Keynote Address: Materials Research Instrumentation Development: A New Paradigm

Abstract

Graduate and postgraduate education in science and engineering in the U.S. has long been recognized as outstanding. In materials science and engineering, graduate and postgraduate education is not only outstanding, but as a result of its intrinsic multidisciplinary nature, it is having a positive pervasive impact upon the culture within major research universities in the U.S. Although generally excellent, this paper focuses on areas in which new initiatives are being taken to more broadly enhance education and training in materials science and engineering. We briefly discuss the issues of training modes, undergraduate materials education and research, vocational and “shop floor” level training, as well as some fundamental infrastructure issues that will impact our ability to broadly enhance materials science and engineering education in the U.S.