MESE 600 Energy Science and Engineering
This course presents overview of global challenges associated with energy/environment nexus, energy demand, generation and storage. The course will cover fundamental science underlying various energy conversion and storage through thermodynamics and kinetics and understand efficiency.

MESE 601 Materials Science & Engineering
Provides a background in materials for students coming from various majors in engineering and science. The course will review fundamental crystal structures, structure, bonding relations and defects in crystals. Thermodynamics of solids, phase diagrams, structure-property relationships, microstructure control, lattice dynamics and fundamental electrical, magnetic and optical properties.

MESE 603 Fundamentals of electrical, optical and thermal properties of solid materials
PREREQUISITE MESE 601

Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of key concepts, including semiconductor fundamentals (band structure, work function, Fermi energy, effective mass, etc.), semiconductor statistics, doping (carrier concentrations, Fermi-Dirac distribution, and equilibrium properties), transport phenomena (drift, diffusion, ambipolar effects, and hot electron phenomena), carrier dynamics (recombination and generation processes, lifetime, and mobility), thermal properties (heat capacity, thermal conductivity), and optical properties (absorption and emission, reflection, refraction). The course also includes selected other important topics such as magnetic properties, superconductivity, ion-conductivity, and semiconductor devices. Additionally, students will be introduced to computational techniques and predictions in materials science.

MESE 610 Materials Characterization: Microscopy & Diffraction
PREREQUISITE: MESE 601
This course provides graduate students fundamental understanding of some of the most important materials characterization techniques. Special focus is placed on fundamental aspects and practical applications of electron microscopy and diffraction methods to phase identification and structure determination for crystalline material. Following this course, students will (1) learn and understand fundamental concepts of materials structure, with the emphasis on crystals structure, (2) understand fundamentals of electron microscopy and diffraction techniques, and (3) apply theoretical methods and software tools to analyze and interpret various types of microscopic and diffraction data.

CHEM 659 Materials Chemistry and Methods
PREREQUISITE: MESE 601
Course content will include the synthesis methods, characterization and properties of solid-state materials. Various techniques of preparation of solid-state materials as well as advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. The main properties of interest are structural properties, magnetism and charge transport in solid state. Basic principles as well as methods of investigation and characterization of these properties will be discussed in this course.

PHY 575 Solid State Physics or ECE 542 Semiconductor Device Fundamentals
This course will cover the optical properties of solid-state materials including metals, semiconductors, and insulator starting with the classical description of optical propagation and extending to quantum theory in the treatment of absorption, luminescence, and excitonic effects. Interaction of light with matter will be discussed with the aid of optical spectroscopies and characterization techniques such as UV-VIS spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray/UV photoelectron spectroscopy etc. An overview of the forms of electrical conduction in solid state materials will be given starting with the free electron theory. Then fundamental concepts in quantum theory and the theory of electron bands in solids will be introduced to interpret the electrical, magnetic and thermal properties of various classes of materials. A special emphasis of electrical behaviors of metals and semiconductors will be given by introducing key electronic devices based on homo p-n junctions and hetero-junctions. A brief review of thermal and phonon properties will also be discussed.

CHEM 621 Electroanalytical Chemistry
PREREQUISITE: MESE 601
Principles of modern voltammetric and potentiometric methods of chemical analysis including fundamental theory, instrumentation, and applications.

ME 675 Computational Modeling of Nanomaterials or Computational Materials Science
PREREQUISITE: MESE 601 AND PHYS 575
Introduction to crystal structures and chemical bonding in solids; basic of statistical thermodynamics; introduction to different materials modeling techniques at nano- to meso-scopic scales, namely, Molecular Dynamics, Monte-Carlo, and Density Functional Theory; Energy models from first-principles theory to classical potentials; Approximation associated with each technique, and their expected level of accuracy; modeling of surface diffusion processes, elastic constants, mechanical strengths, thermal conductivity and defect properties; “Hands-on” sessions on how to set-up simulations using available open-source packages, visualize and analyze output; introduction to emerging techniques like machine learning and materials informatics to design materials tailor-made for a specific functionality

CHE 581 Chemical Vapor Processing
This course presents a detailed understanding about science and technology of chemical vapor deposition and related methods and reactors used for making thin films, single crystals, powders. This process is popular for semiconductor materials manufacturing and manufacturing of materials for addressing global challenges associated with energy/environment nexus, energy demand, generation and storage. In particular, the course will focus on practical applications of CVD reactors, processes, electronic & amorphous materials and educates and trains graduates with the academic and practical background necessary to function as chemical engineering professionals in several modern, state of the art industrial enterprises such as electronics manufacturing, advanced materials, energy, nanotechnology and bio-medical engineering. The course provides our graduates with the foundation for a successful career and enables life-long learning. Course will use CHEMKIN software to understand and model chemical kinetics & transport processes to vapor phase deposition and processing of materials.

