Team Research: Education Consequences
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The Critical Materials Act of 1984 Dr. Paul C. Maxwell'
When future historians look back on the latter part of the twentieth century, they will most likely view high technology for communication, information handling, transportation and even warfare as the dominant force. Because materials underlie all this technology, this era could be called the "Age of Advanced Materials." Advanced ceramics opens new vistas in microelectronics, automotive power sources and aeronautics. Advanced polymeric compos, ites and exotic metallic glasses make possible entirely new products, the latest being the proposed aerospacecraft or "Orient Express." Advanced processing, coupled with robotics and artificial intelligence, points to new innovation seven in our basic materials industries. s Federal policy, at the urging of Congress, has focused on two divergent aspects of materials—the critical importance of materials in international economic competition, and the strategic nature of materials for our national defense. Japan, Western Europe, and others have taken decisive steps in this decade to develop key materials
technologies to leapfrog our country's earlier leads. In some cases, such as microelectronics and fine ceramics, we may already have lost the "war." South Africa, with its inherent political instability, underscores this nation's import vulnerability to certain key minerals and strategic materials. Many materials decisions that directly affect our defense posture include operations of the federal stockpile, the health of our mining industry, and the survival of our steel industry, to name a few examples. Until recently, no one in the federal government was responsible for critical materials concerns. The National Critical Materials Council was created by congressional mandate in 1984 to fill this need. While offering a unique means for addressing materials issues, the Council has met with less than an enthusiastic response from the White House. The three-member Council, operating from the President's Executive Office, is charged with coordinating and overseeing implementation of national materials policy. This includes oversight of the more than $1.5 billion
federal materials R&D programs and development of a federal program plan for advanced materials R&D. O t h e r tasks include promoting technological innovation in our advanced and basic materials industries, establishing suitable materials property data information systems, setting responsibility for implementing materials policy, and making recommendations to the President and Congress regarding critical materials issues. Obviously, carrying out these tasks will require a close interaction between the Council, other federal officials and agencies, and, not least of all, the materials community at large. The Council represents a major opportunity for the materials community to collaborate with the federal government and to help set important national goals and priorities. It would be unfortunate if this opportunity were lost due to inattention by either party. * Staf
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