Course Description

“Materials Frontiers” underpin the survival and success of many sectors, from cosmetics and the creative industries, sports and well-being, energy and environment, mobility and transport, to quantum and metaverse technologies. Materials are ubiquitous, yet unique in their properties. Though the fundamental building blocks of materials were created soon after the Big Bang, their individual and collective behaviours continue to elude our mastery even with Big Data! They have emerged as a bedrock of human civilisation, underpining the ancient Three Ages (Stone, Bronze and Iron) to the modern Four Industrial Revolutions (1.0 to 4.0),  and shall become a beacon of societal advancement, “shining” into the quantum, the metaverse and the great unknown.

On the other hand,  each of us has already been equipped with materials covering more than half of the Periodic Table of the Elements – over 40 are in a smart phone. The rapid advancement in any modern technology is a consequence of the development of many new types of materials and our ability to make them sustainably and cost-effectively. For example, the discovery of silicon in the 19th century and the invention of the transistor in the 20th century paved the road for the “Information Age”. The development of graphene and related low-dimensional materials are poised to take us to a new “Age of Experience”.

The course is designed to introduce materials frontiers by a “top-down” approach in the context of current challenges and/or future applications. The purposes are to: 1) offer students a heuristic perspective of materials discovery for societal advancement; 2) equip students with a holistic understanding of materials types and technologies for key industrial sectors; and 3) inspire students with grand challenges and potential materials innovations for smart and sustainable development. The underlining principles in the design, processing, and functionalization of different types of materials will be naturally integrated into the application-oriented thematic topics.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Knowledge of different types of materials and their property attributes, and ability to explain the basic scientific principles of how these materials function.
2. Ability to make informed decision in seelcting suitable types of materials for specific applications.
3. Identify problems related to the improper usage and disposal of materials, and describe the impact of these problems to our society.
4. Analyze simple scientific problems related to materials, to design and conduct simple experiments to solve these problems, and to organize, present, and discuss their findings in public or other workshops.
5. Identify the frontline activities of materials development in the context of the current global issues and future demands.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Second semester (Wed)