About Materials Science
Composite materials are increasingly used in the aerospace and automotive industries, revolutionizing the way we travel. Moving forward, advances in Materials Science will play a key role in realizing efficient energy storage and usage such as that required for solar energy and electric cars. Materials research also extends into the medical field. For example, plastics have revolutionized the chemical compatibility of artificial implants, and nanoscale materials promise to offer new alternatives for drug delivery, including cancer treatment. These examples represent only a sampling of the numerous ways that Materials Science has a positive impact on our daily lives.
Research in Materials Science has been active among Baylor faculty for several years. Working individually and across a range of colleges, schools, and departments, these faculty have garnered external funding, provided high-impact learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, and are identifying solutions to challenges facing high-visibility industries.
More than a dozen faculty, from engineering and physics to chemistry and biochemistry, currently have active projects in Materials Science. Engineers are developing ultrasonic signal analysis tools for composite/metal bonded joints and low cost, label-free, multiplexable optical cavity biosensors with high sensitivity, high selectivity, and a large dynamic range using chained differential detection. Physicists are studying ultrafast nonlinear epsilon-near-zero optics in active conducting oxide metasurfaces and self-ordering of interacting complex plasma particles in microgravity. Chemists and biochemists are examining transition metal-boryl complexes for catalytic olefin functionalization and plasmon enhanced photovoltaics: modeling energy and charge transfer in solar nanoassemblies.
The energy and excitement in this research arena are palpable, and with a focused priority on research in Materials Science the synergies between and among Baylor researchers will transform the University's research environment and yield substantial funding and results with impact.
Read or Watch More about Baylor's Materials Science Research and Education
Dr. David Jack's Research: Watch video