NE 125Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Nanotechnology Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Fundamentals of crystalline structure, crystal defects, and noncrystallinity. Mechanical, magnetic, diffusion, and thermal properties of materials, such as metals, ceramics, and polymers. Topics include, but are not limited to, elastic and plastic deformations, fracture mechanics, magnetic dipoles and magnetization, Fick’s laws, and Fourier’s Law. Application of phase diagrams and transformation in engineering materials. Processing and concepts of engineering design of materials.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- NE121 - Chemical Principles (0.50)
- Students must be in level 1B or higher
- Enrolled in H-Nanotechnology Engineering
- Must have completed the following:
Antirequisites
Leads to
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4495 | 0 / 120 | M 10:30–11:20 TTh 11:30–12:20 M 10:30–11:20 TTh 11:30–12:20 Jan 20 16:30–17:20 Feb 10 16:30–17:20 Mar 24 16:30–17:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1841 | 0 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 4496 | 0 / 40 | Th 13:30–14:20 Th 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 102 | 4497 | 0 / 40 | T 08:30–09:20 T 08:30–09:20 |
| TUT 103 | 4498 | 0 / 40 | Th 08:30–09:20 Th 08:30–09:20 |
| TST 201 | 5128 | 0 / 120 | Feb 25 12:30–14:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
73% liked it68% easy90% useful
From 62 ratings and 11 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Got a full 5 pages for the cheat sheet, made the midterm real simple if you just copy the questions from the tut and slides, and try to find patterns in the questions. Just know the basic concept for true and false. Sometimes there are pop quizzes during the tutorial, so please go to those, and some also appear on the exams.
Apr 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
I LOVE AIPING YUUUUUUU
May 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Quite an easy class, first unit is almost review from NE 100. Do the textbook problems and you'll be fine.
Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty simple, somewhat of an extension/continuation from ne100. Do some practice problems from the textbook and you should be fine. Easy class to slack off in, so beware not to fall too far behind..
Apr 2019 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty easy, but as usual, important information. If you have the textbook, then you're set because it's extremely reliable.
May 2017 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
4 posts and comments in 3 threads mention NE 125, April 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Winter 2024
Systems VS Chem VS Biomed VS nano technology engineerings 1 point, 6 comments
“Hi! I am looking into transferring into either of those 4 and I am trying to decide which is better and which I have a realistic chance of getting into. …”
u/ButterKnife2k5: “I'm nano 2028 and I can say comfortably I've made the right choice for a major. I'd say nano is niche but you can apply it in many industries especially the medical (covid vaccine as example). …”
u/ButterKnife2k5: “Right now I am doing theory courses like materials (NE125), health risks (NE110), and Circuits (NE140) and your sciences. So far it is very general just because we need to learn the basics but we have done some nano-specific things. …”
Spring 2019
Have you ever taken a class or had a prof where you're just real glad the term is over? 21 points, 17 comments
u/DailyDoseOfZinthos: “… Nasser Abukhdeir NE 125 Prof. Yuning Li MSCI 261 Prof. Mehrdad Pirnia NE 318 Prof. Nasser Abukhdeir NE 333 Prof. Xiaosong Wang NE 343 Prof. Bo Cui BIOL 130 Prof. Heidi Engelhardt CHEM 120L Prof. …”
u/GankedByGoose: “NE 125 was Aiping Yu (Yuning Li's wife lol) when I took it, not great either. Extremely nice lady but hard accent and disorganized af. NE 318 is Ting Tsui this year cause Nasser's on sabbatical - our class lucked out hard. NE 333 is Leonardo Simon, who's fine if difficult. …”
Winter 2016
What's the lowest class midterm average you have ever seen? 10 points, 34 comments
“The lowest I've ever seen was organic chem 2 years ago. I think it was in the 40's”
u/amaltz1: “Not my first hand account, but legend has it the Nano Eng class of 2019s material science course (NE 125) had a final average of 23%, before the curve. Not 100% sure if its legit, I do know that that course was curved through the roof.”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them