HSCI-306: Adventures in Materials

Alice in Wonderland counts six impossible things before breakfast; can you count six "impossible materials"? To do that, we first need to cover a few basics. This course aims to provide students with the necessary foundation and primary tools for their art and design practices in relation to materials science and engineering. Starting from the fundamentals of scientific practice and its relation to art and design, we will learn about the building blocks of animate and inanimate worlds, how materials are produced, classified, characterized and used; constantly relating those to their impact on society's past, present and future. After covering key concepts such as materials ecology, sustainability, bio-mimicking and nanotechnology as well as case studies such as smart screens, comet dust catchers, self-repairing clothes, computer chips made of DNA, or heavy-duty stickers inspired by gecko feet, we will ideate on how to make the impossible -such as flexible glass, transparent metals, or plastics stronger than concrete- possible through novel material design approaches. We will end with reflections on the future of materials science and technology. Apart from regular lectures, we will implement use of online tools, laboratory practices, and/or field trips where the pandemic allows. The assessment will be done via content-based home-work assignments and a final project idea presentation. High school-level proficiency on arithmetic operations is required. Basic knowledge in chemistry or physics is helpful but not necessary.?