion interactions, activity coefficients, Nernst equation and Pourbaix diagrams, and rate theory through activation and concentration polarization. Corrosion of metallic, polymeric, ceramic, composite, electronic and biomaterials will be explored along with mechano-chemical effects of stress corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion fatigue. Corrosion prevention in terms of case histories and the use of expert systems in materials selection.

Fracture mechanisms and mechanics of solid materials. Topics include: nature of brittle and ductile fracture, macro-phenomena and micro-mechanisms of failure of various materials, mechanisms of fatigue; crack nucleation and propagation, Griffith theory, stress field at crack tips, stress intensity factor and fracture toughness, crack opening displacement, energy principle and the J-integral, fracture mechanics in fatigue, da/dN curves and their significance. Practical examples of fatigue analysis and fundamentals of non-destructive testing.

From machine learning predictions of new materials to machine learned interatomic potentials, Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we do materials science and rapidly accelerating progress. However, AI is not magic it is only a statistical model with limits, sensitivities, and biases. This course equips students with an informed skeptic’s toolkit to evaluate when and where to trust AI predictions and how to probe the assumptions behind them. Starting with glass box interpretable models, students will learn to use feature importance, sensitivity studies, and model ensembles to interrogate models. We will then transition to grey box models and the use of partial dependence plots, loss landscapes, and model weight sensitivity to evaluate robustness and trustworthiness. Finally, we will consider fully black box models for which the students have access to only outcomes and will investigate the use of the previous tools as well as genetic algorithms and other tools to identify decision boundaries and the model input-prediction latent space. By the end of the course, students will be able to confidently question the performance claims of AI tools, evaluate their robustness for materials applications, and recognize both their power and their limitations.

Materials parameters and electronic properties of semiconductors are discussed as basic factors in the engineering of semiconductor devices. Materials parameters are related to preparation and processing methods, and thus to the electronic properties. The implications of materials parameters and properties on selected simple devices are discussed.

The course provides participants with an understanding of scientific and engineering investigation methods and tools to assess potential sources, causes and solutions for prevention of failure due to natural accidents, fire, high and low speed impacts, design defects, improper selection of materials, manufacturing defects, improper service conditions, inadequate maintenance and human error. The fundamentals of accident reconstruction principles and procedures for origin and cause investigations are demonstrated through a wide range of real world case studies including: medical devices, sports equipment, electronic devices, vehicular collisions, structural collapse, corrosion failures, weld failures, fire investigations and patent infringements. Compliance with industry norms and standards, product liability, sources of liability, proving liability, defense against liability and other legal issues will be demonstrated with mock courtroom trial proceedings involving invited professionals to elucidate the role of an engineer as an expert witness in civil and criminal court proceedings.

Optical and photonic materials play a central role in a variety of application fields including telecommunications, metrology, manufacturing, medical surgery, computing, spectroscopy, holography, chemical synthesis, and robotics - to name a few. The properties of light and its interaction with matter lie at the heart of this ever-expanding list of applications. The syllabus comprises the nature of light, wave motion, lasers, interference, coherence, fibre optics, diffraction, polarized light, photonic crystals, metamaterials, plasmonic materials, and practical design applications.

The production and refining of liquid iron in the iron blast furnace, the production and refining of liquid steel, secondary refining operations, continuous casting and thermomechanical processing (hot rolling). Specialty steels and newly emerging technologies (e.g. thin slab casting, direct ironmaking) are also discussed in terms of process/environment and productivity. Downstream topics will include cold rolling, batch and continuous annealing, and coating operations.

Introduces computational design of materials at atomic scale by focusing on two of the most powerful techniques - density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD). At the heart of both these techniques lies atomistic understanding originating from quantum mechanics; thus the initial lectures will review basics of quantum mechanics to inspire the foundational principles of modern-day DFT approaches. Thereafter theoretical background of DFT and its implementation and application for materials design will be covered. Specific topics on DFT will include Kohn-Sham equations, plane-wave basis sets, exchange and correlation, and nudged-elastic band calculations. Topics concerning MD will include foundational principles, Born-Oppenheimer hypothesis, time integration schemes such as velocity-verlet scheme, and interatomic potential functions. Finally, students will be exposed to the concepts and case-studies pertaining to multi-scale modeling. A particular emphasis of the course is providing hands-on training on open source software packages such as VESTA, Quantum-ESPRESSO, and LAMMPS.

