Developing Material Sciences

This article explores the role of materials science and technology by looking at the present trends with some thoughts for the future. The applications of materials in a fast developing nation are numerous and must cater to different and often conflicting interests.The transformation of materials science into a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional and multinational endeavour has led to an interesting development. Many multinational companies are establishing R&D centres in India, mainly to leverage the availability of English speaking scientists who can add intellectual value. While this change was led by companies in ICT, one can see increasing evidence that firms with involvement in materials and manufacturing too are following this path.