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Materials and Design (MAD) Laboratory

Carvey
Tools in MAD lab
You can call me Al (lab materials)

The Materials Science Laboratory is a mixed-use space dedicated both to materials characterization and student-led design and prototyping activities. It is used in the materials science course (ESC210) and for several of the early design courses (EID101, EID103, ME211). In the materials science end of the spectrum, students get practical experience in characterizing materials with an array of dedicated machines, including a brand new Instron axial tester, a Charpy impact tester, several hardness testers, and a new optical profilometer. Over the last several years, we have made a significant effort to include more open-ended, hands-on projects with the materials science laboratories. For example, students have designed their own heat-treatment protocols to increase the hardness in metals and tested their ideas in the laboratory furnaces. We have introduced sandcasting of aluminum and brass and casting of molten metal into the manufacturing and materials science courses.

The space is also used extensively for prototyping projects, especially because it is the home of the department laser cutter and two 3D printers. The proximity of the materials science equipment and the prototyping equipment lend themselves to interesting cross-pollination of ideas. There are new wheelable desks, new configurations for providing outlets (hanging from the ceilings) and new cabinetry for organizing tools.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.