National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are chosen from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This report was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the Army Research Office, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-8521440. Additional support came from the National Research Council (NRC) Fund, a pool of private, discretionary, nonfederal funds that is used to support a program of Academy-initiated studies of national issues in which science and technology figure significantly. The NRC Fund consists of contributions from a consortium of private foundations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Charles E.Culpeper Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation, the Andrew W.Mellon Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation; and from the Academy Industry Program, which seeks annual contributions from companies that are concerned with the health of U.S. science and technology and with public policy issues with technological content.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Materials Science and Engineering.
Materials science and engineering for the 1990s: maintaining competitiveness in the age of materials/Committee on Materials Science and Engineering [and] Solid State Sciences Committee, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources, and National Materials Advisory Board, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-309-03928-2.
1. Materials science. 2. Engineering. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Solid State Sciences Committee. II. National Research Council (U.S.). National Materials Advisory Board. III. Title.
TA403.N332 1989
620.1′1–dc20
89–12630
CIP
Cover: Computer-generated image of a mathematical model of Scherk’s first minimal surface. (Reprinted, by permission, from Edwin L.Thomas, David M.Anderson, Chris S.Henkee, and David Hoffman, 1988, Periodic Area-Minimizing Surfaces in Block Copolymers, Nature 334:598–601. Copyright © 1988 by Macmillan Magazines Ltd.)
Copyright © 1989 by the National Academy of Sciences
Printed in the United States of America
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20418
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN
This report, Materials Science and Engineering for the 1990s: Maintaining Competitiveness in the Age of Materials, encompasses a broad enterprise. The field’s intellectual content ranges from the quantized Hall effect to dramatic advances in the performance of high-strength structural materials. The vitality and pace of the field are everywhere evident. The Nobel Committee recognized fundamental advances in materials research for three consecutive years—1985, 1986, and 1987. Success in translating advances in materials science and engineering into new and improved materials is unparalleled. There have been gratifyingly broad applications of new materials in areas with immediate impact on human welfare such as biomaterials, suitable for artificial organs, biochemical sensors, vascular grafts, and ophthalmological devices.
Despite the diversity of the field, the report points to unifying trends that emphasize the need for scientists and engineers in universities, government laboratories, and industry to work together closely. In particular, the authoring group, the Committee on Materials Science and Engineering, urged greater efforts by the federal government to coalesce these sectors, and endorsed Congressional efforts to strengthen the coordination of federal agencies that support materials science and engineering.
The committee focused its recommendations on synthesis and processing of materials. This is the area that has produced dramatic improvements in superconducting materials, growth in the number of components in integrated circuits, and increases in the strength of structural materials. On the basis of a survey of several key industries, the committee recommended a national initiative in synthesis and processing built on cooperation among universities, industry, and government.
We believe that the field of materials science and engineering offers a special opportunity to act on the growing realization of the need for improved coordination and cooperation in the nation’s effort in science and technology. We commend the report to your attention.
Frank Press
Chairman
National Research Council
Robert M.White
Vice Chairman
National Research Council
THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL IS THE PRINCIPAL OPERATING AGENCY OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING TO SERVE GOVERNMENT AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M.White is the president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M.White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
STEERING COMMITTEE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
ALBERT NARATH,
AT&T Bell Laboratories,
Co-chairman
ARDEN L.BEMENT, JR.,
TRW, Inc.,
Co-chairman
JOHN H.BIRELY,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
MORRIS COHEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WALTER KOHN,
University of California
WILLIAM P.SLIGHTER,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
(retired)
Ex-Officio Members
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI,
IBM T.J.Watson Research Center,
Co-chairman,
Committee on Materials Science and Engineering
MERTON C.FLEMINGS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Co-chairman,
Committee on Materials Science and Engineering
HERBERT H.JOHNSON,
Cornell University,
Chairman,
Solid State Sciences Committee
BERNARD H.KEAR,
Rutgers University,
Chairman,
National Materials Advisory Board
NORMAN F.RAMSEY,
Harvard University,
Chairman,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
COMMITTEE ON MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI,
IBM T.J.Watson Research Center,
Co-chairman
MERTON C.FLEMINGS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Co-chairman
MELVIN BERNSTEIN,
Illinois Institute of Technology
MARTIN BLUME,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
ALAN CHYNOWETH,
Morris Research & Engineering Center, Bell Communications Research, Inc.
