New Materials, Mechanical Engineering, and Smart Manufacturing

Materials Science and Engineering Is To Be The Groundwork for 

Technological Age and Platform for Future Progress.

- Materials Science and Engineering

What is Materials Science and Engineering? In this field, scientists and engineers use state-of-the-art instruments to study materials at the atomic and molecular scales to enable devices and systems essential for cutting-edge solar energy production, energy storage, information technology, biology, medicine and more.  

The field of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) researches all classes of materials (metals, ceramics, electronic materials, and biomaterials) from a unified viewpoint and with an emphasis on the connections between the underlying structure and the processing, properties, and performance of the material. MSE grew out of the disciplines of metallurgy and ceramics and now includes polymers, semiconductors, magnetic materials, photonic materials, and biological materials. 

A materials scientist studies how materials react in different conditions (such as temperature and pressure) and understands that all materials can be approached from a common set of principles. Architects, civil engineers, toy companies, NASA, bio-medical research companies, and the data storage industry are all recent users of technologies that developed from research in MSE. Most fields in science and engineering are concerned in some way with materials, but only the field of materials science and engineering focuses directly on them. 

Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is the discipline devoted to improving the quality of life on our planet through the discovery, design, development and deployment of advanced engineering materials. Materials scientists and engineers seek to understand and control the basic structure of materials in order to make the products of technology stronger, lighter, brighter, safer, faster and better suited to human needs. Every part in technologies such as computers, electronics, cars, airplanes, electrical power generation, transmission and storage, energy-efficient buildings and devices, biomedical devices, consumer goods and health care, etc that define the modern life are carefully designed to optimize performance and cost effectiveness.

- Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve forces and motion. It is a branch of engineering that combines the principles of engineering physics and mathematics with materials science to design, analyze, manufacture and maintain mechanical systems. It is one of the oldest and broadest branches of engineering.

Mechanical engineering requires an understanding of core areas including mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, materials science, design, structural analysis, and electricity. In addition to these core principles, mechanical engineers use tools such as computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and product lifecycle management to design and analyze manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, heating and cooling systems, transportation systems, Aircraft, ships, robots, medical equipment, weapons, etc.

Mechanical engineering as a field emerged during the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 18th century; however, its development in various parts of the world goes back thousands of years. During the 19th century, advances in physics led to the development of the science of mechanical engineering. 

The field is constantly evolving to incorporate advancements; today, mechanical engineers are pursuing developments in areas such as composite materials, mechatronics, and nanotechnology. It also has varying degrees of overlap with aerospace engineering, metallurgical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and other engineering disciplines. 

Mechanical engineers may also work in the field of biomedical engineering, specifically biomechanics, transport phenomena, biomechatronics, bionanotechnology and modeling of biological systems

- Smart Manufacturing

Smart manufacturing is a broad category of manufacturing that employs computer-integrated manufacturing, highly adaptable and rapid design changes, digital information technology, and more flexible technical workforce training. Other goals sometimes include rapidly changing production levels based on demand, optimizing supply chains,[3] efficient production, and recyclability. In this concept, a smart factory has an interoperable system, multi-scale dynamic modeling and simulation, intelligent automation, strong cyber security and network sensors. 

A broad definition of smart manufacturing encompasses many different technologies. Some of the key technologies in the smart manufacturing movement include big data processing capabilities, industrial connected devices and services, and advanced robotics. 

[More to come ...]