Faculty of Materials Science

Acting Dean: Acad.Konstantin A. Solncev

The Faculty of Materials Science at MSU was established to serve the needs of science and engineering whose development quickened enormously at the turn of the 21st century, especially in the fields of nanotechnology, nanomaterials, biomaterials, photonics, sensorics, microelectronics, spintronics, solid state ionics. These fields are the basis of modern technological progress that made available cellular phones, computers, flat displays, artificial implants in medicine, lasers and portable players. Moreover, in the nearest future various new marvelous devices may be introduced such as single electron transistors und quantum computers.

Scientists predict that in the 21st century nanotechnologies will lead to a breakthrough in manipulating matter in the same way as computers revolutionized manipulation of information. Active role Russian scientists play in nanotechnology research may help Russian science to compete in the international hi-tech market. Nanotechnology has been recognized as a priority field of science in Russia. Currently the Faculty of Materials Science is one of the major centers for experimental research of nanomaterials. We have popularized nanotechnology through our popular science portal www.nanometer.ru, during the Internet competition ?Nanotechnology is a step into the future?, through our Nanotechnology Distance Learning Center, at our exhibition of scientific photography ?Beauty of Nanomaterials? which has become part of the traditional Festival of Science.

The Faculty of Materials Science was established in 1991 as an interdisciplinary division, a joint effort of the Faculties of Chemistry, Physics, Mechanics and Mathematics. A major role in establishing the Faculty of Materials Science belongs to Acad. Yuri D. Tretyakov, MSU Rector Viktor A Sadovnichy and RAS President Yuri S. Osipov.

Our main goal is to train professional materials scientists and researchers working in the fields of chemistry, physics and mechanics of materials. The basis of our interdisciplinary education is Chemistry, Physics, Mechanics and Mathematics. Our curriculum aims at our students? acquiring a wide range of relevant knowledge and skills:

• A wide range of factual material with a special emphasis on chemical principles of materials design and applications, including thorough knowledge of basic chemical subjects and specialized areas of solid state chemistry;
• The theory of physical phenomena that determine properties of materials, which includes fundamental instruction in condensed matter physics;
• Thorough knowledge of mathematical sciences that helps to study the core subjects and to teach students to apply the mathematical methods in their professional work;
• The basics of mathematical modeling, sufficient to modify materials and to design them;
• Systematic approach to creating, studying and applying materials, as well as up-to-date chemical and physical experimental skills.

We offer 4-year Bachelor?s Degree and 2-year Master?s Degree programs, the latter enrolls Bachelor?s Degree holders.

Our 3-year post-graduate school enrolls Master?s and Specialist?s Degree holders. Our graduate students have the opportunity to do their graduate research at MSU and at universities in France.

The important characteristic of our approach to undergraduate education is personal attention every student receives from a personal advisor who guides their laboratory work. Students are involved in research work from their first day at the Faculty, choosing scientific laboratories at either the MSU Faculties of Chemistry, Physics, Mechanics and Mathematics (in perspective at the Faculties of Geology and Biology), or at the academic institutions and joint education and research centers. Since 1999 there has been a session on materials science within the annual international Lomonosov students? conference held at MSU. The authors of the best papers are awarded the MSU Academic Council prizes, the Legasov Prize, and Oleinikov Prize.

We have contacts and collaboration agreements with universities and research centers in the USA, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, South Korea. In their tenth semester our undergraduates have the possibility to study for 3-6 months in the best universities and scientific centers abroad. Our scientists participate in international projects such as INTAS, DAAD, DFG, CRDF, ISTS etc. Our undergraduate and graduate students have won a number of prestigious international scholarships such as Leonard Euler Scholarships, Humboldt Foundation grants, DAAD scholarships, INTAS grants for young scientists, Haldor Topsoe grants, LG grants.

Another form of international contacts is participation in scientific conferences. Our students? works have won various prestigious international prizes and awards such as gold and silver medals of the Materials Research Society, the European Materials Research Society, the Academy of Europe.

As the Faculty of Materials Science does interdisciplinary research in the most advanced field of science, designing new classes of materials and developing nanotechnologies, our policy is to buy state-of-the art equipment, ewven if unique and expensive. The faculty has all the facilities and equipment to study nanomaterials, such as high-resolution scanning electron microscopes, SQUID magnetometer, Raman spectrometer that cost over a million dollars each, available to every student doing research at our laboratories.

We lay a special emphasis on integration of science and education, having affiliations with the institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences. At present there are 7 affiliated departments at RAS research centers including the Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, the Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, the Institute of Chemical Physics in Chernogolovka, the Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics. Our students use the equipment to do their research and have their externships there.

Since 2006 we have taken part in the Innovative University project, introducing new approaches to education. Our innovative Master?s Degree program in Chemistry, Physics and Mechanics of Materials has been developed and introduced; a number of distance courses have been offered.

To ensure our graduates successful careers and well-paid jobs in the field they are trained for, we cooperate with leading Russian and international high-tech companies, such as Degussà, Alcoa, Saint Gobain, Shlumberger, Samsung, LG, Rusal, Bacor, MAIR etc.