Understanding materials is fundamental to nearly all engineering disciplines.  A relatively new and highly interdisciplinary subject, materials science (or material engineering) draws on chemistry, nanoscience, and other sciences. It also involves production processes and supply management.

This guide provides two approaches to researching materials:

• By Major Material Class - these pages list sources according major material classes, such as metals, polymers, and ceramics.  Some of these classes relate directly to the Periodic Table of Elements but composites and materials developed for specific applications do not.
• By Characteristics or Properties - this page lists tools and resources which enable you to locate materials by properties such as conductivity, permeability, castability, or toxicity.

Overview of Materials Research, as explained by the Materials Research Society (4 min).