Computational curriculum for MatSE undergraduates

Computational materials modeling and design has emerged as a vital component of materials research and development in academic, industrial, and national lab settings. In response, US Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) departments and the federal government recognize the need to incorporate computational training into undergraduate MatSE education. Our faculty team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is addressing this growing need with a comprehensive computational component integrated into the MatSE curriculum. Throughout their coursework, undergraduates complete a series of computational modules of progressing complexity, each module modeling the principles taught in its containing course. Computational lectures accompany most modules and further illustrate how computational methods solve real-life science and engineering problems. The computational curriculum is supported by a dedicated teaching assistant who helps with module development, delivers computational lectures, and offers additional office hours. Now, three years since initial implementation, multiple student cohorts have experienced the computational curriculum at all course levels. In this paper, we present new results on the efficacy of the computational curriculum and share more information about our continued efforts to improve the computational modules, lectures, and their integration within the broader MatSE curriculum.