The Department of Materials Engineering has a vibrant and active research activity, driving innovation by bridging fundamentals and applications. We take pride in fostering impactful collaborations with renowned companies such as Rio Tinto, Boeing, Teck Resources, and many others. The diverse and interdisciplinary research areas pursued by our faculty aim to impact today’s industries, transform those of tomorrow, and improve people’s lives.
Our work spans different classes of materials, including metals, polymers, ceramics, composites and application areas. We combine experimental methods, theory, and simulations to advance our scientific goals. Key themes of our work include electrochemistry, microstructure, advanced manufacturing, sustainability, theory and simulation, and materials characterization – including degradation, chemical and mechanical performance, functional properties, and microscopy.
Research is conducted within and beyond the Department at UBC, partner institutions, and companies. We host many of our laboratories within the Frank Forward and Brimacombe Buildings, which includes the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory (AMPEL). These labs and facilities host a range of cutting edge and high-tech equipment, including electron microscopes, X-ray diffractometers, 3D printers, mechanical testing, and more. We are also proud to have a dedicated mechanical and electrical workshop to support our research activities.
Research in the Department is led by individual Principal Investigators (PIs), who are research-stream professors, associate professors, and assistant professors. Each research group collaborates closely with other institutions, UBC research institutes and centers, and faculty members from other departments. Our research is carried out by research engineers and scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students pursuing PhD and Master’s degrees.
Organizationally, our work is structured into six research clusters, each driving new insights and advancements across six major research themes:
Advanced Metallurgical Manufacturing & Processing Engineering
Metallurgy, metals processing, additive manufacturing, microstructure.
Faculty members
Ben Britton, Steve Cockcroft, Daan Maijer, Matthias Militzer, Warren Poole, Chad Sinclair
Polymer matrix composites, bio-based composites, composites manufacturing.
Faculty members
corrosion, electrochemistry, & hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy, extractive metallurgy, corrosion, energy storage, redox flow batteries.
Faculty members
Kiana Amini, Ed Asselin, David Dixon, David Dreisinger, Wenying Liu
sustainability
Sustainable metals, bio-based materials, and energy storage.
Faculty members