W.DALE COMPTON,
Purdue University
ROBERT S.HANSEN,
Iowa State University
JOHN HULM,
Westinghouse Electric Research and Development Center
R.GLEN KEPLER,
Sandia National Laboratories
JAMES S.LANGER,
University of California
TERRY L.LOUCKS,
Rothschild Ventures
GEORGE PARSHALL,
E.I.du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
RUSTUM ROY,
Pennsylvania State University
LYLE H.SCHWARTZ,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
JAMES O.STIEGLER,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
GEORGE WHITESIDES,
Harvard University
JAMES C.WILLIAMS,
General Electric Company
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
JACK MOTEFF,
NRC
Fellow (1985–1987)
ARLENE MACLIN, Program Officer (1985–1987)
PATRICK RAPP, Program Officer (1988)
STEVE OLSON, Consultant (1987–1988)
Government Liaison Representatives
TED BERLINCOURT, Director,
Research and Laboratory Management, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Advanced Technology, Department of Defense
ADRIAAN de GRAAF,
Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation
B.CHALMERS FRAZER,
Solid State Physics and Materials Chemistry, U.S. Department of Energy
RICHARD E.HALPERN,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
LOUIS C.IANNIELLO, Deputy Associate Director
for Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy
PAUL MAXWELL,
Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives
GEORGE MAYER, Director,
Materials Science Division, U.S. Army Research Office
RICHARD REYNOLDS, Director,
Defense Science Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
ALAN ROSENSTEIN,
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
AL SCHINDLER, Director,
Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation
IRAN THOMAS, Director,
Division of Materials Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy
DONALD R.ULRICH, Senior Program Manager,
Chemical Sciences, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
ROBERT WEIGLE,
U.S. Army Research Office
BEN WILCOX, Assistant Director,
Materials Science Division, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
PANEL ON RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND NEEDS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
JAMES S.LANGER,
University of California,
Chairman
GEORGE PARSHALL,
E.I.du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.,
Vice-Chairman
JAMES O.STIEGLER,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Vice-Chairman
SUMNER A.BARENBERG,
Baxter Health Care Corporation
ELIAS BURSTEIN,
University of Pennsylvania
PETER CANNON,
Conductus Corporation
MILDRED DRESSELHAUS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES ECONOMY,
University of Illinois
GEORGE S.HAMMOND,
Allied-Signal, Inc.
ARTHUR H.HEUER,
Case Western Reserve University
JOHN P.HIRTH,
Ohio State University
PIERRE C.HOHENBERG,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
IAN HUGHES,
Inland Steel Company Research Laboratories
ROBERT I.JAFFEE,
Electric Power Research Institute
JOHN D.JOANNOPOULOS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
HERBERT H.JOHNSON,
Cornell University
ROBERT A.LAUDISE,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
CHRISTOPHER MAGEE,
Ford Motor Company
E.WARD PLUMMER,
University of Pennsylvania
JAMES R.RICE,
Harvard University
ROBERT STRATTON,
Texas Instruments
GARETH THOMAS,
University of California
MARK WRIGHTON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
PANEL ON EXPLOITATION OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NATIONAL WELFARE
ALAN G.CHYNOWETH,
Morris Research & Engineering Center, Bell Communications Research, Inc.,
Chairman
R.GLEN KEPLER,
Sandia National Laboratories,
Vice-Chairman
JAMES C.WILLIAMS,
General Electric Company,
Vice-Chairman
JOSEPH D.ANDRADE,
University of Utah
MYLLE H.BELL,
Bell South Corporation
JOEL CLARKE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
L.ERIC CROSS,
Pennsylvania State University
THEODORE GEBALLE,
Stanford University
GORDON H.GEIGER,
North Star Steel Company
FRANK E.JAMERSON,
General Motors Research Laboratories
HARRY A.LIPSITT,
Wright State University
JAMES L.McCALL,
Battelle Columbus Division
THOMAS C.McGILL, JR.,
California Institute of Technology
JOHN P.RIGGS,
Hoechst Celanese Corporation
GERD M.ROSENBLATT,
