1. Data acquisition
2. Processing of semiconducting, polymeric, and metallic materials
3. Measurement of electronic and magnetic phenomena including resitivity, Hall effect, dielectric, ferroelectric, & ferromagnetic behavior
4. Microstructural characterization by atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, & high resolution x-ray diffraction
5. Measurement and analysis of mechanical and thermal properties of polymers
6. Synthesis of shape memory polymers, biogels, and polymer gels for bioseparation
7. Molecular modeling/simulations

1. To teach students the fundamentals of safe laboratory practice
2. To teach students methods of analyzing errors for data analysis
3. To provide students hands-on experience in assessing mechanical, optical, electronic, and magnetic behavior of materials
4. To teach students methods of documenting work in a laboratory notebook
5. To teach students scientific communication through written and oral presentations

1. Given a set of objectives, design and execute an experiment for processing and evaluating materials with particular properties
2. Given a set of set of experimental objectives, effectively document data-taking and effectively communicate results
3. Given a set of experimental data, perform an error analysis
4. Understand the mechanical and thermal properties of polymers and learn how to analyze these properties
5. Understand the basics of semiconducting materials (carrier mobility, Hall effect, band gap, conductivity and resistivity, and the effects of temperature on these properties)
6. Understand design principle and preparation methods of functional polymers (shape memory effect, physical and chemical crosslinking, crosslinking density and its effects on mechanical property, electrophoresis of protein)

A1. Experiment #1, Thermoplastic Molding & Properties: Individual written report, plus quiz, plus notebook review (15 pts.) 
A2. Experiment #2, Electronic Materials: Group written report, plus quiz, plus notebook review (15 pts.) 
A3. Experiment #3, Shape Memory Polymers/Gels: Individual written report, plus quiz, plus notebook review (15 pts.) 
A4. Experiment #4, Ti Alloys & Microstructure: Group written report, plus quiz, plus notebook review (15 pts.) 
B. Group Project (25 pts): Initial written proposal (2 pts), progress report (3 pts), oral proposal (2 pts), final group executive report (5 pts), poster/presentation (5 pts), peer evaluation (4 pts), and group peer evaluation (4 pts) 
C. Literature Critique - individual written review (5 pts.) 
D. Final Exam - closed-book questions & problems from the four experiments (10 pts.)