School of Materials Science and Engineering

1. History and current status

Starting in 1952 as the first major of heat treatment of metallic materials in China, the faculty of materials science and engineering (FMSE) at Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) has now developed into a faculty of 165 members, among whom 40 have been selected into various National Talent Programs. We are home of the State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, which ranked A+ in the last-round of evaluation in 2018. In addition, we house the New Materials International Joint Research Center supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, six other research platforms supported by the central and local government, one innovation cluster supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, a “111” platform for international exchanges, and three innovation teams supported by the Ministry of Education of China. Since the relocation from Shanghai to Xi’an in 1956, the tradition of “design and fabrication of materials for the best performance based on feedback in real-world service settings” has produced success stories such as the “Theory and application of low-carbon Martensite strengthening” by Hui-Jiu Zhou and co-workers, which was awarded the First Prize for the National Science & Technology Progress Award of China in 1987.

2. Research directions

The main research focuses of the FMSE include advanced engineering materials, high-performance functional materials, and materials synthesis, processing and service behaviors. In particular, our faculty members are well known in areas such as materials deformation and phase transformation, in situ TEM characterization, ferroelectric materials for smart systems, and phase-change memory materials. Since 2005, the FMSE have received 9 national awards, and published more than 5,000 research articles, including many in top-flight journals. The annual research budget of FMSE is ~94 million Chinese Yuan on average.

3. Education

Currently, we have 505 enrolled bachelor students, 361 master students and 428 doctoral students. Over the past five years, the enrollment of doctoral and master students recruited from top Chinese universities has increased by 53% and 23%, respectively. Moreover, FMSE has established English-based degree programs for international students, with the number of overseas students increasing to 46. Our students have authored and coauthored 1500+ technical papers as well as 450+ patents. We promote international exchanges, and ~76% of our doctoral students have overseas experience before they graduate.

4. Awards and alumni

Several of our faculty members have been elected to be MRS/ASM/APS Fellows. One member was inducted into the ASM Thermal Spray Hall of Fame. Two members were elected to Fellows of Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials. One member received China Distinguished Contribution Award for Casting by the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. Our faculty members have chaired international conferences 11 times, and presented invited talks at international conferences 400 times. Our alumni, many taking jobs in the western part of China to promote the development of this area, have made important contributions to economic development on both the regional as well as national levels. Alumni couple (Zhongjie Pu & Yuee Zhang) have donated 100 million Chinese Yuan to set up a scholarship program for XJTU bachelor students.