ABSTRACT
Human beings have engaged in some form of “materials engineering” since the beginning of life on Earth. We have even named eras after the materials that were predominantly used in those historic times (e.g., Stone Age, Bronze Age). However, materials science and engineering evolved into a distinct engineering discipline only in the 1960s. The Materials Research Society, founded in 1973, de‰nes the ‰eld as: “Materials science and engineering encompasses the study of the structure and properties of any material, as well as using this body of knowledge to create new materials and to tailoring the properties of a material for speci‰c uses” (from MRS Web site).
