Materials are the foundation and fabric of manufactured products. In fact, many leading commercial products and military systems could not exist without advanced materials and many of the new products critical to the nation's continued prosperity will come only through the development and commercialization of new materials. Thus, the field of materials science and engineering (MS&E) affects quality of life, industrial competitiveness, and the global environment.

The United States leads the world in materials research and development, but does not have as impressive a record in the commercialization of new materials. This book explores the relationships among the producers and users of materials and examines the processes of innovation—from the generation of knowledge to the ultimate integration of a material into a useful product. The authors recommend ways to accelerate the rate at which new ideas are integrated into finished products.

Real-life case studies provide an accurate depiction of the processes that take materials and process innovations from the laboratory, to the factory floor, and ultimately to the consumer, drawing on experiences with three distinctive MS&E applications—advanced aircraft turbines, automobiles, and computer chips and information-storage devices.