Graduate Research and Education - Download Brochure

Considerable specialization will be required of the student in order to obtain the in-depth knowledge required for an advanced degree. However, the new graduate must leave the center with a broad knowledge of the disciplines involved in friction material technology. Thus, a course sequence emphasizing friction materials and their systems is a requirement of all candidates. The sequence includes an overview course entitled Friction Materials and Applications (MEEP 468) that deals with frictional materials used for aerospace vehicles, passenger cars, heavy-duty vehicles, and transmissions and their performance. The course content covers the general areas of basic friction and wear, performance, design requirements, limitations, noise, vibration, environmental issues, and state-of-the-art experimental methods. Other courses in the sequence are currently being developed.

Classroom instruction is supplemented by activities targeting specific skills, revolving around the center's laboratories and equipment. Students study theoretical concepts and at the same time receive hands-on training, learning about testing parameters, and what experimental results are and how they are interpreted.

Thus, our concept is that of an educational curriculum, tailored to the student's interest, but centered on a few basic core courses. For instance, an M.S. student interested in materials might structure his program differently to that required of a student interested in structural vibration. Other specialized course programs can be designed, and the more detailed theoretical treatments of a Ph.D. program can easily be accommodated to suit the needs of a student pursuing a research degree emphasizing topics important to the friction materials research center.