Currently used biomaterials for formation of surgical implants and dental restorations include selected metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. The selection and processing of these materials to satisfy biocompatibility and functional requirements for applications in selected areas will be presented. Materials used for forming scaffolds for tissue engineering, and strategies for repair, regeneration and augmentation of degenerated or traumatized tissues will be reviewed with a focus on biocompatibility issues and required functionality for the intended applications.

Various production processes use simulation software to shorten the route from the initial design to finished product. Simulation software provides the designer and practicing engineer with a powerful tool in the tasks of improving and optimizing the industrial processes. Expensive trials can be avoided and the quality of the finished product secured from the beginning of production. First, this course will cover the basics of the process simulation used in industrial setting. Subsequently, the course will focus on industrial process simulation software used extensively in foundry industry worldwide. Essential elements of CAD/CAM techniques will be covered. Numerical simulation of the filling and solidification in castings will be presented. Calculation of foundry processes with multiple production cycles will be analyzed. Another course feature will be the graphical presentation of the results on the screen. Limited enrolment.

The unique surface properties and the ability to surface engineer nanocrystalline structures renders these materials to be ideal candidates for use in corrosion, catalysis and energy conversion devices. This course deals with the fabrication of materials suitable for use as protective coatings, and their specific exploitation in fields of hydrogen technologies (electrolysis, storage, and fuel cells) linked to renewables. These new devices are poised to have major impacts on power generation utilities, the automotive sector, and society at large. The differences in observed electrochemical behavior between amorphous, nanocrystalline and polycrystalline solid materials will be discussed in terms of their surface structure and surface chemistry. A major team design project along with demonstrative laboratory exercises constitutes a major portion of this course. Limited Enrolment.

Various synthesis techniques to produce nanostructured materials will be introduced. These synthesis techniques are categorized into chemical methods and physical methods. The chemical methods module discusses the general principles of nucleation and growth and covers specific chemical reactions for nanomaterial synthesis. The physical methods module introduces nanomaterials synthesis by solid-state processing, liquid-phase processing, vapor-phase processing, etc. In addition, the fundamental properties of nanomaterials introduced and the basic solid-state physics for nanocrystalline materials and advanced technologies for nanomaterial characterizations reviewed.

The unique combinations of physical, electrical, magnetic, and thermomechanical properties exhibited by advanced technical ceramics has led to a wide range of applications including automobile exhaust sensors and fuel cells, high speed cutting tool inserts and ball bearings, thermal barrier coatings for turbine engines, and surgical implants. This course examines the crystal and defect structures which determine the electrical and mass transport behaviours and the effects of microstructure on optical, magnetic, dielectric, and thermomechanical properties. The influence of these structure-property relations on the performance of ceramic materials in specific applications such as sensors, solid oxide fuel cells, magnets, and structural components is explored.

Electron quantum wave theory of solid-state materials will be introduced. Quantum phenomena in various materials systems, in particular nano materials, will be discussed. Electronic properties of materials such as charge transport, dielectric properties, optical properties, magnetic properties, and thermal properties will be discussed using appropriate quantum theory. Materials systems to be studied may include metals, semiconductors, organics, polymers, and insulators.

In this course students will be exposed to the applications of machine learning for materials design, including physical metallurgy, catalysis and mechanics of materials. We will begin by conducting a review of statistical and numerical methods, and programming in R and Python. Then, the most important machine learning techniques of relevance to materials science will be described. This will include linear, nonlinear and logistic regression, decision trees, artificial neural networks, deep learning, supervised and unsupervised learning. Thereafter, the students will be provided hands-on experience on analyzing data and apply ML approaches through a set of case studies, pertaining to alloy design, additive manufacturing, and catalyst design. Finally, students will apply these skills through a term project on materials science problem of their interest.

Due to the broad nature of course topics, we encourage students from Chem Eng, MIE, Chemistry, and other departments.

