The Texas Materials Institute at the University of Texas at Austin was established in 1998 to ensure that UT-Austin achieves excellence in graduate education and research in the broad field of materials. The role of TMI is to be a “virtual” department that guides the destiny of materials science and engineering on the UT campus without imposing the limitations or boundaries inherent to departmental structures.

TMI HAS FOUR PRIMARY MISSIONS:

1. To operate the graduate degree program in Materials Science and Engineering which offers both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. TMI recruits graduate students for this program, ensures appropriate coursework is available to educate scientists and engineers in the fundamentals of the field, provides research opportunities for these graduate students, and handles all associated administrative needs.
2. To provide faculty and students on the UT-Austin campus with the instrumentation and associated infrastructure needed to conduct modern materials research. Click here for information about our facilities.
3. To promote interdisciplinary research in the area of materials at UT-Austin and to help coordinate all aspects of materials research and education among the participating departments. Examples include the Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology (CNM) and the Microelectronics Research Center (MRC).
4. To serve as the Organized Research Unit for materials research and to provide the necessary infrastructure for those faculty who need these services.

The faculty affiliated with TMI all have appointments in a home department in either the Cockrell School of Engineering or the College of Natural Sciences. Some information about each affiliated faculty member is provided here; additional information about these faculty can be found on the web pages of their departments or research units.