Metallurgy and materials
By Zoe Flood
Published: 13 August 2004
What do you come out with? Generally a BEng, sometimes a BSc; MEng after some four-year courses.
Why do it? Interest, and to an extent, jobs. Materials is the interface between physics, chemistry, and engineering - but you can use what you learn in a vast spectrum of careers. "Materials covers a lot of areas, and so when you graduate you have had a lot of different experiences," says Karen Buerk, Department Administrator at Sheffield.
What's it about? The study of materials takes many forms, but essentially it looks at what everything is made from. It spans a huge range of materials from metals to textiles, studying the atomic-level structures of ceramics, paper and polymers amongst others, as well as developing materials for specific uses, such as those used for bone replacements such as new hip-joints. Recycling technology is one of the latest developments.
How long is a degree? Three or four years. Some programmes, like the ones at Loughborough and UMIST, offer you an optional year-long work placement in industry. Many graduates go on to postgraduate specialisms.
What are the students like? All kinds, often those who are interested in science but are looking for an applied version of it and are prepared to take on a demanding course. The ratio of men to women is generally around 3:1, although does vary according to institution. UMIST boasts a ratio of 2:1.
How is it packaged? Materials often appears as a major study area on other programmes in engineering or technology programmes - lots of options hidden within other degree titles. If you don't see what you want, ask. Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and conventional end-of-semester exams. The balance depends on where you go. Individual and group research projects often account for the coursework in the final year of the MEng. There is generally a weighting towards written examinations.
How cool is it? Getting cooler by the minute. Textiles are now about car airbag technology, not just printed fabrics. In the burgeoning biomedical field polymeric materials are placed in the body to detect medical functions or replace human tissue. "Smart" materials are appearing everywhere.
What A-levels do you need? Depends which area you go for. UMIST still want two science A-levels (usually physics and chemistry) with another subject. Sheffield and Loughborough both ask for two from Maths, Physics and Chemistry, with Loughborough also accepting Design Technology. Sheffield encourages students to take Design Technology as an additional subject.
What grades? The minimum would be CCC but ABC would not be uncommon. Higher grades are generally requested for the MEng, with both Sheffield and UMIST both asking for BBB. Loughborough asks for 240 points for the BEng and for 300 for the MEng, but only acts as a starting point.
Will you be interviewed? You're likely to be invited to an interview/Open Day, so you can look around - and make sure you've chosen the right options from the very wide range on offer. Loughborough likes to see all its UK applicants.
Will it keep you off the dole? Absolutely. There are management and research jobs in a wide range of industries such as Corus (ex-British Steel), British Aerospace, who use polymer composites in aircraft structures, Alcan, GKN, and increasingly in biomedical areas. Textile industry management wants materials specialists, and as textiles is now a standard school subject teaching is an option as well too. There is a growing demand in high-tech areas.
What do students say? Mark Jepson, 21, who has just graduated from the automative materials course at Loughborough. "It covered all aspects of what I was going to do and more. The course is quite in-depth, which I found particularly satisfying. The mathematics was fairly challenging. The course is designed in conjunction with lots of companies so the skills that you learn are sure to be what they're looking for."
Where's best for teaching? Imperial scored 24 points, Cambridge, Oxford, and Southampton 23, Manchester Met, Sheffield, and Surrey 22. Swansea was judged to be excellent.
Where's best for research? 5*s for Birmingham, Cambridge, Manchester, UMIST (metallurgy and materials), Oxford and Sheffield. Imperial, Liverpool, Queen Mary and Sheffield Hallam all scored 5, whilst the Bolton Institute, Coventry, De Mountfort, Greenwich, Huddersfield, Leeds, Loughborough, UMIST (paper science and textiles), Manchester Metropolitan, Open University, Salford and Ulster were all awarded 4.
Where's the cutting edge? Across-the-board performance improvement in all kinds of materials: using electron microscopy to detect small flaws and residual stress. Biomedical applications as above, alongside biometrics, which mimics biological materials. Sheffield has a number of cement specialists and also works on electro-ceramics and waste mobilisation. Loughborough's materials characterisation centre specialises in characterisation and surface treatment.
Who are the stars? At UMIST, there's Professor Phil Withers on aerospace materials, Professor Brian Derby on nanotechnology and Professor Bob Young who is an expert on polymers. At Bolton, Dick Horrocks is the flame-retardant guru, Subhash Annand is into novel structures in medical textiles. At Swansea, Professor Brian Wilshire is into magnetic fingerprint powders. Professor Peter Wright at Sheffield created conductive polymers, whilst Sheffield graduate Jeffery Wadsworth is Director of Oakridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the largest of the USA's Departement of Energy Science Labs. Professor Marianne Gilbert at Loughborough is an expert on PVC.
Added value? Materials programmes are real-world stuff - practical, hands-on study in line with 21st century zeitgeist. At Imperial, you can study bioengineering and tissue engineering as part of the course. The year in industry that forms part of UMIST's four-year course really motivates students in their final year. Courses are generally accredited by the Institute of Materials and provide the necessary academic training to reach their professional qualification of Chartered Engineer (C.Eng.). Any time spent in industry can count towards the C.Eng.
