
371
15
Materials Science
and Engineering
Leena N. Lalwani and Sara Samuel (based on
the first edition by Godlind Johnson)
INTRODUCTION
Human beings have engaged in some form of “materials engineering” since the beginning of life on
Earth. We have even named eras after the materials that were predominantly used in those historic
times (e.g., Stone Age, Bronze Age). However, materials science and engineering evolved into a
distinct engineering discipline only in the 1960s. The Materials Research Society, founded in 1973,
denes the eld as: “Materials science and engineering encompasses the study of the structure and
properties of any material, as ...