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A recent National Research Council report estimates that 30% of all employed physicists and astronomers, and 33% of all employed chemists, work in materials. In 1986, approximately 136,000 individuals were working in material science and engineering. The substantial number underscores the important role materials play in all technologies. Yet when the Division of Materials Research of the National Science Foundation (NSF) requested a panel of experts to assess the needs and opportunities in the education of undergraduates desiring to pursue careers in materials science and engineering, the panel noted that "...in contrast to most other science and engineering disciplines, there is no single focal point in any university for undergraduate education in materials, nor is there any single professional society which might play a leading role in reforming undergraduate education in materials." The subpanel on Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) felt that the use of computers is insufficiently developed in undergraduate MSE courses and made several recommendations to rectify the deficiency. This paper presents our efforts to integrate computer applications in introductory MSE courses. The ideas were tested for the first time last Fall in a graduate-level core course (SESM701: Introduction to Materials Science) taken by MSE students. We plan to incorporate similar exercises in an undergraduate course (EMEM344: Materials Science) next year. Mechanical engineering and industrial engineering students must take EMEM344 in their sophomore year. Its content is identical to that of SESM705.
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