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
PALLE SMIDT,
Microelectronics Corporation
ROBERT STREET,
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
HILLIARD WILLIAMS,
Monsanto Company
ARPAD A.BERGH,
Morris Research & Engineering Center, Bell Communications Research, Inc., Consultant
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
PANEL ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND COMPETITION IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
LYLE H.SCHWARTZ,
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Chairman
W.DALE COMPTON,
Purdue University,
Vice-Chairman
RUSTUM ROY,
Pennsylvania State University,
Vice-Chairman
JORDAN BARUCH,
Jordon Baruch Associates
C.PETER FLYNN,
University of Illinois
RICHARD J.FRUEHAN,
Carnegie-Mellon University
HERBERT I.FUSFELD,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
SERGE GRATCH,
GMI Engineering and Management Institute
RUDOLPH PARISER,
E.I.du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
R.BYRON PIPES,
University of Delaware
MAXINE SAVITZ,
The Garrett Corporation
GABOR A.SOMORJAI,
University of California
GREGORY STILLMAN,
University of Illinois
JAMES J.TIETJEN,
RCA Laboratories
ROBERT WHITE,
Control Data Corporation
SAMUEL SCHNEIDER,
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Consultant
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
PANEL ON RESEARCH RESOURCES IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
TERRY L.LOUCKS,
Rothschild Ventures,
Chairman
MARTIN BLUME,
Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Vice-Chairman
GEORGE WHITESIDES,
Harvard University,
Vice-Chairman
BILL R.APPLETON,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ROBERT S.BAUER,
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
H.KENT BOWEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PETER M.EISENBERGER,
Exxon Research & Engineering Co.
NICHOLAS F.FIORE,
Cabot Corporation
JOHN J.GILMAN,
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
KARL HESS,
University of Illinois
ISRAEL S.JACOBS,
General Electric Research and Development Center
J.DAVID LITSTER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NOEL MacDONALD,
Cornell University
DENNIS McWHAN,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
EMIL PFENDER,
University of Minnesota
BHAKTA B.RATH,
Naval Research Laboratories
JOHN S.RYDZ,
Emhart Corporation
ISAAC F.SILVERA,
Harvard University
RICHARD S.STEIN,
University of Massachusetts
JULIA WEERTMAN,
Northwestern University
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
PANEL ON EDUCATION IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
MELVIN BERNSTEIN,
Illinois Institute of Technology,
Chairman
ROBERT S.HANSEN,
Iowa State University,
Vice-Chairman
JOHN HULM,
Westinghouse Electric Research and Development Center,
Vice-Chairman
DIRAN APELIAN,
Drexel University
ALI S. ARGON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MALCOLM R.BEASLEY,
Stanford University
GILBERT Y.CHIN,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
ROBERT CLAGETT,
University of Rhode Island
ANTHONY G.EVANS,
University of California
LEROY EYRING,
Arizona State University
HELLMUT FRITZSCHE,
University of Chicago
BRUCE N.HARMON,
Iowa State University
EDWARD J.KRAMER,
Cornell University
GERALD L.LIEDL,
Purdue University
KATHLEEN TAYLOR,
General Motors Research Laboratory
EDWIN L.THOMAS,
University of Massachusetts
RICHARD E.TRESSLER,
Pennsylvania State University
KENNETH G.WILSON,
Cornell University
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director,
National Materials Advisory Board
SOLID STATE SCIENCES COMMITTEE
HERBERT H.JOHNSON,
Cornell University,
Chairman
BILL R.APPLETON,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
MALCOLM R.BEASLEY,
Stanford University
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI,
IBM T.J.Watson Research Center
JOHN K.HULM,
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
JAMES S.LANGER,
University of California
J.DAVID LITSTER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
THOMAS J.McCARTHY,
University of Massachusetts
ALBERT NARATH,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
ROBERT E.NEWNHAM,
Pennsylvania State University
PAUL S.PEERCY,
Sandia National Laboratories
JOHN H.PEREPEZKO,
University of Wisconsin
E.WARD PLUMMER,
