In this blog post, I’ll share what led me to major in materials science and engineering and how my perspective on the field has evolved throughout my college years.
I enrolled in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University in the 2011 academic year, and I am currently a senior. Since entering the department and studying the properties of various materials and their manufacturing processes, I’ve been amazed by the world of materials science as it applies to everyday life, and my perspective on the world has changed significantly from what it was before I began my studies. As the saying goes, “You see only what you know,” I’ve experienced many changes in various aspects—for example, I’ve come to understand the proper ways to use plastics, and my vague, negative perceptions about them have naturally shifted.
Let me explain my major, the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, in a bit more detail. The department’s name is written as “Materials Science & Engineering” in English. At first, this phrasing might feel a bit different from standard English grammar. This is because in standard English, it is uncommon to use the preceding noun in the plural form when one noun modifies another. However, the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at Seoul National University uses the name “Materials Science & Engineering” rather than “Material Science & Engineering.” This is related to the scope of the discipline taught in the department.
Materials Engineering is a field that encompasses both Materials Science and Materials Engineering. There is a vast variety of materials in the world—including metals, ceramics, polymers, semiconductors, and composite materials—and the department studies the properties and manufacturing processes of all these materials. Therefore, the term “Materials,” which encompasses a wide range of materials, is more appropriate than “Material,” which refers to a single material. Strictly speaking, it could be referred to as “Materials Science & Materials Engineering,” but it is generally abbreviated as “Materials Science & Engineering.” Just by looking at the name, one can see that the Department of Materials Engineering is a field of study where students learn both the scientific principles of various materials and the processing technologies required to utilize them.
In the Department of Materials Engineering, understanding the properties of materials is crucial, and chemistry serves as an essential foundation for gaining a fundamental understanding of materials. But to be honest, I didn’t really enjoy studying chemistry. Even in high school, chemistry was the science subject I found most difficult and disliked the most. On the contrary, I enjoyed studying biology, and in fact, I even prepared for the Biology Olympiad during high school.
Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a keen interest in biology. There were two main reasons why I became interested in biology.
The first was while watching a documentary program in middle school. The program featured a scene where a person swallowed a capsule containing a nanoscale robot, and the robot navigated to a pre-marked lesion to treat it. At the time, it seemed like science fiction, but today, research on nanotechnology, drug delivery systems, and medical micro- and nanorobots is actively underway. Watching that scene had a profound impact on me, and I found myself thinking, “Someday, I want to learn about and research that kind of technology.”
The second reason was my curiosity about the human body. Although I’ve never wanted to become a doctor because I’m afraid of the sight of blood, I was very curious about the principles behind how the human body maintains life. Furthermore, while medical technology continues to advance, I believed that materials capable of replacing or supplementing the human body are an area that will require even more research in the future. I felt an even greater interest in this field because it is directly connected to human life.
So, I set a goal to research biomaterials and pondered which field of study I should pursue. After much consideration, I concluded that I needed to understand the properties of various materials—particularly their thermal characteristics, durability, and biocompatibility. Furthermore, I believed that materials engineering was the discipline that would allow me to learn both the scientific principles and manufacturing processes of various materials, which is why I applied to the Department of Materials Engineering.
However, when I first enrolled in the Department of Materials Engineering, it was a bit different from what I had expected. I had assumed that the curriculum would begin immediately with topics related to biomaterials, and that I would simultaneously learn the necessary concepts—such as thermodynamics, classical mechanics, material composition, and molecular structure—through that process. However, during my first semester of freshman year, classes focused primarily on foundational courses such as mathematics, general education in basic sciences, and science labs. Even by my sophomore year, I found myself taking foundational major courses like thermodynamics and crystallography first, rather than the biomedical major courses I had anticipated.
Of course, looking back now, I realize that these foundational studies were an essential step toward understanding my major, but at the time, I did not understand that. Feeling that the curriculum was far removed from the field I wanted to study, I gradually lost interest in my studies, and by my sophomore year, I had come to genuinely dislike studying itself. I found myself repeatedly asking, “Should I switch majors?” and “Why am I even studying this?” Naturally, my grades dropped significantly. I began skipping classes more often, and my motivation vanished to the point where I was just going through the motions of campus life with the sole goal of graduating.
However, when I was registering for classes as a senior and looked over the list of major electives, my perspective changed completely. This was because many courses related to the field I had long wanted to study were being offered. In particular, I saw that “Biomedical Materials” and “Organic Materials Engineering” were available as major electives, and I was the first to register for both. Now that I’m taking these courses, I’m having the most enjoyable and fulfilling time I’ve had since starting college.
Because I neglected my studies during my sophomore and junior years, my basic major knowledge is lacking compared not only to my peers in the same class but even to underclassmen. As a result, I face quite a few challenges keeping up with the course material. Nevertheless, I’m now finding the learning process itself to be a joy. Even if my grades don’t meet my expectations, the fact that I’m able to study the field I truly want to pursue means far more to me than my grades ever could. Through my college experience, I’ve come to realize firsthand just how important it is to study a field that genuinely interests me.
