1 – INTRODUCTION TO MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

This introductory chapter has attempted to dramatize the role of materials within broader historical and societal contexts, as well as within engineering and manufacturing activities. Several concentric levels of connections conveniently serve to define the impact of materials. Most broadly, materialsenergy-environment concerns address the wider community, whereas materials-design-processing constraints are more narrowly limited to engineering and manufacturing issues. Processing-structure-properties-performance interactions are the most focused of all and refer to specific materials. At the core of the subject is the structure—properties scientific base. Enveloping the core are the engineering concerns of processing and performance. For millennia, processing and performance of engineering solids were what mattered, and because the former was an art, the latter was very variable in practice. Now structure-property relationships are recognized as the key to understanding the fundamental nature of materials, improving their properties, and creating new materials.