MESE 622 Roll to Roll Processing
Continuous manufacturing through roll-to-roll processes has been a staple within several industries over the past century including film, newspaper and other traditional low-cost high-volume products. As the renewable energy industry begins to scale, roll-to-roll processes can play an extremely important role in reducing costs at high volumes. This course will explore the roll-to-roll manufacturing processes through fundamental engineering principals including economics, heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics and materials. The course will consider the manufacturing of solar modules, batteries and fuel cell membranes.

CHE 655 or IE 600 Processing for Additive Manufacturing
This course focuses on the principal, commercially-realized AM processes and on the processing and materials science underlying them.

ECE 543 Fundamentals of Microfabrication and MEMS
Microfabrication techniques including cleanroom technology, lithography, thermal oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, film deposition, etching, micromachining, wafer-level bonding/polishing, and packaging yield. Microtechnology measurement and analysis techniques. Process simulation. CAD device-layout. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) and microelectric technology and applications. aterial issues for MEMS/microelectronics.

MESE 612 Photovoltaics and Solar Fuels
PREREQUISITE: MESE 600 & 601
This course develops the fundamentals of semiconductor physics specific to solar energy and uses these key concepts to understand solar cell behavior. The various photovoltaic technologies, including both commercial and research-stage approaches, are described in detail. In addition, electrochemical and catalysis concepts are introduced and integrated with semiconductor behavior to understand the myriad criteria necessary to leverage solar energy in electrochemical fuel production processes such as water-splitting via artificial photosynthesis.

MESE 614 Biomass and Biofuels
PREREQUISITE: MESE 600
Manufacturing of “bioproducts or bio-based products” (materials, chemicals and energy produced using sustainable resources such as agricultural biomass) offers socio-economic, environmental, and health benefits. In order to be a part of this emerging bioeconomy, it is essential to learn the fundamental skills of managing biorenewable resources for the effective development of the rapidly evolving bioenergy and biofuels industries. This course integrates the biorenewable knowledge base of academic disciplines that include agriculture, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, and economics to provide the student with a broader perspective of this field. This course intends to assist senior level undergraduate and all graduate students in developing skills valued by prospective employers and providing a solid foundation for manufacturing, research and development of bioproducts.

MESE 616 Electrochemical Energy Storage or ME 575 Energy Storage
PREREQUISITE: MESE 600 & 601
This course will cover functional knowledge of various energy storage modes with emphasis on electrochemical energy storage. It will introduce the fundamental principles of different energy storage systems such as mechanical energy storage, thermal energy storage, chemical energy storage, and electrochemical energy storage. The practical applications for each energy storage system will be discussed. This course will also focus on the chemistry and materials science behind these energy storage systems. In addition, the basis performance analysis of different types of batteries will be introduced and compared.

MESE 618 or ECE 531 Power Electronics
PREREQUISITE: PHYS 575 or ECE 543
We cover power switching devices, AC to DC conversion of electric energy, DC to DC conversion, with and with magnetic isolation (transformers); DC to AC conversion (Inverters) of various forms. Also cover concepts related to grid connected power electronics; this is an advanced course that considers the circuits and control topics for integration of renewables to the power grid. We look at the circuits, systems and controls for grid connected PV applications. The course also covers material about grid connection of wind mills. There is also discussion about Micro-grids.

MESE 619 Industrial Catalysis
PREREQUISITE: MESE 601
This course will teach concepts involved with industrial catalysis involved in many chemical processing applications.

MESE 640 Engineering Entrepreneurship in Renewable Energy
PREREQUISITE: MESE 600; MESE 618 or ECE 531
The renewables market will continue to grow as the world seeks and finds cleaner and more sustainable techniques to produce energy. This project-based course guides student teams through the ideation to prototype development to test the commercial relevance of renewable energy products. At the end of the course each student team will have developed a prototype design supported by a business plan

MESE 642 Techno-Economic Analysis and Energy Policy
PREREQUISITE: MESE 600
While many novel scientific ideas are being explored for renewable energy generation and energy storage, a successful technology will require more than a proof-of-concept and an efficient prototype. Process economics, markets, and national and international energy policies will be critical to distinguishing which technologies can advance from laboratory feasibility to real-world commercialization. This course will introduce methods for conducting a techno-economic analysis on an energy technology, determining the levelized cost of product over the facility lifetime, and modeling a sensitivity analysis to determine key performance metrics required to reach possible profitability. The development and current status of US and certain international energy policies will be addressed as well and incorporated to inform ideal markets for a prospective energy technology. Student teams will conduct their own project analysis as the core component of their grade for the course.

MESE 644 Smart Manufacturing (Data Analytics & Machine Learning)
Smart Manufacturing are systems that are “fully-integrated, collaborative manufacturing systems that respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the factory, in the supply network, and in customer needs”. NIST This directed reading and project-based course will address the key principals of Smart manufacturing with an emphasis on Energy efficiency, sustainability, and advanced sensors and control systems.

MESE 690 Project
Students will work with a faculty/team leader on a renewable energy systems topic and develop an in-depth understanding and provide a written report that includes problem definition, literature review, studies/analysis conducted and conclusions. The written report will be graded. This project will be substituted for the required systems engineering course.