Materials Science

Category: Physical Science & Chemistry

Format: Lab

2026 Topic: Ceramics — Structure & Properties (including Nanomaterials)

Participants: 2

What It Is

Materials Science is a lab event in which teams complete hands-on activities and answer test questions about the science of materials. The 2026 focus is ceramics — including their chemical composition, crystal structure, processing methods, and mechanical and thermal behavior — with an additional scope on nanomaterials.

What to Know

Ceramics:

• Definition and general properties: high melting point, brittleness, hardness, electrical insulation, chemical inertness
• Crystal structures: unit cells (cubic, hexagonal, etc.), ionic vs. covalent bonding in ceramics
• Common ceramic materials: alumina (Al₂O₃), silica (SiO₂), zirconia (ZrO₂), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), glass, cement, porcelain
• Traditional vs. advanced ceramics
• Ceramic processing: powder processing, sintering, slip casting, tape casting, firing, glazing
• Mechanical properties: hardness, compressive vs. tensile strength, fracture toughness, brittleness, Weibull modulus
• Thermal properties: thermal conductivity, thermal shock resistance, coefficient of thermal expansion
• Electrical properties: dielectrics, piezoelectrics, ferroelectrics, superconducting ceramics
• Failure mechanisms: crack propagation, Griffith criterion, stress concentrations
• Applications: cutting tools, bioceramics (implants), refractories, electronic substrates, armor

Nanomaterials:

• Definition: materials with at least one dimension ≤ 100 nm
• Size-dependent properties: quantum effects, increased surface-area-to-volume ratio
• Types: nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes (carbon nanotubes), thin films, quantum dots
• Synthesis methods: top-down (ball milling, lithography) vs. bottom-up (chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel)
• Properties and applications: enhanced strength, catalysis, drug delivery, sensors, electronics
• Characterization techniques: SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD basics

General Materials Science Concepts:

• Crystal systems and defects: vacancies, dislocations, grain boundaries
• Phase diagrams: reading binary phase diagrams, eutectic points
• Material selection and performance trade-offs

Competition Format

Lab activities (testing material samples, measuring properties, analyzing data) combined with written test questions. Approximately 30 minutes for 2 participants.

Notes

• Returned to full featured event status in 2026; nanomaterials added to the traditional ceramics scope.
• Expect questions comparing ceramics to metals and polymers (the broader materials science triangle).
• Lab tasks may include hardness testing, observing microstructures under a microscope, or testing thermal properties of samples.