Materials research in the Department emphasizes the development of new processes and process models primarily for novel materials in the transportation sector and biomaterials for medical applications and aims at providing materials process solutions of societal magnitude including light weight materials, cleaner and greener metallurgical processes, engineered materials to replace or repair injured body parts. The Department fosters a strong interaction with industry through their Industrial Research Chairs. Industrially oriented research is combined with fundamental studies to advance understanding of the microstructure mechanisms and resulting properties.