The Department of Materials Engineering (DEMa) was created in 1972 and was the first engineering department at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), as well as the pioneer in materials engineering in Brazil. DEMa stands out for its emphasis on the three academic areas of Materials Science and Engineering: Metals, Ceramics and Polymers. Its interdisciplinary nature is evidenced by its work in theoretical, experimental and field teaching, training internships, interaction with industries, participation in funding agencies, representative entities and national and international conferences. DEMa is the academic body responsible for offering courses in the area of materials to all undergraduate courses in Engineering and the stricto sensu Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering at UFSCar.
DEMa has a total of 50 professors, 46 PhD professors working full-time, 4 collaborators, in addition to 25 technical and administrative professionals. The faculty is comprised of experienced researchers who are internationally recognized through numerous national and international awards, in addition to holding prominent positions in research funding agencies, public foundation boards, and companies, as well as chairs in science academies in Brazil and abroad. The quality of the research carried out by the faculty and their students is evidenced by the thousands of original articles in scientific journals and the filing of dozens of patents (i.e., original inventions at a global level that demonstrate potential for practical application).
The Department has a physical structure of 8,200 m2 comprising numerous research laboratories, with emphasis on the Center for Characterization and Development of Materials (CCDM), the Center for Technological Information in Materials (NIT), the Laboratory for Structural Characterization (LCE) – the largest electron microscopy center in Latin America – as well as other Centers of Excellence in Research and Development of Materials. Of this structure, 5,400 m2 are distributed across seven buildings, where the ceramics, metals, and polymer laboratories, the Materials Characterization and Development Center (CCDM), the Structural Characterization Laboratory (LCE), the Refractory Materials Laboratory (ALCOA), and the Vitreous Materials Laboratory (LaMaV) are located. The remaining units are distributed across offices, administration, seminar rooms, circulation areas, and the academic materials center.