The impact of materials on all of history is obvious, for example, when it is noted that technological progress in a given era is demarcated by the materials available in the era. The Stone Age was followed by the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The present period can be identified as the Materials Age. High performance materials are in demand throughout the engineering world. Metals, ceramics, and plastics, and composites of these are required in various applications to continue the forward movement of technology.
Further progress demands engineers who have an understanding of materials science and engineering.
The U.S. National Science Policy has identified materials science and engineering as a critical area and has specified advancements in the processing and performance of materials as a national initiative. To accomplish these tasks, there is a need for specialists in materials science and engineering as well as those who have an interdisciplinary outlook, combining other engineering disciplines with materials science and engineering. The Materials Science and Engineering program at Vanderbilt University brings together developments in metals and alloys, ceramics, glasses, electronic materials, polymers, and composites with the fundamental elements of the relationship between properties and structure, the thermodynamics of materials, the physics and chemistry of solids, the physics and chemistry of liquids, surface science and materials characterization. In keeping with the diverse needs in the engineering world, two degree paths involving Materials Science and Engineering are available. Students may pursue the B.S. degree in Engineering Science with materials science and engineering as their area of concentration or they may earn the B.E. degree in another engineering discipline with a minor in materials science and engineering.