History
National Taiwan University has a long record of education and research in the discipline of materials science. Professors Chih-Houng Lu and Pu-Shih Lu, both faculty members of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, were among the early pioneers in this field since the 1950s, engaging in research topics ranging from development, heat treatment, and mechanical properties of alloys to investigation of the physical and chemical reactions involved in steel making processes. However, the scale of these pioneering works was limited by the economic hardship endured by Taiwan of that era, when researchers' pay was very low and research funding was extremely meager. Still, against all odds, the professors and their NTU colleagues succeeded in building a solid foundation for materials research.

The subsequent establishment of National Science Council (currently National Science and Technology Council) brought improvements to the scientific research environment in Taiwan. With the support of the Ministry of Education, many graduate Schools were founded, including the Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering at National Taiwan University in 1966, whose Solid Mechanics and Materials Science Division became the first materials-themed organization at NTU. This presented new opportunities for education and research in materials science in Taiwan. In order to bring the importance of materials science to the attention of academia and industry, Professor Chih-Houng Lu lobbied for materials science to become the theme of the national Modern Engineering and Technology Seminar (METS) in 1968, which attracted the attendance of 64 local and overseas scholars and experts. The event catalyzed the cascading formation of major platforms for materials science research, including the National Taiwan University College of Engineering lecture series on materials science in 1968, Materials Research Society-Taiwan (MRS-T) in 1968, and the journal Materials Science Quarterly in 1969.

Recognizing the need for a concerted efforts in materials research, NTU in 1982 consolidated its materials research resources from its various institutions into a new entity entitled Graduate Institute of Materials Engineering (GIME), encompassing the Metallic Materials Division of the Graduate Institute of Mechanical Engineering, the Polymer Division of the Graduate Institute of Chemical Engineering, and the Materials Division of the Graduate Institute of Electrical Engineering. GIME initially offered only a Master's program but began offering also a Ph.D. program in 1987. In 2001, the institute was reconstituted into the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) with the addition of an undergraduate program to meet the rising demand for talents in MSE.

The department has since strived for multi-pronged development in all MSE-related areas of research, including metallic materials, ceramic materials, polymers and soft matters, electronic materials, energy materials, biomaterials, computational materials science, and materials manufacturing, while always actively looking for opportunities to engage in multi-disciplinary research.

Academics
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at National Taiwan University is among the nation's first choices for high school students, admitting only the very top echelon of talents from Taiwan and beyond. In addition, the department is located in the College of Engineering Building, making it both literally and figuratively at the heart of engineering and scientific research activities on the National Taiwan University campus, adjacent to the school library, Language Center, Computer and Information Networking Center, College of Science, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and College of Social Sciences. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject, materials science at National Taiwan was ranked globally at 93rd place in 2023 and 77th place in 2024.

The National Taiwan University Department of Materials Science and Engineering provides the most comprehensive education in its discipline in Taiwan, offering a solid grounding in scientific knowledge with a balance of different disciplines. Cooperation among research groups is highly encouraged and has produced exceptional results in recent years. At the same time, the department has close collaborative relations with the school's Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Mechanics, and College of Medicine. The department seeks breakthroughs in the understanding of fundamental materials properties as well as the development of practical applications as it strives to become a global center for research in materials science.

Demographics
Currently, there are 22 faculty members and 14 staff members on the department. The student body includes around 220 undergraduate students, 250 Master's students, and 90 Ph.D. students.

Research and Funding
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at National Taiwan University is among one of the most productive departments in fundamental and engineering materials research in Taiwan. Our faculty members collectively publish around 150 SCI journal publications per year with funding from both the government (the National Science and Technology Council, NSTC) and the industry.