The Role of Performance Materials in a Federal Materials Initiative
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The Rôle of Performance Materials in a Fédéral Materials Initiative Mary L. Good Under the rubric of "competitiveness" and "global markets," policymakers in the United States hâve begun to debate what the nation should do to support our industrial base, protect our workforce, and maintain our standard of living. The concept of the création and exécution of a national "industrial policy" is not attractive in the context of free markets, industrial compétition, and limited government interférence in private enterprise. However, there is a building consensus that our long-term commitment to federally funded basic research should include the support of generic technologies which will be the basis of compétitive products in the years ahead. This momentum has resulted in a séries of assessments of "critical technologies," first from the Department of Défense, then from the Department of Commerce, and now from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the form of the Critical Technologies Report. Thèse reports ail attempt to assess emerging and underlying technologies which will be the drivers in the next génération of products and services. They also try to benchmark the United States' position in thèse technologies vis-a-vis our international competitors, particularly in Europe and Japan. The reports hâve many things in commun, but one persistent thème stands out. In every case, materials technology, partic-
ularly that related to advanced performance materials, is highlighted as a critical fundamental area where advancements will control future developments. The critical materials technologies include metals,
The enabling technology in many high tech products is a performance material. ceramics, polymers, composites, and electronics, superconducting, magnetic, optical, and biological materials. In what can be considered as a first step toward a national technology policy, this awareness of the importance of materials technology has encouraged a "fédéral materials initiative." D. Allan Bromley, in his rôle as chair of thé Fédéral Coordinating Coundl for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET), has initiated a Steering Group on Materials under the Committee on Industry and Technology. Their charter is to maximize the value of fédéral programs in materials, to identify policy issues, and to provide a data base on fédéral materials programs.
The intent is to monitor programs from basic research to development, improve materials standards, improve technology transfer to the private sector, and encourage government-industry-university partnerships in materials research and development. Particular emphasis will be placed on materials synthesis and processing, and a new NSF initiative will be funded for fiscal year 1992. I believe this national emphasis is timely and well positioned to enhance our potential for international competitiveness. As we look at the high tech products (and the not so high tech) today, the enabling technology in many of them is a performance material. Improved efficiency and pollu
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