Technical paper

Summary:
The purpose is to become familiar with the behavior of materials in specific applications. The technical paper will build upon course material; its technical difficulty and content should be comparable to Callister/Rethwisch textbook.
 
Topics for the Technical Paper
Gallium nitride semiconductors
OLED Technology
3-D Printing high quality graphene
Improvements (or replacement materials for) Li rechargeable batteries
Graphene sensors
Wearable sensors, self-powered monitors integrated in clothing
Sapphire materials
Additive manufacturing
Intermetallics
Carbon nitride in optics or electronics
Aluminum Foam
MEMS, NEMS
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) thermoplastic in biocompatible applications.

Basic format and section headings
Abstract 1- short paragraph
Introduction (about the subject matter)
Material properties
Comparison with other materials
Processing Techniques
Applications
Discussion
References
 
Single spaced with 1-inch margins. 10-12 inch font.
8 page maximum; content is more important than length.
Include figures and tables. All figures and tables MUST have appropriate captions.
All references must be appropriately cited throughout the text and listed using ISO format at the end of the paper (see formatting examples for the outline).

Grading criteria

Format: abstract, introduction, material properties, comparisons, applications, processing, testing, conclusions.
Do not include Table of Contents; not necessary for a paper that is 8 pages maximum.
Avoid the use of quotes; Too many quotes, “copy/paste”, not student’s work.
Appropriate Technical content; the paper is not an infomercial with superficial content. The paper is not significantly beyond the scope of the course and obviously not the student’s work.
Organization of paper; coherent sections, integrated paper; avoid chunks of text with no section headings;
Start early, so paper is not a rough draft done at the last minute.
Quality of research – use multiple relevant sources.
Figures and tables are included, relevant to topic, formatted properly (numbered and captioned).
Figures are discussed in text.
Good quality photos/images/tables are included and are not blurry.
References – proper format, consistent format, and cited throughout text; 5 minimum, not including course textbook.
Approved topic, submission of term paper.
Quality of analysis or summary; student appears to understand what is being explained.
Interesting or informative.
Conscientious effort is apparent in final result.
Focus of paper is on materials and engineering.

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