Proposal for a Generic Materials Processing Course
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Proposai for a Generic Materials Processing Course Merton C. Flemings, Klavs F. Jensen, and Andréas Mortensen In the early 1950s when "materials science" was beginning to take shape in the minds of educators in materials departments, discussions were heated on the subject of how (and whether) intellectually rich courses could be developed with such broad coverage. It was argued by many that materials are too complex and vary too greatly from one another in their properties and in their applications to be treated in a single course. Thèse individuals argued that if "materials" was to be taught, then it would hâve to be in courses or segments of courses broken down by materials classes—metals, ceramic, polymers, semiconductors. A full génération of faculty has passed through our ranks since those days, and the arguments regarding teaching of at least the beginning materials science subjects are now muted and perhaps moot. Few materials departments begin today with a materials-specific subject (e.g., metallurgy, ceramics) for either their own students or as a service subject for other engineering departments. Most begin with a subject in materials science or materials science and engineering that deals generically with ail materials for at least a major portion of the subject. Examples are drawn from individual materials classes, and emphasis may shift to individual materials classes as the subject progresses. The key to development of thèse subjects, and the intellectual foundation on which they rest, is structure and structure-property relations. We can understand, and teach, how the building blocks of materials (atoms, molécules, grains, amorphous phases, etc.) fit together to build macroscopic structures. We can visualize, and teach, about the defects in thèse structures (vacancies, dis-
MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST1990
locations, grain boundaries, cracks, etc.). We can help our students build a picture in their minds of how the structure with its defects détermines the properties of idéal and real materials, and we can go on from there to provide real examples with spécifie materials. Today, the processing of materials is receiving increased attention by educators, highlighted by the needs of industry and opportunities in the field, as outlined in the récent national study, Materials Science and Engineering for the
1990s. When taught today, most such courses are materials spécifie; often processing is taught only as part of a materials-specific course. Many believe, as others did with respect to materials science décades ago, that processing is inherently materials spécifie and must be so taught. It is argued that the processes, the way they are carried out, and the industries to which they belong, bear little relation to one another across materials classes, and that a subject approaching processing from a materialsgeneric viewpoint could hâve neither intellectual depth and cohesiveness nor industrial relevance. Of course, on one level, those who so argue are correct. That level is the level of process description, of
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