Researchers working on aluminum are looking for ways to increase energy efficiency in processing and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions during production and searching for ways to use waste and recycled materials. They are also working to increase quality and improve the performance of alloys produced by secondary and tertiary processing and to develop new materials and transformation processes.

A number of Faculty members design materials to repair, replace, or regenerate tissues, organs, and systems in the human body. These functional materials are either synthetic, hybrid, or entirely biological and some can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in addition to tissue and organ regeneration.

Fluid dynamics precisely describes the movement of fluid particles (liquids and gases) in relation to the forces involved, such as velocity, viscosity, density, pressure, and temperature. Fluid dynamics and its subdisciplines such as hydraulics and hydrodynamics have many applications, notably in weather forecasting and aeronautics. They also play an important role in industrial applications such as pulp and paper, water treatment plants, and naval architecture.

Geomaterials are situated at the crossroads of earth sciences, environmental science, physics, and chemistry. There are two types: natural geomaterials (rocks, soil, etc.) and artificial geomaterials (concrete, glass, ceramics, etc.). Research in the field has gained fresh impetus recently, with scientists examining the properties of geomaterials, including the structure-property relationship and conditions of formation and evolution, conducting experiments using high temperatures and various pressure levels, and investigating the specific properties of mineral surfaces.

The search for better-performing materials has led to composite materials, which are less dense than metals and have a much longer lifespan. Their mechanical properties make them the materials of the future, but scientists are striving to overcome obstacles such as high production costs and limitations on recyclability.

A number of researchers work on synthesizing and characterizing innovative nanomaterials created using foundamental knowledge in nanoscience. Nanomaterials can be built for and tailored to specific industrial applications through collaboration between research groups that work on molecular architecture and advanced characterization.

This field of research, which is a subdiscipline of civil engineering, involves modelling and predicting the behaviour of civil engineering structures. Researchers examine a variety of factors (mechanical, thermal, hydraulic, soil, and structural) related to complex actions such as soil movement caused by thermal or hydric strain.

A number of researchers are involved in characterizing naturally occurring macromolecules (e.g., silk and proteins) using spectroscopic methods such as infrared and magnetic resonance. Some scientists are designing custom biofilms, while others are working on synthesizing and characterizing new polymers. Still more are studying the possibility of using cellulose in composite materials to help the plastics industry manufacture greener materials.