Defining the Materials Field

The mission statement for the CRC states,

"The primary mission of the Career Resource Center (CRC) is to assist students with their career search by exposing students to the fields of materials science and metallurgical engineering. The CRC will assist in answering a host of commonly asked questions, such as What is the field of materials science and engineering? What kinds of career paths exist for a materials engineer? How do I prepare for entry into the field? What exactly can I do with a materials/metallurgical/ceramics degree?

Providing reliable information about these fields and their career opportunities to allow for sound judgment choices is what the CRC expects to accomplish. The CRC will overcome both the lack of field awareness and the lack of materials science and metallurgical engineering career information available.

The initiation of the CRC will be accomplished through funding received mainly from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and other professional societies participating in the development of the Center."

The rich diversity of the field of materials science and engineering is reflected in the wide range of industries for which it plays a key role. This range is a strength for the field but constitutes a problem in providing career information. A project team has been assembled to address the development of the CRC and to begin to define the field of materials science and engineering in terms of four cornerstones--structure, properties, processing, and performance. These four cornerstones were initially proposed by the National Research Council study Materials Science and Engineering for the 1990s: Maintaining Competitiveness in the Age of Materials, conducted in the 1980s.

As the CRC develops in the next 12 months, we would appreciate your input by visiting our web site--now available through the TMS home page at http://www.tms.org.

Gerald Liedl
TMS Education Director