Materials science is an interdisciplinary science encompassing many different
disciplines [1] [2] [3]. It is the horizon where physics meets chemistry and engineering.
It is a subject which is of common interest to both the scientific community
engaged in basic research and the engineering community trying to create new
technological developments out of novel properties of materials.
Materials have been instrumental in the development of human civilization as
a whole. Naming various pre-historic eras viz. Stone age, Bronze age, Iron age or
Steel age after different materials is a clear indication of the extremely important
role played by materials in the development of human societies and civilization.
Even in the historic and modern eras, very important discoveries in the field of
materials have marked the overall revolutions in human progress. From chinese
lodestones for navigation by sailors to the entire silicon based industry which
technically runs the modern World on the wings of computers and smartphones,
every aspect of our life now has contributions from some fundamental research
on materials in the last few hundred years. Therefore materials science research
is irreplaceable to fulfill the growing demands of modern society. Recent times
have seen various classic discoveries which are mainly material dependent.
Thus no doubt it will be, and as we have been seeing in the last few decades,
it is one of the most exciting fields of research. Novel phenomena in materials
is the route to newer technologies and advances for the human race. Thus it is
essential to modify known materials in order to improve their properties and to
discover, or even design, new materials with specific properties. Hence there is
an ever increasing demand for materials with novel properties.
