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Program Overview Brochure Polymers are everywhere! Nature stores information in DNA, a polymer, and makes incredibly strong and intri‐ Overview of PSE………..2 cate structures such as spider webs and butterfly wings, also polymers. We constantly discover new ways to use Department Profile……..3 polymers to better our world. While common plastics are at the low end of the application spectrum, high Facilities………………….4 technology polymers are at the other: from contact lenses and airplane composites to bullet‐proof vests, Degree Program………...6 fire‐resistant materials, flash memory, and a myriad of other modern products. For more than 50 years, PSE has Curriculum……………….7 defined the frontier and guided the world‐wide understanding of polymers. Advancing the science and Course Descriptions…...9 engineering of polymers while training students to do the same is our core mission. www.pse.umass.edu University of Massachusetts 120 Governors Drive Amherst, MA 01003 (413) 545-0433 OVERVIEW OF PSE Polymer Science and Engineering (PSE) at UMass began biology, physics, and materials science and engineering. as a doctoral program in 1966 and became an academic To further impacts, frequent excursions beyond the tradi- department in 1974. Since then, PSE has gained an inter- tional bounds of polymer science and engineering are national reputation while educating over 800 Ph.D. scien- encouraged, and research targets often are “soft materi- tists and engineers. Reflecting a wealth of opportunities als”, containing additional elements such as nanoparticles, for those trained in the discipline, PSE graduates hold ionic liquids, cellulose nanocrystals, and graphene sheets. high-level positions in industry and academia across Over time, the polymer subfields that offer the most excit- many fields of science and engineering. Of those graduat- ing challenges change, and PSE has an excellent track ed since 2010, more than 98% are employed in polymer- record in anticipating these changes and repositioning its related positions. research to make the most of opportunities. At the current time much PSE research focuses toward nano- PSE is pursuing societally relevant intellectual themes in manufacturing, sustainability, medicine and biomedical areas such as nanotechnology, upcycling of plastics, bio- materials, interface science, alternative energy technolo- technology, energy generation and storage, and water gies, and green chemistry. purification. Faculty members have won numerous na- tional and international awards (essentially all that are Polymers frame a young and dynamic field, and PSE available in the field) and are members of the National thereby has a responsibility as a leading department to Academies of Engineering and Science; likewise, PSE guide new teaching and research practices for the entire students and alumni win prestigious professional awards field, not just for its own students. There are various ave- each year. Research funding per faculty member is nues for fulfilling these service responsibilities, but en- among the highest across all academic depart- gagement in professional societies, editing of journals, ments/disciplines in the nation. The Department’s re- writing of texts and monographs, and initiating of scien- search perspectives are flexible and collaborative, tific collaborations are among the most important. PSE facilitating the pursuit of exciting new research directions plays major roles in all. as topics and technologies evolve. The physical home of PSE, the Conte National Center for Polymer Research, PSE embraces further responsibilities for increasing equi- offers a state-of-the-art lab environment, and within its ty and diversity within its community and to maintain a confines, there are unrivaled facilities for polymer synthe- positive workplace that supports all members. sis, characterization, and processing. PSE has the three-fold objectives common to all research- oriented academic departments: research, teaching, and service. PSE’s teaching mission focuses on the training of doctoral students in the fundamental principles of poly- meric materials. The objective is to endow a broad-based expertise. Thus, each student is expected to master the fundamentals of polymers as derived from fields such as chemistry, physics, engineering, biology and medicine, and materials science and engineering. This breadth dis- tinguishes PSE training from that offered in traditional academic departments, where students might learn poly- mer chemistry but not polymer engineering, or polymer physics but not polymer chemistry. A PSE alumnus can synthesize polymer materials, measure their properties, and understand the relationships between properties and molecular structure. PSE training also provides the soft skills needed to formulate and implement research strate- gies for solving the diverse fundamental problems arising in the context of polymer materials. PSE’s research mission is to elucidate the fundamental principles of polymeric materials and put these principles into practice through the preparation of new materials with useful properties. This mission places PSE’s research at the forefront of advances in chemistry, engineering, 2 DEPARTMENT PROFILE Faculty Members Students The PSE faculty supports a spectrum of polymer research Incoming class sizes for PSE have recently ranged from and teaching interests. Just 4 of the 17 faculty members 17 to 26. Augmenting them are doctoral students from have academic polymer degrees, the others coming to the UMass Departments of Chemistry, Physics, and polymers with training in an affiliated academic disci- Chemical Engineering who elect to conduct thesis pro- pline. Further, several of the faculty members gained jects under PSE advisors. Students do research alongside extensive industrial polymer experience prior to a return approximately an additional 30 postdoctoral fellows and to academia. Such multifaceted but overlapping experi- visitors. Beyond these groups, a number of exchange ences facilitate interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary students from Mainz and other international universities approaches to the Department’s central missions. The and institutes take courses alongside the first-year PSE faculty is intensely devoted to collaboration, with the ma- class. jority of research projects co-directed by two or more faculty members, and the majority of courses co-taught. PSE students are actively involved in many polymer out- It is not unusual for a student to be co-advised by a chem- reach programs, which seek to educate the broader public ist and an engineer, although faculty members are diffi- about polymers, and several such programs are now pri- cult to categorize in this way, as individual perspectives marily student-run. For example, students initiated the typically blend aspects across science and engineering. highly popular ASPIRE, a month-long lab program for outstanding area high school students. Senior PSE stu- PSE faculty members have won all the major awards of dents also run a mentoring program for the incoming stu- the polymer field. By many measures, the PSE Ph.D. pro- dents, providing support as they master unfamiliar gram ranks at the very top of the polymer world. In re- academic topics and choose their advisors. The PSE Club cent rankings, such as the one conducted by the National organizes regularly social events, sport teams, and other Research Council (NRC), PSE was placed well above leisure activities for students. competing U.S. academic polymer programs, continuing a tradition that goes back several decades. In such rank- Most PSE students receive departmental stipend support ings, PSE is often compared to departments of materials in their first year, although outstanding individuals may science and engineering, although the Department’s fit to find support in the form of distinguished fellowships such this grouping is inexact. In the most recent NRC rankings as those awarded by the National Science Foundation, of all graduate programs in the nation, PSE’s position in NASA, or the Gates Foundation. Funding after the first the materials discipline was between #3 and #8 (depend- year of study, which is focused on coursework, is provid- ing on how the rankings are interpreted), a remarkable ed by a student’s advisor(s). All stipend support is con- performance given PSE’s particular scope. Interestingly, tingent on satisfactory progress towards degree, and in the last U.S. News and World Report ranking of PSE, department policy mandates that stipends be awarded to the department was given the #1 spot in the polymer all students who meet this standard. PSE does not offer chemistry sub-category. stipends in the form of teaching assistantships; students involved in teaching (only allowed after the first year) are given stipend supplements. The job search for students approaching graduation is pursued in a variety of ways, with the department hosting interviews each fall by many large U.S. and international companies. Job opportunities are abundant; in recent years, most graduating students have had to choose among multiple job offers. A recent 10-year survey of PSE alums (168 alums in total) found that almost 100% were employed, with approximately 98% working in a job related to their polymer education. The median time to degree is close to 5 years, well below the U.S. average for Ph.D. scientists and engineers. 3 FACILITIES The world-class polymer research facilities at the Univer- sity of Massachusetts are run by a highly experienced technical staff. Most facilities are located
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