Over the last decade many changes have taken place in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), but among the most significant of these has been the increasingly central role of computational methods in characterizing structure, simulating processes, and predicting materials' response. In academia this change has been most notable with the establishment of computational materials science and engineering (CMSE) as a recognized sub-discipline. This change has happened at the same time that the focus of the discipline has grown to encompass many aspects of nanoscience, but this is not solely an academic shift. In industry computational tools such as ABAQUS for mechanical property prediction, CALPHAD for computing thermodynamic phase stability, VASP for electronic structure calculations, and tools like MATLAB for general purpose data analysis are now widely used. Survey research indicates a consensus that in order to prepare students for careers in basic research, engineering, and product development adequate training in modeling and simulation of materials is critical for both undergraduate and graduate students in MSE academic programs

The purpose of this curricular innovation is to inculcate students with a basic facility with simulation and modeling of materials. We will evaluate the extent to which this revision improves the assimilation of core MSE concepts and the students' lifelong learning goals. This research will also ascertain how students and faculty perceive these interventions and how these interventions change their professional practice and self-perception. Furthermore, these studies will identify the issues that support or impede innovations of this kind.