Materials engineers design, develop, fabricate and evaluate materials for use
in engineering applications. Since everything we use is made of materials, materials
engineers serve as the foundation for many engineering advances. Materials engineers
use science and engineering principles to select, design and manufacture materials.
Understanding the underlying science of materials is essential to designing new
and improved engineered materials. Thus, materials specialists combine engineering
problem solving with scientific curiosity.
Materials engineers address the science and technology of producing materials that have properties and shapes suitable for practical use. These materials include metals, ceramics, polymers (plastics), and their combinations (composites). The activities of these engineers range from materials production to the design, development and processing of materials used in aerospace, transportation, electronics, energy conversion and biomedical systems — just to name a few.
