Materials science in the information age

Abstract The explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web is revolutionizing society by making information accessible in new ways to people in all corners of the world. In scientific research, these advances in information technology have led to new methods of collaboration that overcome geographic limitations and allow researchers to exchange information in ways that were not previously possible. Materials researchers in particular now easily work with each other in remote collaborations, sharing videos, sound, graphics, and text with colleagues on the World Wide Web. Moreover, recent gains in computing power and corresponding reductions in cost have led to the widespread use of computational techniques to solve materials research problems, allowing researchers to predict materials properties and behavior over the entire range of length scales of interest, from atomic interactions to bulk materials properties. New “virtual” organizations have been created in the US to provide an infrastructure and support to researchers who are using new communication and computational tools in a variety of disciplines. We will describe the recent advances in information technology that are driving the revolution in materials research in particular, and discuss how virtual, electronically-connected organizations that bring together materials researchers with diverse talents in international, multilateral collaborations will change the paradigm of science research beyond the year 2000.