20 years of materials science: results and perspectives for the future Jacques LEVY President of ARIEL

The great technological programs: the driving force for materials science and engineering Development of nuclear energy Aeronautics and aerospace Automobile Electronics and computers Etc…

"Hyper-choice" of Materials: the golden age of Materials Ferrous and non ferrous metals and alloys Polymers Ceramics Electronic materials Reinforced composites « sandwiches » Biomaterials Polycristals (grain size) Single crystals Fibers Powders Nanomaterials Etc…

Hard times for materials!…. Development of computers Increase of productivity and competition Constant reorganization of industry: collapse of steel, aluminium, non ferrous metals, chemical industries in western countries Decrease of funding for research and development Decrease of interest of students for these topics

Evolution of the French steel industry

Evolution of world steel industry

Evolution of China steel consumption

Symmetrical tilt boundary in aluminium (001)-53°

Pure aluminium

Future prospects Development of China,India,Brazil boosts energy and materials consumption Geopolitics lead to increased instability,hence to a growth of defence expenses More interest in research in the materials field

Conclusion The demand for more research in the field of materials is likely to grow rapidly The only way to face the increasing cost of investigations in materials science is to build cooperative programs The France-NCEM (Berkeley) 20 years old cooperation is an interesting model which should be extended and duplicated