Understanding how different materials fail is a key design consideration in materials science. In this course students will be exposed to the mechanisms leading to the damage and failure of engineering materials, and modeling of failure at atomic and continuum levels. First, we will describe different mechanisms by which various materials fail, including metals, alloys, ceramics, composite materials, and nanomaterials; and the nature of failure – brittle vs. ductile. Then, various approaches to model and analyze damage and failure in materials will be discussed, including finite element-based failure analysis at the macroscale, and molecular dynamics at the atomic scale. Hands-on practice will be provided through practical case studies using softwares. Finally, students will apply these skills through a term project on a materials science problem of their interest.

A fundamental course that provides a grounding in nuclear science, engineering and applications. Subject areas covered include atomic-nuclear physics, nuclear materials, nuclear reactor physics, radiation fundamentals – detection safety health physics, radioisotopes and nuclear medicine, advanced materials and manufacturing for next-generation reactors and systems, future nuclear reactors – small modular reactor (SMR), fusion, and energy sustainability.

A fundamental course that provides a grounding in nuclear engineering. Subject areas covered include overview of atomic-nuclear physics, nuclear materials, nuclear reactor physics; nuclear thermal hydraulics and power generation systems; nuclear corrosion chemistry; nuclear structural requirements; non-destructive testing-evaluation; and nuclear systems-operations and AI.

The various roles of a practicing engineer in industry and society will be presented through a series of seminars. The lecturers will include practicing engineers from local companies and consulting firms and representatives from professional and technical societies.

Focusing on a one-year-long research thesis, this course requires a student to work on a research project under the supervision of an academic staff member integrating concepts learned from across our curriculum to plan and execute a project resulting in a draft journal manuscript. Skills and concepts applied may include hands-on laboratory techniques, prototyping, computer simulations, and validation of simulation results. This approach requires students to integrate fundamental concepts from throughout materials science in development of a detailed, iterative literature review, gap analysis, research hypothesis/objectives, design of experiments, execution, and management of project plan. The research project scope should allow continuation into a MASc degree in the same topical area if desired. Significant time is allocated to individual meetings and consultation with the supervising professor to address the unique needs of each project. Students will apply design methodology learned from APS112, MSE294/MSE295 and MSE396/MSE397 to their research project. The course concludes with a formal oral presentation and a journal ready manuscript.

Focusing on a one-year-long capstone design, students work in teams on a design project under the supervision of a designated faculty member integrating concepts learned from across our curriculum to plan and execute a novel product or process design resulting in a final response to a “Request for Proposals” brief. This approach requires students to integrate fundamental concepts from materials science in the development of a detailed product design that includes five elements: a technical design, an economic assessment and business plan, safety analysis of the design, education and outreach to the community, and an environmental audit. Design projects belong to one of four theme areas: energy systems, materials processing, advanced manufacturing, or biomaterials. The course concludes with a formal oral presentation, video, and a final written report. MSE498 is the mandatory capstone course for all MSE students.

This course is designed to provide an integrated approach to composite materials design, and provide a strong foundation for further studies and research on these materials. Topics include: structure, processing, and properties of composite materials; design of fillers reinforcements and matrices reinforcements, reinforcement forms, nanocomposites systems, manufacturing processes, testing and properties, micro and macromechanics modeling of composite systems; and new applications of composites in various sectors.

An introduction to microeconomics, for application in public policy analysis. Designed specifically for students with training in calculus and linear algebra, and who are pursuing a certificate in public policy, the course will explore preference and choice, classical demand theory and the utility maximization problem as well as expenditure minimization problem, welfare evaluation of economic changes, regression analysis and ordinary least squares.

Knowledge of how governmental and non-governmental institutions work is essential to the study and development of public policy. This course will examine the formation, consequences and dynamics of institutions – from legislatures and courts to militaries and interest groups – in both democratic and authoritarian societies. We will also consider how institutions inform the relationship between individuals and the state, and how these social structures are instruments of policy implementation.

This course introduces students to the field of public policy - the means by which governments respond to social issues – and considers both why and how governments respond in these ways. To that end, we’ll examine the policy cycle, including how policy is proposed, made and reformed, as well as the role of regulation. And we’ll explore both theories of public policy and case studies of policy-making in action.