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Smart Materials: Microscale and Macroscale Approaches

Approx. 17 hours to complete

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Description

Smart materials represent a cutting-edge global trend both in fundamental science and emerging technologies. Smart materials science is a truly interdisciplinary area at the intersection of physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, mathematical simulations, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and etc. An online course in smart materials will be of obvious interest for everyone who is interested in modern materials science and emerging trends in engineering, biotechnology, and medicine.

A broad variety of materials are actually considered as smart ones: from shape memory alloys to polymer nanosystems. We expect that the Coursera audience will benefit from a compact and simple online course that integrates specific modern aspects and trends of fabrication, modification, characterization, and applications of smart materials. With this course, we would like to introduce specific aspects of an exciting interdisciplinary area “Smart Materials” in a way it can be easily understood by a broad audience. We will focus on how remarkable properties of smart materials correlate with simple structural features at nanoscale and microscale, discuss various methods to characterize materials with smart properties. We will highlight inspiring trends in applications of smart materials. For a microscale approach, we offer the Lab on a Chip technology and tell a story on to use microfluidic chips for fabricating smart systems. For a macroscale approach, we introduce modern analytical methods that are used to characterize smart materials We expect that this course will be interesting for a broad audience that is keen to learn more about how smart materials contribute to well-established and emerging technologies.

Knowledge

Identify the properties of smart materials that can be valuable in a specific area of application.
Apply theoretical and experimental approaches to designing, fabricating, and tuning properties of selected solid state and soft matter materials.
Utilize the potential of lab on chip technologies for materials science applications.

Outline

Smart Materials: Key Concepts
Welcome
What are smart materials
Overview of smart materials
How to use the lecture notes
Smart materials: specific terms
Course development team
Description of the course
How to use the course content
Contacts
Useful links
Smart materials: lecture notes
Smart materials: learn new terminology
Module summary
Self-evaluation test
Smart Materials: brief quiz
Background of smart materials: assessment

Behind Smart Properties
Smart properties: nanoscale
Smart properties: microscale
Solid state materials
Soft matter
Introduction to new terms
From macro and nano: slides for the videos
Useful links
Smart materials: lecture notes
Smart materials: learn new terminology
Smart properties: practice quiz
Solid state & soft matter overview
Behind smart properties: assessment

Smart Materials: Research Methods
Overview of microscopy methods
Advanced microscopy methods for smart materials
Spectroscopy methods for characterization of smart materials. Part 1
Spectroscopy methods for characterization of smart materials. Part 2
Overview of numerical methods
Introduction to Matlab. Part 1
Introduction to Matlab. Part 2
Introduction to new terminology
Lecture notes: spectroscopy methods
Lecture notes: microscopy methods
Research methods terminology glossary
Module summary
Self-evaluation quiz
Self-evaluation quiz
Self-evaluation quiz
Smart materials: research methods. Assessment

Lab on chip for smart materials
Introduction to microfluidics
Integration of lab on chip and smart materials
Fabrication of microfluidic devices: helpful hints
Experimental microfluidic setup
Synthesis of nanoparticles in microfluidic chips
Nonequilibrium behavior and confinement
Making a model of a microfluidic process
Simulation of microfluidic interactions
Introduction to new terms
Useful links
Soft matter & lab on a chip
Microfluidic devices: fabrication, operation, and simulation
Lab on chip: learn new terminology
Module summary
Microfluidics overview
Lab ob chip fabrication quiz
Self-evaluation test
Numerical simulation quiz
Background of smart materials assessment

From properties to applications: inspiring trends
Shape memory materials. Part 1
Shape memory materials. Part 2
Shape memory materials. Part 3
Soft matter overview
Introduction to target drug delivery
Soft matter materials in biomedicine
Liquid crystals
Advanced materials with quantum dots
Introduction to new terms
Useful links
Smart properties of soft matter
Liquid crystals & quantum dots: smart properties
Learn new terminology
Module summary
Afterword and course conclusions
Self-evaluation test
Soft matter quiz
Liquid crystals & quantum dots quiz
Applications of smart materials
Final course assessment

Summary of User Reviews

Discover the latest advancements in smart materials with this insightful course. Students love the engaging content and real-world applications.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

Real-world applications

Pros from User Reviews

Engaging content
In-depth analysis of smart materials
Expert instructors
Great for professionals and students alike
Hands-on exercises

Cons from User Reviews

Lack of beginner-level materials
Some technical jargon may be difficult to understand
Limited interaction with instructors
Course material can be overwhelming
High workload

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Smart Materials: Microscale and Macroscale Approaches

Smart materials represent a cutting-edge global trend both in fundamental science and emerging technologies. We will highlight inspiring trends in applications of smart materials....

Save Course