The greening of materials science and engineering
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The Greening of Materials Science and Engineering
ARDEN L. BEMENT, Jr.
The field of materials science and engineering is advancing at a revolutionary pace. It is now generally recognized as being among the key emerging technological fields propelling our world societies into the twenty-first century. The driving forces for this revolutionary pace are at once social, economic, political, and technological. For example, relatively recent changes in United States federal policies in environmental control, hazardous waste management, and energy conservation along with heightened international trade competition have resulted in major changes in material processing and use patterns. These changing patterns are creating new requirements for material developments, substitutions, and associated processes. This paper traces the emergence of materials policy and technological developments through four sub-periods of history: the birth and development of engineering in the United States (1825-1900), the evolution of a national research infrastructure (1900-1945), the evolution of a national science policy (1945-1973), and the intensification of global interdependency (1973-present). Future trends in materials developments and future policy requirements are outlined.
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INTRODUCTION
I am deeply honored to be selected to explore with you the broad interrelationships between materials and society. In reviewing the list of former distinguished lecturers in this series, I find eminent scientists, engineers, statesmen, ARDEN L. BEMENT, Jr., Vice President, Technical Resources, of TRW, Inc., began his professional career in 1954 as a research metallurgist and reactor project engineer with General Electric Co. at the Hanford Atomic Products Operation in Richland, WA. In 1965 he joined Battelle Memorial Institute as a manager of the metallurgy research department and three years later became manager of the fuels and materials department. In 1970 Dr. Bement joined the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology as professor of nuclear materials. From 1974 to 1976 he served as a member of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Bilateral Exchange Program in Magnetohydrodynamics and was the organizer and principal investigator of the M.I.T. Fusion Technology Program. In 1976 Dr. Bement became Director of the Materials Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and in 1979 was appointed Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Dr. Bement has co-authored one book, edited three books, and authored over 90 articles on materials science, energy, and defense technology. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the American Society for Metals, and the American InstiMETALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
scholars, corporate executives, historians, and political leaders. Clearly, a subject as broad as the role of materials on the ever-changing needs of society requires a wide diversity of insights; and I am humbled by the enormity of the challenge. tute of Chemists. In addition, he is a member of the American Institu
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