University of Pennsylvania
JAMES R.RICE,
Harvard University
GERD M.ROSENBLATT,
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
LYLE H.SCHWARTZ,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
JOHN R.SMITH,
General Motors Research Laboratory
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
ROBERT L.RIEMER, Associate Staff Director,
Board on Physics and Astronomy
WESLEY MATHEWS, JR., Consultant
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
NORMAN F.RAMSEY,
Harvard University,
Chairman
SAM B.TREIMAN,
Princeton University,
Vice-Chairman
ROBERT K.ADAIR,
Yale University
DAVID ARNETT,
University of Arizona
R.STEPHEN BERRY,
University of Chicago
WILLIAM F.BRINKMAN,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
ARTHUR D.CODE,
University of Wisconsin
JOHN M.DAWSON,
University of California
FRANK D.DRAKE,
University of California
ANDREA K.DUPREE,
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
BERTRAND I.HALPERIN,
Harvard University
JOHN J.HOPFIELD,
California Institute of Technology
KENNETH I.KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
CHARLES F.KENNEL,
University of California
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DONALD C.SHAPERO, Staff Director
ROBERT L.RIEMER, Associate Staff Director
SUSAN M.WYATT, Administrative Associate
MARY RIENDEAU, Administrative Secretary
ANNE K.SIMMONS, Secretary
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND RESOURCES
NORMAN HACKERMAN,
Robert A.Welch Foundation,
Chairman
GEORGE F.CARRIER,
Harvard University
HERBERT D.DOAN,
The Dow Chemical Company
(retired)
PETER S.EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DEAN E.EASTMAN,
IBM T.J.Watson Research Center
MARYE ANNE FOX,
University of Texas
GERHART FRIEDLANDER,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
LAWRENCE W.FUNKHOUSER,
Chevron Corporation
(retired)
PHILLIP A.GRIFFITHS,
Duke University
CHRISTOPHER F.McKEE,
University of California at Berkeley
JACK E.OLIVER,
Cornell University
JEREMIAH P.OSTRIKER,
Princeton University Observatory
FRANK L.PARKER,
Vanderbilt University
DENIS J.PRAGER,
MacArthur Foundation
DAVID M.RAUP,
University of Chicago
RICHARD J.REED,
University of Washington
ROY F.SCHWITTERS,
Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory
ROBERT E.SIEVERS,
University of Colorado
LEON T.SILVER,
California Institute of Technology
LARRY L.SMARR,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
EDWARD C.STONE, JR.,
California Institute of Technology
KARL K.TUREKIAN,
Yale University
MYRON F.UMAN, Acting Executive Director
NATIONAL MATERIALS ADVISORY BOARD
BERNARD H.KEAR,
Rutgers University,
Chairman
ARDEN L.BEMENT, JR.,
TRW, Inc.,
Past Chairman
NORBERT S.BAER,
New York University
FRANK W.CROSSMAN,
Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Inc.
EDWARD J.DULIS,
Crucible Materials Corporation
JAMES ECONOMY,
University of Illinois
MERTON C.FLEMINGS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES A.FORD,
SELEE Corporation
JOHN K.HULM,
Westinghouse Research Laboratories
MELVIN F.KANNINEN,
Southwest Research Institute
ROBERT A.LAUDISE,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
DAVID L.MORRISON,
IIT Research Institute
DONALD R.PAUL,
University of Texas
JOSEPH L.PENTECOST,
Georgia Institute of Technology
JOHN P.RIGGS,
Hoechst Celanese Corporation
MAXINE L.SAVITZ,
Garrett Ceramic Components Division
WILLIAM P.SLIGHTER,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
(retired)
DALE F.STEIN,
Michigan Technological University
JOHN E.TILTON,
Colorado School of Mines
JAMES R.WEIR, JR.,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ROBERT M.WHITE,
Control Data Corporation
JAMES C.WILLIAMS,
General Electric Company
KLAUS M.ZWILSKY, Staff Director
STANLEY M.BARKIN, Associate Director
MARY BRITTAIN, Administrative Officer
COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SYSTEMS
ARDEN L.BEMENT,
TRW, Inc.,
Chairman
JOHN A.ARMSTRONG,
IBM Corporation
NORMAN H.BROOKS,
California Institute of Technology
DENNIS CHAMOT,
AFL-CIO
FLOYD L.CULLER, JR.,
Electric Power Research Institute
DANIEL B.DeBRA,
Stanford University
RICHARD D.DeLAUER,
The Orion Group
ROBERT R.EVERETT,
The MITRE Corporation
(retired)
KENT F.HANSEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ELVIN R.HEIBERG,
Rollins Field Services, Inc.
