What is Materials Science and Engineering?

Materials science and engineering is a discipline that enables the creation and application of materials in society.
Over the past thirty years, designed and created materials have transformed everyday living, the world's workplace, and the global economy. Nearly everything we use is made of a material that has been modified or designed by a materials engineer to perform better than it would without a little help from humans. Materials scientists and engineers develop new materials and ways to use them. They are interested in the interrelationships between a material's structure and properties.

Materials Scientists and Engineers
Materials make up the things we use, and materials engineers study, design, and make materials. Materials engineers modify and design materials to perform better than they otherwise would. They develop new materials and create uses for them that benefit humans. Materials engineers are involved in the entire life cycle of materials from the raw materials production, to materials synthesis and processing, component design and development, manufacturing, use, and reclamation and recycling.

In the video below, you'll learn more about materials science at Penn State, and how it enables advancements in fields such as health care, biomaterials, energy, and environmental protection.

	What are materials, exactly? Materials are the basic substances that make up nearly everything we use every day of our lives. Naturally occurring materials can be wood, spider silk, rocks and minerals, iron ore, silver and gold - just to name a few. Engineered materials like titanium, aluminum, plastics and ceramics are created for specific uses and purposes in areas such as transportation, space exploration, construction, communication, national defense and medicine.

	Naturally occurring materials and engineered materials are everywhere in nearly every industry you can think of - energy, biomedical industries, automotive, aerospace, chemical, computer, electronics, food production, and apparel - just to name a few. Energy-producing windmills, automobiles, buildings, cellular phones, the space shuttle, and artificial organs are all made up of materials.



If you've never heard of a materials scientist, that may be because they go by all different titles. They are employed at all levels in prominent industries, laboratories, and universities world wide.

	Materials Scientists have many titles: Process Engineers Production Engineers Technical Sales Representatives Research Scientists Marketing Engineers Development Engineers Metallurgists Ceramic Engineers Metallurgical Engineers Polymer Scientists Polymer Engineers Design Engineers Quality Control Engineers Production Managers Plant Managers