The history of the College of Materials Science and Engineering can be traced back to the Department of Geology when the XUST was founded in 1958. Some members of the teaching and research sections of petromineralogy, geological structure and paleontology and coal exploration have been engaged in research and trial production of clay minerals, gems and jades, ceramic and refractory raw materials, and domestic artistic ceramics since 1970s, and in 1988, they set up the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources in the Department of Geology, to carry out research on mineral processing, comprehensive utilization of minerals and coal conversion. The independently developed architectural paints with clay minerals as the key components are one of the main products of the Institute.In 1991, the major of comprehensive utilization and marketing of minerals was established in the Department of Geology.In 1993, the major of inorganic nonmetallic materials was established on the basis of the major of comprehensive utilization and marketing of minerals and the research and personnel training of clay minerals, gems and jades, building ceramics and domestic ceramics, and began to recruit students the following year.
In 1998, the major of inorganic nonmetallic materials was separated from the original Department of Geology, and was merged with the major of chemical process in the Department of New Materials Engineering to form the Department of Materials Engineering, with 2 undergraduate majors of inorganic nonmetallic materials and chemical process.In 1999, the major of inorganic nonmetallic materials was adjusted to the major of materials science and engineering, with 2 specialties: inorganic nonmetallic materials and polymer materials and engineering.
In 2002, XUST planned to build the Department of Materials Science and Engineering according to the needs of discipline and specialty development.In January 2003, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was officially set up, and the major of materials science and engineering was established according to the requirements of the first-level discipline enrollment.In 2005, the major of polymer materials and engineering was set up and began to enroll students.The Shaanxi Research Center for Silicon-Magnesium Industry Energy Saving and Polygeneration Engineering was established in 2007, and after being approved by Shaanxi Province, it has been built into the Research Center for Silicon-Magnesium-CarbonMicro-nano Materials and Application (upgraded and rebuilt).In May 2008, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was renamed as College of Materials Science and Engineering. In that year, the major of inorganic nonmetallic materials resumed enrollment.
After more than 20 years of development, the College has 3 undergraduate majors: materials science and engineering, inorganic nonmetallic materials engineering and polymer materials and engineering.The College has 2 second-level discipline doctoral stations in mechanical engineering materials and mineral processing engineering, and master programs in the first-level discipline of materials science and engineering (including 3 second-level discipline master programs in materials physics and chemistry, materials science and materials processing engineering), and second-level discipline of mechanical engineering materials and professional master programs in materials engineering, and has the right to grant master's degree in microelectronics and solid-state electronics and mineral processing engineering.
To meet the requirements of socialist market economy for talents, the College has always adhered to the school management philosophy of "establishing with quality, thriving with characteristics and becoming first-class", emphasized on extensive specialties, basic disciplines, and solid practice in major setting and personnel cultivation, and formed a teaching and scientific research direction featuring silicon-magnesium-carbon micro-nano materials and applications, mineral metallurgy and material preparation, electronic materials and components, new energy materials, functional composite materials, metal material processing and surface treatment, new building materials and functional polymer materials.
The College has a team of teachers with business proficiency and reasonable structure.The College has 73 faculty members and 53 full-time teachers, those with doctoral degrees accounting for 94%, including 9 professors, 20 associate professors, 1 outstanding contribution expert of Shaanxi Province, 1 New Century Innovative Talent of Ministry of Education, 2 from the "Hundred Talents Program" of Shaanxi Province and 1 Young Scientific Star of Shaanxi Province.It has 1 provincial-level teaching team, 3 provincial-level excellent resource sharing courses and 1 first prize of provincial teaching achievements.It has Shaanxi Silicon-Magnesium-Carbon Micro-nano Materials Engineering Center and Shaanxi New Energy Materials Creation Theory and Technology Key Scientific and Technological Innovation Team.The College has undertaken more than 20 projects of National Science and Technology Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China and National Technology Innovation Program, and more than 40 provincial and ministerial-level scientific and technological research projects, and obtained 7 provincial and ministerial-level science and technology progress awards and outstanding teaching achievement awards, and more than 50 national invention patents.The College has published 10 monographs, and more than 400 papers in important journals at home and abroad, among which more than 200 papers have been indexed by three international index systems, namely, SCI, EI and ISTP.
The College has a high-level provincial experimental teaching demonstration center, with 18 basic and professional laboratories and complete teaching equipment, including more than 1,000 sets of advanced material preparation, processing, testing and experimental research equipment such as X-ray diffractometer, field emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning probe microscope, cold isostatic pressing molding machine, hot pressing sintering furnace, synthetical thermal analyzer and infrared spectrometer.In addition, the College has actively promoted reform of talents training mode, built 1 provincial experimental demonstration area for talents cultivation innovation, and established off-campus practice bases with more than 20 large and medium-sized enterprises such as China Railway Group, Tianjin Southern Glass Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Shandong Industrial Ceramic Research & Design Institute Co., Ltd.The graduates are well received by large and medium-sized enterprises in electronics, machinery, automobiles, building materials and others, and the employment rate stabilizes at over 96%, and the postgraduate entrance examination rate takes a leading position in XUST.
The College was recognized as an Advanced Basic Branch CPC Committee of Higher Education of Shaanxi Province, and has been rated for many times as "Advanced Branch CPC Committee", "Civilized College Department", "Advanced Unit for Comprehensive Management", "Advanced Unit for Student Work", "Advanced Unit for Employment Work" and "Advanced Unit for Postgraduate Entrance Examination".
