15 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | OCTOBER 2023 matter”—polymers, biological tissues, brain—influences their performance and can interpret disease states. Modification of such behaviors is the next step toward disease diagnostics and mitigation—the medical and health care professions are waiting! Today, the importance of curated, validated materials data and their incorporation into national and international codes and standards is one of ASM’s highest priorities and is of the highest relevance to materials and mechanical engineers. Through development of the ASM Data Ecosystem and the ASM Materials Solutions Network, our Society has the potential to create environment of the engineering component and the microstructure of the material from which the component is made is vital. Increased knowledge of materials can provide valuable information on how a material changes during the fabrication and operation of an engineering component. Mechanical engineers can and should incorporate such information into design and analysis considerations. Carpenter: Materials selection is always key to design, particularly where high performance and minimum material use is critical, as in aerospace applications or medical-device implants. Each material has capabilities and limitations that need to be considered and evaluated. Handbook properties may not be representative for very large- or small-scale applications. For example, at smaller scales, grain sizes and inclusions begin to play a much more critical role and the processing that leads to that material has a great influence on those features. Interactions between materials can also be important. One example of this is galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals. Another example can be emission from a polymer causing corrosion of a metallic element. George E. Dieter, FASM, created a bridge between materials science and mechanical engineering through his teaching, textbooks, and handbook. What has happened between the two disciplines since then? Todd: George Dieter’s books are as foundational today as they were when written. Emphasizing mechanical metallurgy and design, including conceptual design, he showed how design contributed to society, industry, and technological advancement. Always the innovator, George would be proud to see how far his vision has come. Today, materials and mechanical engineers are applying the latest computational methods and digital tools to understand how the behavior of “soft a product’s lifetime. It further allows for better analysis of failures leading to improved designs and lowering of costs. In addition, an increased knowledge of materials ensures that designs are developed that can be manufactured and will respond over their intended service lives as anticipated. It also enables the development of cutting-edge innovation where new structures and components must be based on designer and tailored materials enabling the implementation of multifunctionality. Todd: Understanding how materials processing and manufacturing determine the development of materials internal structures or microstructures and their resultant physical, chemical, and electrical properties (from atom- istic to bulk levels) is essential for understanding the performance of the materials themselves and their integration into components and systems. Easy access to customized materials knowledge for technical staff (from technicians to Ph.D.s and workforce retraining) that integrates state-of-theart educational, digital, simulation, and analytical tools with materials data repositories, handbooks, codes, and standards, is an important part of the solution. Finding immediate custom solutions to solve specific materials challenges, particularly related to failure analyses, is a domain where materials expertise is essential. Jodoin: I always joke in the classroom that all our problems stem from the materials side. We have known for decades how to build more efficient engines and devices and the challenges always remain to have materials that can withstand the ever-increasing demand of harsher environments to reach higher efficiency. Everything outside the virtual world must be manufactured using materials; as such, materials dictate what we can build and the resulting performance. Ruggles-Wrenn: Computational models and life-prediction methods for specific structural components are incomplete unless they address the evolution of the material’s microstructure during component fabrication and operation. Understanding the mutual influence and interaction between the mechanical loading and operating even greater bridges between materials and mechanical engineers. Carpenter: This is a great union between two very closely connected disciplines, which has become increasingly important as designs have become more aggressive and new materials and fabrication methods have emerged. A lot has changed in the decades following the start of this important connection. In my experience, I see a lot more cross- pollination between the two disciplines. Some embellishment of these principles, considering the changes in materials and processes would be highly welcomed. A more thorough discussion of applicable techniques for analyzing non-linear, anisotropic, composite, or other material and geometry complexities in university teachings is needed. This was glossed over when I attended Dr. George E. Dieter, Jr., FASM, 1928-2020.
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