Jets - The Pre-Engineering Times

Materials are all around us. They are what everything is made of. They are the enabler of our technologies. If we look at the history of man, our progress is measured in terms of the materials we used: the stone age, the iron age, the silicon age. Without the silicon chip, we would not have semiconductors and modern computing.

Today nanomaterials—those materials less than 100 nanometers—have become pervasive and have ushered in a new area of science. Billions of dollars are being spent around the world and in the United States each year to develop nanotechnologies, in which the properties of materials are altered dramatically based on size scale. Advances in nanotechnology include everything from better coatings, such as windows that keep themselves clean, to stain resistant pants, to drug delivery systems for cancer treatments.

However, materials engineering isn't just about the "stuff" in our lives. It is about the quality of our lives and most importantly about man's ability to solve some of our most pressing issues:

Climate change/global warming
Energy and alternative fuels
Environmental stewardship—clean environment, water quality, recycling, and reducing pollution
Healthcare

The only answers to these problems are technical solutions that result from advances in materials technology. Today's materials engineers are working on developing fuel cells, the next generation of nuclear reactors, alternative engines to reduce greenhouse gases, and much more.

Materials engineering is also becoming about the wise use of materials and natural resources, recycling materials, and sustainability. Much exciting work in being done on capturing greenhouse gases and converting them to a useful form of energy, carbon sequestration, developing materials for alternative and renewable power supply, and ensuring a sustainable infrastructure. Material engineers are also working on thermophotovoltaic cells, which can capture waste heat and convert it to electricity. The advances in batteries needed to help move us away from dependence on petroleum hinge on advances in materials.

Materials engineers are working on improving the efficiency of solar cells, moving them from a silicon-based technology to an organic, polymer-based technology that would reduce cost, increase efficiency, and allow solar cells to be used in more locations.

Materials engineers are also working on aluminum recycling, which reduces greenhouse emissions 95 percent compared to extracting aluminum from bauxite. And they are working on using aluminum or high-strength steels to reduce the weight of cars, which has the additional benefit of increasing fuel efficiency.

Metal-matrix composites (MMCs) combine metals with nonmetals to create a new class of materials that are stronger, lighter, and cheaper. Applications include combining aluminum with graphite for engines that self lubricate and are 20 to 40 percent stronger, and making metal into foam to absorb energy and prevent damage in a car crash, dampen sound, or make buildings more blast proof or fire-resistant.

New analysis techniques are allowing materials engineers to create new materials to meet specific performance requirements. Engineers design the material on a computer at the atomic level and can predict the material performance, thus cutting development time and expense.

Materials engineers are on the forefront of the most exciting advances in engineering and technology.

This article is based on an interview with Todd Osman, Ph.D., Technical Director, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). For information about TMS, visit http://www.tms.org.

Green nuclear power: meeting increased power demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Nanomaterials: Gallium-catalyzed SiO2 nanowires (courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory).