ABSTRACT
Materials science is quickly changing the face of what is possible. The typical design practice focuses on the system or component designer, who determines the materials; evaluates the design space; understands the static, dynamic, thermal constraints; lays out a test matrix; works with the material scientist and finite element analyst as a team leader. The designer puts the requirements into the cybersystem and four options are suggested—all that meet the thermal, mechanical, and materials processing requirements. Although this dream is still off in the future, it is closer than what we think and much closer than when Feynman made his comments about “plenty of room at the bottom” in 1959. The confluence of large-scale computing with greater precision experimental capabilities has offered the theoretical community new realms of accuracy and precision that have been realizable. “Simulation-based design” means more than just using finite element analysis late in the design process to help analyze the design of a component or system.
