Much attention has again been brought to the question of undergraduate education for the “materials” field. The present reawakening relates to the release last fall of the report by the National Research Council's Committee on Materials Science and Engineering. This far-ranging study, popularly known as the MS&E Study, revealed the vitality, opportunities, challenges, and needs in materials science and engineering for the future. Education was one area that received much attention in this study because it is the enabling aspect for the field: no educated, trained personnel — no progress.
When one considers the breadth of materials science and engineering, the problem of designing a unique undergraduate program becomes a major hurdle. The diversity of the field is, on one hand, a major asset in addressing problems but, on the other, a major obstacle to unifying an educational approach. This problem is not new since we have faced it over time as information and knowledge expands. However, the problem becomes magnified as the time frame for the doubling of information decreases. The explosion of information over the past half-century has drastically altered our outlook on materials, and the educational programs have been evolving with the changes. We are now at one of those crossroads where revolution versus evolution becomes a factor, i.e., the need to change basic philosophy and/or approach becomes the issue. If one doesn't consider a breakdown of the current materials classes into subgroups, then a reunification approach becomes not only desirable but absolutely necessary.