WILLIAM G.HOWARD, JR.,
National Academy of Engineering
RICHARD C.MESSINGER,
Cincinnati Milacron, Inc.
IRENE C.PEDEN,
University of Washington
EBERHARDT RECHTIN,
University of Southern California
GREGORY E.STILLMAN,
University of Illinois
CHARLES F.TIFFANY,
Boeing Military Airplane Company
(retired)
PAUL E.TORGERSEN,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
JOHN B.WACHTMAN, JR.,
Rutgers University
DAVID L.BODDE, Executive Director
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Associate Executive Director
Preface
In October 1984 Don Fuqua, then chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, wrote to the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering urging the National Research Council to form a committee “to conduct a comprehensive materials research and technology assessment for the next decade.” This direct expression of support from a U.S. congressman, which was further reinforced by the federal agencies with materials-related missions, marked the inception of the survey of materials science and engineering presented here. But the roots of this survey extend much further to include the initial recognition of materials science and engineering as a distinct area of endeavor. There have been earlier comprehensive studies of materials science and engineering, most notably that of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Survey of Materials Science and Technology (COSMAT). The publication of COSMAT’s 1975 report Materials and Man’s Needs moved understanding and recognition of the field forward. At that time, national goals were focused on natural resources, energy, and the environment, as well as on defense. Materials and Man’s Needs dealt with materials issues related to strategic materials, reduction of energy costs in production, biodegradability, recovery and recycling of scrap, and the materials cycle, all in the context of an awakened public awareness of the finiteness of the earth’s resources. It also discussed the structure-property-performance relationships that have been so important to development of the field over the last decades. The present report, building on the foundation of that earlier report, stresses the importance of synthesis and processing.
At the inception of this survey, it was clear that materials science and
engineering had changed dramatically since the completion of the COSMAT report. A wealth of new discoveries and technological advances had drawn many new people to the field and had radically altered the field’s concerns and methods. At the same time, a number of industries closely associated with materials science and engineering had undergone similarly dramatic changes—and not always for the better. America’s mining and metals beneficiation industries, its commodity metals industry, its machine tool industry, its computer industry, and its electronics industry, which had been, and still are, major users of the results of materials science and engineering, were all losing major portions of their market shares to overseas competitors and shutting down research operations.
Prompted by Fuqua’s letter, the Solid State Sciences Committee, in collaboration with the National Materials Advisory Board, devoted its spring 1985 forum to the question of whether a new survey of materials science and engineering should be conducted and, if so, how it should be structured. At the forum a remarkable degree of unanimity emerged regarding the potential value of such a study, and forum participants outlined a general statement of task for the project. Shortly thereafter, the National Research Council initiated a joint project under the Solid State Sciences Committee and the National Materials Advisory Board to conduct a survey along the lines suggested, and funding was obtained from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as well as from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Office, and the National Research Council.
The National Research Council’s principal goal for the study was to present “a unified view of recent progress and new directions in materials science and engineering.” Among the specific issues identified in the charge were
-
areas of research and development particularly ripe for important advances;
-
relationships among the various elements of materials research and development;
-
the roles of the federal and private sectors, particularly as they relate to a balanced national materials effort;
-
the effectiveness of the materials infrastructure in developing and commercializing new materials technologies;
-
the effectiveness of materials research and education at universities; and
-
international cooperation and competition in materials science and engineering.
