Materials science society
In the scientific community, a materials science society is a social organization for individuals doing materials research.
The largest materials science society is incorporated in Warrendale, Pennsylvania and has 50,000 members. Many members are in a local chapter assigned to a state or university.[1] Such chapters afford collaborative opportunities for particular projects of innovative design related to materials research.
Essentially an interdisciplinary study, materials science involves physics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics. Students may be drawn to a materials research society through a class project or department affiliation, and find there senior contacts that may foster engineering opportunity or a topic for investigation. The societies can form teams to tackle material challenges. Typically the product of effort is an oral or written report, and sometimes a new material with commercial value is made.
To facilitate progress and collaboration the National Science Foundation has funded a Materials Science Research Facilities Network[2] in the United States of America. In Japan there is the National Institute for Materials Science.[3] Europeans have the European Materials Research Society.[4] Brazil has the Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa em Materiais.[5]
MRS
The beginning of the MRS was described by Gail Oare in 2013:
- On May 23, 1973, 300 scientists convened at The Pennsylvania State University to discuss phase transitions. The topic was cross-cutting and the program deliberately designed to ensure representation of various research disciplines...By the end of the three-day meeting 215 attendees signed up as the first members of the Materials Research Society.[6]
At regular meetings of the MRS several technical topical symposia would be held. Less intimidating presentations were devised by Rustum Roy:
- Rustum Roy of Penn State-- an initial driver and one of the founders of the Society in the 1970s-- devised a new kind of symposium known as Symposium X that is offered during lunch time, giving non-specialists an overview of the latest developments in one of the areas of materials research.[6]
The accent on research drew in the members:
- MRS became home for people who identified as strongly, or more strongly, with their field of research and development than with their original university discipline, according to R.J.H. Voorhoeve, 1979 MRS President.[6]
Examples
- Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research at McMaster University.
- Institute for Research in Materials at Dalhousie University
- Northwestern Material Research Science and Engineering Center
- Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at Harvard University
- Trent Centre for Materials Research at Trent University
- Frieburg Materials Research Center at University of Freiberg
- Institute for Materials Research at Tokyo University
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
- Materials Research Society in Singapore
Journals
- Annual Review of Materials Research
- Ibero-american Journal of Materials from Brazil.
- International Journal of Materials Research
- Journal of Materials Research from Cambridge University Press.
- Materials Research Letters from Taylor and Francis
- Materials Research Bulletin from Science Direct
- Transactions of the Materials Science Society of Japan
See also
References
- ↑ List of chapters of MRS
- ↑ Materials Research Facilities Network
- ↑ Japan: National Institute for Materials Science
- ↑ European Materials Research Society
- ↑ Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa em Materiais
- 1 2 3 Gail A. Oare (2013) "40 Years, One Vsion", MRS Bulletin 38(11) doi:10.1557/mrs.2013.274