Projects and experiments in Materials Science and Engineering

As a first-year Materials Science and Engineering student, there are many labs and activities to complete throughout the semesters. They are designed to help improve your understanding and learning as well as become friends with your lab partners. Here is a rundown of the overall programme, and a few of my favourite labs we have done.

General labs

There are 7 general labs that both Materials Science and Aerospace Engineering students complete over the semesters. There is a lab session once a week which normally takes around 4 hours each, developing a key skill or piece of learning in each one. Some of these include learning to code in SolidWorks, designing and creating a bridge with your lab partners, looking at the crystal structure of certain materials and casting with liquid aluminium. This helps to provide a basic level of the skills required for engineering. This is because the Materials Science and Engineering course at Birmingham focuses on the engineering side rather than the science side in first year hence these combined labs.

Materials specific labs

Depending on whether you study Materials Science or Aerospace Engineering, there are a few different labs you complete. For example, for the materials cohort, there are a few labs which focus on polymers, magnetic properties and cooling curves. These help give an insight into some of the learning done in second year. There is also chance to show your findings to your tutor group by a presentation to help develop speaking skills and reflecting on what you have learnt. This is an important skill to begin to develop during your time at university, so this gradual process makes it easier to become more confident.

Group project

After all the labs have been completed, there is then a group project task. The aim is to dismantle your chosen object and see what material it is made from. This can be done through many different techniques which you will choose to complete based on what you think the material to be. There is also research into how the materials are manufactured and the life cycle of the product. After this, each group presents it to the whole cohort. It is a great way to build friendships in your lab group as well as putting the skills learnt in previous labs to test into a ‘real life’ situation.

My favourites

Here is a little insight into my favourite labs that I have completed in first year. In our first few weeks of term, we did the Prince Rupert drops which is when molten glass is dropped into cold water causing a tear drop shaped piece of glass. This is very strong and can be smashed with a hammer without breaking. This experiment was fun and engaging to complete and the PGTA’s are always willing to answer questions about the experiment. Another one of my favourites was the metallography lab and having the ability to look at the different grain structures of metals which is something I have a keen interest in.