The Committee on Materials Science and Engineering was constituted by the National Research Council with a special focus on the unity of materials science and engineering. The committee was carefully balanced with respect
to several different factors including the range of disciplines that conduct materials science and engineering, the variety of institutions in which these activities take place, and the scope of the field from science to engineering. By the summer of 1986, a committee of 17 eminently qualified individuals representing government, industry, and academia had been formed. In addition, a steering committee was established to provide oversight and guidance throughout the committee’s deliberations.
One of the first and most challenging tasks facing the committee was to find a way of breaking down a subject as large and complex as materials science and engineering into manageable parts. The committee formed five panels, each of which examined an important area of the field that cut across all materials classes and ranged from science to engineering to industrial practice. The Panel on Research Opportunities and Needs in Materials Science and Engineering identified research areas of national importance in materials science and engineering and evaluated opportunities and needs in the field. The Panel on Exploitation of Materials Science and Technology for the National Welfare examined the links between scientific advances and economically competitive products and processes and other ways in which materials science and engineering affects the national well-being. The Panel on International Cooperation and Competition in Materials Science and Engineering outlined the global dimensions of the field, particularly as it affects industrial competitiveness in the United States. The Panel on Research Resources in Materials Science and Engineering assessed the resources available now and in the future for materials science and engineering in terms of facilities, instrumentation, and funding at universities, national laboratories, and industrial laboratories. The Panel on Education in Materials Science and Engineering considered personnel issues and the means by which future generations of materials scientists and engineers are to be educated.
The leadership of each panel consisted of one chairman and two vice chairmen drawn from the committee (the two committee co-chairmen were the only committee members not serving on a panel). Panel leaders included one person from industry, one from a government laboratory, and one from academia. In turn, the National Research Council appointed a balanced panel, and the panels conducted meetings and surveys, commissioned papers, and gathered data. In this way, a broad cross section of the materials community was involved in the preparation of this report (there were 109 formally constituted committee and panel members and nearly 400 other individuals who contributed to the study). The co-chairmen of the committee and the committee members also appeared before a number of professional societies to present status reports on the committee’s deliberations and to encourage participation and feedback.
Each panel produced a major report on its assigned issue, and these panel reports form the basis for this report. However, this report is not organized
strictly along the lines of the issues assigned to the panels. As intended, there was considerable overlap among the panels, an overlap that contributed to the richness of the committee’s conclusions. This report builds on that overlap to provide a committee consensus of all of the panels’ conclusions. Although the findings of particular panels may contribute more heavily to some of the chapters in this report than to others, in effect, each of the panels contributed to each of the chapters of this report. The introduction to the report briefly reviews the contents of the chapters.
We would like to mention one issue that arose from the work of the Panel on Research Opportunities and Needs in Materials Science and Engineering and the work of the Panel on International Cooperation and Competition in Materials Science and Engineering that is treated in Chapter 2. The work of these panels uncovered significant issues with regard to competitiveness. One of the committee’s conclusions is that better integration of materials science and engineering with the rest of business operations is needed to improve the positions of U.S. firms in domestic and international competition; the objective is to strengthen long-range R&D in industry. Other issues of competitiveness emerged that are alluded to above and that have more to do with the entire structure and climate of industry in the United States. These issues are profound and deserve more attention than a study whose scope is limited to materials science and engineering can give them.
As would be expected for a diverse field such as materials science and engineering, the findings range over many topics, and the recommendations are broad in character. In the spirit that has characterized the whole endeavor of the Committee on Materials Science and Engineering, this report is offered with the hope that its important recommendations will be adopted and implemented in ways that will benefit the United States.
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI
MERTON FLEMINGS
Co-chairmen
Committee on Materials Science and Engineering
Acknowledgments
Successful completion of this report involved the contributions of many.
The work of the committee was supported by National Research Council staff members Arlene Maclin, Jack Moteff, and Pat Rapp as well as Board on Physics and Astronomy and National Materials Advisory Board directors Don Shapero and Klaus Zwilsky. The editing team included Roseanne Price, Susan Maurizi, and Susan Wyatt. Writer Steve Olson’s work in synthesizing the reports of the five panels was indispensable. Oversight by a steering committee co-chaired by Arden Bement and Al Narath helped at several crucial junctures along the way to completing the project. A critical review process overseen by the Report Review Committee contributed to the refining of this report. The National Academy Press staff designed the book and brought it through production.
