Discover Materials Open Week
Discover Materials Open Week
The Discover Materials group recently held an Open Week of events to highlight the importance of Materials Science and Engineering in everyday life, and the variety of career options available in this discipline. Understanding how materials behave can help us tackle many of the most pressing global challenges we currently face - such as climate change and sustainable engineering - by rethinking how we use existing materials and developing new ones. The group ran a range of talks and activities to show how exciting and varied this discipline can be.
In the run up to the main event, the group ran an infographic challenge to highlight and explore materials which have been important during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the winning entries will be available on the Discover Materials website. The first week also included a talk from Professor Sarah Haigh of the University of Manchester on the intriguing world of nanoscience.
On Tuesday 4th August, the Discover Materials team were joined by Marty Jopson (a regular on BBC’s The One Show) who talked in great detail about the materials used in mobile phones (including iron and steel!), and how touch screens work. It was amazing to discover all the different materials and technologies which come together to make a device we all use on such a regular basis.
This session was followed by the launch of the new Discover Materials video, highlighting the variety and breadth of careers available to people who study Materials Science and Engineering disciplines. You can watch the full video below to find out how you could help discover solutions to current and future problems.
The final activity was a live group Q&A session with academics and graduates from UK Materials Science and Engineering departments and employers in the field – if you missed it, you can catch up on the video below. This session hosted a number of eye-opening and fascinating discussions on the cutting edge nature of materials science and engineering – including the role steel products, recycling and construction can play in developing technologies for a greener future.
The Discover Materials group is an inter-university group whose aim is to promote Materials Science and Engineering as a discipline and the plethora of exciting career opportunities in the area. If you would like to find out more about the Materials Science and Engineering courses available in the UK, you can visit the Discover Materials website.
Headline image by Dr Thomas Dunlop from Swansea University
