Professional Roles

By training, I'm a materials scientist and engineer, but what does that mean for many? What does a materials scientist do, and what makes me an engineer?

In this post, I'm going to curate a list of definitions for sub-discipline roles within "materials" to help clarify what aspects people work on, research, and develop. The list isn't exhaustive and descriptions may be subjective, but hopefully, it provides some overview and potential guidance for prospective students who aren't sure about the professional outcomes after completing their programs.

One particular aspect to keep in mind is that not all Materials Science & Engineering departments cover these sub-disciplines; many times, they are in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Applied Physics programs.

Various professional roles

Materials Chemists are deeply involved in the synthesis of new materials from raw precursors. This requires a careful selection of thermodynamic conditions to drive the reactions to produce materials. A Materials Chemist's role is to understand and control these chemical reactions to achieve desired products. They utilize their knowledge of chemistry to provide the mechanisms and strategies for synthesizing a broad range of materials, from inorganic solids to complex organic compounds.

Solid State Chemists are related to materials chemists and, in some contexts, are considered the same. It is a sub-field that focuses entirely on the study of solids. Unlike other branches of chemistry, the emphasis is on the study of atoms as they exist in a solid state, their interactions, bonding, and crystal structure. A Solid State Chemist often provides valuable insight into how the atomic and molecular structure of a material affects its overall properties. Moreover, they study the synthesis, design, and characterization of solid-state materials. This role is highly important for the discovery and development of new functional materials like superconductors, magnets, and modern battery systems.

Materials Process Engineers are primarily concerned with the design, control, and improvement of processes that produce materials. Knowledge from the work of materials chemists is usually used to improve or develop processes. This can range from metallic alloys, ceramics, polymers, composites, and more. The goal is to achieve a desired material or material component with a desired property or set of properties in the most economical and efficient way possible. Materials Process Engineers work on processes like deposition, casting, forging, extrusion, welding, sintering, and additive manufacturing, and they need to consider factors like cost, sustainability, quality, and safety in their work. Most people who study materials science & engineering in school end up doing materials process engineering in various industry sectors.

Materials Scientists function in a multidisciplinary role that combines elements of chemistry and physics to study the properties of materials and develop new ones. Materials scientists focus on understanding the structure of materials at various scales, from the atomic up to the macroscopic, and how this structure influences their properties and behavior, i.e., structure-property relationships. The field uses this knowledge to design new materials. This is usually an applied science, working on real-world problems and creating materials for specific uses.

Materials Physicists usually have a background in condensed-matter physics and apply physical principles to understand the properties of materials, both synthetic and naturally occurring. It is more theoretically driven than materials science, often developing or using models and simulations to predict material behavior. Materials physics can involve studying phenomena such as magnetoelectricity, superconductivity, magnetism, and quantum mechanics in the context of specific material systems. The focus in materials physics tends to be on theoretical understanding rather than practical applications, although the need for improved understanding is usually driven by a material's prospective technological uses.

Materials Engineers focus on the development of new materials or material systems with specific properties for use in an application. Materials engineers use aspects of materials science to drive the design and development of new materials, or enhance existing ones, to improve human life and the performance of various products. They are often involved in the use of materials for innovative technologies, such as developing nanomaterials for improved drug delivery or light, strong, and flexible materials for better aircraft performance. The difference between materials scientists and materials engineers is usually that the former seeks to explain structure-property relationships while the latter uses such information to process and deploy materials in technology.

Computational Materials Scientists or Materials Modeling Engineers use computational techniques and simulations to understand and predict the behavior of materials under various conditions. This can involve the use of quantum mechanical models to predict the properties of materials at the atomic scale, or the use of more classical physics to model the behavior of materials at larger scales. Materials Modeling Engineers use these models to optimize existing materials, predict the behavior of new materials, or guide the experimental synthesis of materials with desired properties. The models and simulations can often replace expensive and time-consuming experimental testing. The field has grown significantly with the advancement of computing power, enabling more complex and accurate simulations.

Metallurgical Engineers are involved in the extraction, refining, alloying, manufacturing, and testing of metals and alloys. Materials can range from traditional steel and aluminum alloys to exotic superalloys used in aerospace and nuclear applications. The field is often divided into three areas: extractive metallurgy (the extraction of metals from their ores), physical metallurgy (the study and development of the properties of metals), and materials engineering (creating new materials or improving existing ones for specific applications).

Surface Scientists focus on the study of physical and chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, including solid-liquid, solid-gas, solid-vacuum, and liquid-gas interfaces. This field is crucial to materials science because the properties of materials are often dominated by their surfaces or interfaces. Surface Scientists use a variety of techniques to study and manipulate the physical and chemical properties of surfaces. There is a broad range of applications, including catalysts, coatings, adhesives, corrosion resistance, semiconductor devices, and many more.

Characterization Engineers employ techniques such as microscopy, spectroscopy, and other analytical methods to investigate the structural and compositional features of materials. They are fundamentally involved in identifying the relationship between a material's structure, its processing history, and its properties. Tools used can include optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and various spectroscopic methods (like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, or FTIR), are commonly used. This data is crucial for understanding why a material behaves the way it does and for developing new materials with desired properties.

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