Materials proficiency for national progress

Abstract

As society moves toward a new era of improving the quality of life, the required technological advances call for materials systems achieved through the interaction of materials science and engineering with design. At issue is the role of the private sector-industry and the universities. The following paper reviews the recent moves toward government control of emerging materials policies, and discusses political forces favoring such intervention. The author suggests that the private sector can reduce the pressure for public control by taking the initiative, by producing needed innovations through use of computer-aided design and modern, realistic ideas about “imperfect” matter.