We can thank materials science and engineering for these developments.

Information Technology: Fiber-optic cables, integrated circuits used in high speed computer chips, and compact discs all have been made possible by developments in materials science.

Transportation: The space shuttle required many new materials, including ceramic tiles used as a heat shield. Energy-efficient automobiles demand strong, lightweight materials with improved propertities. Breakthroughs in materials technology are substantially improving battery performance and will lead to nonpolluting electric cars with advanced range and power.

Consumer Products Many products that we use in daily life were made possible by materials science and engineering advances. These include fracture-resistant cookware that is unaffected by significant changes in temperature, high-tech consumer electronics, and recreational equipment such as high-performance skis and lightweight sailboats.

Biomaterials: Biological systems are enormously complex, as shown by the variety of structures in this illustration. As materials scientists and engineers, we strive to understand the relationships between these systems and synthetic materials such as artificial joints and contact lenses. We are interested in developing new synthetic materials that mimic many of the useful properties of biological materials. Seashells, for example, exhibit a remarkable combination of hardness and resistence to fracture.