In Caen in northwest France near the Normandy beaches, six laboratories involved in materials research have joined together to promote the scientific process; to discuss their topics, projects and results; and, more generally, to work together in an interdisciplinary way. The six laboratories that form the Association Normande de Recherches sur les Matériaux (ANOREM, or the Normandy Association for Materials Research) are the following:

■ Atomic Spectroscopy Laboratory

■ Catalysis and Spectrochemistry Laboratory,

■ Center for Interdisciplinary Research with Heavy Ions (CIRIL),

■ Molecular Chemistry Laboratory,

■ Crystallography and Materials Science Laboratory (CRISMAT), and

■ Materials Science Engineering

Laboratory (LERMAT).

These laboratories perform research on topics ranging from structural chemistry and radiation damage to high Tc superconductors and the European Hermes shuttle project.

Among the activities of the Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Atomique, the following two belong to the field of materials science:

1. Color center laser research, which spans Bridgman growth, shaping, polishing and coloring of active samples. Besides making “classical” samples, researchers are looking for new materials with improved stability against illumination and thermal bleaching. In particular, researchers are trying to master additive coloration of pure and doped NaF. (This crystal is usually colored by ionizing radiation since its coloration by additives is quite difficult.) There is a good prospect for building a flashlamp-pumped, tunable infrared laser operating at room temperature with a sample which would be “everlasting,” due to an in situ régénération of the active centers by the flashlamp itself. Studies are also being conducted on how to make alkali halide samples with multi-dielectric coatings (either anti-reflecting or mirror). Researchers are investigating such questions as: Should the coating be made before or after coloration? How does it adhere at liquid nitrogen temperatures? What precautions should be taken against attack by moisture?

2. Optical spectroscopy of defects created in insulating solids by impact of high energetic heavy ions. This research is a joint project with the GRIL and is described below.

The college-wide interdisciplinary graduate program approach to graduate education is a viable alternative to the departmental structure for areas of study that span two or more traditional disciplines. This article will explore the nature of this organizational style using materials science and engineering as the example discipline. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the graduate program approach in the light of more than 18 years of experience at the University of Texas at Austin.

The primary task of any center for higher learning is the education of students in an environment conducive to the open exchange and dissemination of ideas and knowledge. Traditionally, the university has approached this task by assembling scholars with common foundations of expertise into a collective group, the department. Besides the obvious function of providing a structured setting for the concentration of scholars with similar interests, the department also serves as the front line of faculty governance for matters including tenure, promotion, salary, resource management, and distribution. For example, course content and degree requirements are initiated at the department level. Thus the organizational structure of the college, and hence of the university, is firmly built on the traditional concept of department, a concept that has served education well.

However, there are liabilities to the departmental structure since its natural tendency is to compartmentalize knowledge with the concomitant academic provincialism. This mindset poses a particularly serious problem for a number of subject areas that are intrinsically multidisciplinary. Several examples in the field of engineering science are biomedical engineering, manufacturing and industrial engineering, nuclear engineering, environmental engineering and also materials science and engineering.

Although intermetallics based on aluminum or silicon tend to have a very attractive combination of low density and excellent oxidation resistance, they suffer from lack of adequate creep strength and, in most cases, from inadequate ductility and toughness. It has been recognized for several years that an approach which could simultaneously solve both problems, without degrading other properties, is to utilize the intermetallics as matrices for composite materials. The consequence has been an explosion of interest in two-phase intermetallic-based alloys.

With the exception of some early work by Seybolt, intermetallic matrices have been utilized for composites only for the past five to six years; the first published reference to systematic studies of fibrous composites dates from the proceedings of an MRS meeting in December 1986. The published literature is much sparser than, for example, that on ceramic matrix composites, which have been under development for a much longer period. Nevertheless, an appreciable number of intermetallic matrices have been reinforced with fibers or particles.

Because of the relatively high melting points and extreme brittleness of most intermetallic compounds utilized as matrices, as well as other significant advantages, enormous effort has been devoted to powder metallurgical techniques. In this category we include reactive sintering of elemental or elemental plus prealloyed powders, reactive hot pressing, reactive HIPing, injection molding, the XD process, dynamic compaction of powders, mechanical alloying, the powder cloth method, and, of course, traditional hot pressing techniques.

Many millions of dollars are invested annually in materials science research and development in U.S. universities. Both the universities and the sponsors, either government or private industry, have enormous incentives for the R&D efforts to become commercial. For private industry a successful development means new or improved products or processes and ultimately more profits. For the government, successful materials development can lead to improved hardware or operations efficiency and lower costs. For a university the payoff can be more than economic.

Ideally, successful commercial development leads to royalties paid to the universities in the form of the most precious of assets — Unrestricted or flexible income. Students and faculty can benefit from the additional income, both privately, depending on university policy, and through their departments. However, benefits can also accrue in the form of experience and knowledge gained while participating in the technology transfer process from university to corporation. Students who take part in such efforts gain invaluable experience in preparing and defending patent applications, designing and developing prototypes, and they are exposed to economic and legal issues that are seldom taught in the classroom. They become more valuable graduates. Taking part in a technology transfer case history is a far more effective form of learning than reading about it.

These benefits to a university are offset by a number of potentially negative factors. The space, time, personnel, equipment, and deadline pressures involved in commercialization are often beyond the capabilities of a university program. However, these limitations may not be realized until the effort has begun, and it is costly to stop in midstream, as is discussed below.