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NEW MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY: ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN LOST OPPORTUNITY?
Abstract
Three megatechnologies will dominate the last decade of the 20th Century: Information Technology, Biotechnology and New Materials Technology. New materials have been the least well publicized, yet they play a crucial precursor role in most other technological innovation. Developments in materials science now give us the ability to design so-called ‘advanced materials’ from scratch for specific purposes. They have a wide variety of applications. In addition, new materials technology extends the notion of choice in the production process and as such it has major implications for engineers, designers and managers.
Australia is in theory well-placed to take advantage of the materials revolution in terms of natural resources, environment and existing research strengths. But although some impressive and useful work has been done by the Department of Science in targeting fruitful areas for future research, an international comparison of materials R&D and a review of what the Australian government and private sector has done so far suggests that Australia once again is doing too little too late.
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NOTES AND REFERENCES
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Quoted in Richard Pree, ‘Superconductor research given valuable boost’, The Australian, 28 July 1987.
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The papers by Hondros, Gregory, Kranzberg and Smith, Lemonick, Eagar, Clark and Flemings and Larson et al. among others are all reprinted in the author's latest book, The Materials Revolution, to be published by the MIT Press later this year.