The history of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering could be traced back to the former Department of Electrochemistry followed by the Department of Mining & Metallurgy, the Department of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering, and the Department of Materials Engineering. It was then renamed and settled as the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1992. In the academic year of 2012, our Department was integrated with the Graduate Institute of Nanotechnology and Microsystems Engineering in the College of Engineering to expand our faculty members and research areas. Over the years, owing to the hard work of faculty and students, our academic status and research achievements have always played a pivotal role in the local materials field.
Our research achievements have been ranked first in the university evaluations for two consecutive years, excelling not only in quantity but also in quality and research funding. For example, among the six National Research Programs of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) awarded to NCKU, our department secured three of them; and we executed one of the three large-scale academic cooperation projects of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) at NCKU. The department has made indelible contributions to the development of the campus and the high-tech industries in southern Taiwan.
Our department enjoys excellent traditions, a superior learning environment, and a strong faculty team. Our research areas widely cover traditional and cutting-edge materials, including metallic materials, ceramic materials, polymer materials, composite materials, optoelectronic and electronic materials, biomaterials, energy materials, magnetic materials, high-temperature superconducting materials, surface treatment technology, advanced materials characterization, and computer-aided computational materials science.
Breakthroughs in technological development often depend on the research, testing, and improvement of new materials. Materials technology, listed as critical by both national and private sectors, is the foundation of all engineering technologies and industries. It is a massive integration of physics, chemistry, and mathematics, balancing both theoretical foundation and engineering application, thus playing an extremely vital role in high-tech industries and industrial upgrading. In response to rapid global changes and industrial shifts in recent years, and to align with the university's goal of becoming a top global institution, the department continues to push for curriculum restructuring, equipment upgrades, and internationalization, nurturing students to adapt to future materials fields and industrial changes, and keeping pace with the world's leading teaching and research institutions.