The Committee on Materials Science and Engineering would also like to thank the following members of the materials community for their assistance in providing information for this report: Aerospace Industry Subpanel members Peter Cannon (Chairman), Donald P.Ames, Andrew Baker, Arden Bement, Wayne Burwell, Richard Delasi, Russell Duttweiller, Richard Hartke, Stephen Lukasik, Edith Martin, Robert Sprague, Earl Thompson, James Whitesides, and Carl Zweben; Automotive Industry Subpanel members C. Magee (Chairman), P.Beardmore, H.Cook, J.Hunter, M.Liedtke, A. McLean, G.Robinson, and R.Sjoberg; Biomaterials Industry Subpanel members S.Barenberg (Chairman), J.Andrade, P.Bosen, R.Crowninshield, P.Galetti, W.Grantz, A.Haubold, M.Helmus, R.Kronenthal, J.Lemmons, L.Lynch, E.Mueller, M.Ostler, M.Refojo, S.Shalaby, J.Shaw, and J. Williams; Chemistry Subpanel members George Hammond (Chairman), James
Clovis, Ted Evans, Edith Flanigen, Lawrence Hare, Harris Hartzler, Robert Jannson, Donald McLemore, and Lloyd Robeson; Electronics Industry Subpanel members Bob Stratton (Chairman), Al Cho, Dick Delagi, William Gallagher, Kent Hansen, Webb Howard, Howard Huff, Milo Johnson, Bill Mitchell, Elsa Reichmanis, Bob Rosenberg, Ralph Ruth, and Pei Wang; Energy Industry Subpanel members R.Jaffee (Chairman), E.DeMeo, B. Kear, W.Liang, R.Richman, J.Roberts, and D.Shannon; Metals Industry Subpanel members Ian Hughes (Chairman), Philip Abramowitz, Yaz Bilimoria, Larry Hicks, Noel Jarrett, John Mihelich, Neil Paton, and Joseph Winter; and Telecommunications Industry Subpanel members Robert Laudise (Chairman), Glenn Cullen, Barry Dunbridge, Kenneth Jackson, Charles Jonscher, Robert Maurer, Gregory Stillman, and Jack Wernick.
In addition, the committee would like to thank those who participated in the workshop held by the Panel on Materials Research Opportunities and Needs in Materials Science and Engineering: Harry Allcock, Sumner Barenberg, Malcolm Beasley, H.Kent Bowen, Morris Cohen, Lance Davis, Frank Di Salvo, Anthony Evans, Paul Fleury, John Hirth, John Joannopoulos, Frank Karasz, Bernard Kear, David Litster, Alex Maradudin, Robert Mehrabian, Raumond Orbach, Richard Osgood, John Quinn, John Silcox, Robert White, and James Williams.
The committee is also grateful to the participants of the two workshops held by the Panel on Exploitation of Materials Science and Technology for the National Welfare: Workshop on Technological Innovations and Technology Transfer participants Alan Chynoweth (Chairman), Michael Chartock, Joel Clark, J.William Doane, Ted Geballe, Harry Gibson, Lyman Johnson, Harry Lipsitt, Stewart Miller, Phillip Parrish, John Riggs, Palle Smidt, Robert Sundahl, and Port Wheeler; and Workshop on Institutional Aspects of Technology Transfer participants Alan Chynoweth (Chairman), Gordon Geiger, Sigfried Hecker, Herb Johnson, Ronald Kerber, Bob McKee, Richard Pitler, Vince Russo, Larry Sumney, Douglas Walgren, and Karl Willenbrock.
Thanks are also extended by the committee to those who participated in case studies, including C.Flynn, G.Somorjai, W.Dennis, H.Paxton, and L.Kuhn. We acknowledge with gratitude the help of A.Malozemoff and R.Rosenberg with writing sections of this report.
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI
MERTON FLEMINGS
Co-chairmen
Committee on Materials Science and Engineering