Best Materials

Stephanie Louise Kwolek was an American chemist renowned for her research in polymer chemistry while working at the DuPont company. In 1965, she synthesized a new, highly durable liquid crystalline polymer called poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. This material was later commercialized under the br...

Omar M. Yaghi is a prominent chemist specializing in materials science. His research focuses on metal-organic frameworks or MOFs – crystalline porous materials exhibiting exceptional properties for applications like gas storage, chemical separations, and catalytic reactions. He achieved significant...

Superconductivity describes a state in materials where electricity flows with absolutely no resistance at extremely low temperatures. This quantum mechanical effect occurs when electrons pair up, forming “Cooper pairs” that move through the material without encountering obstacles. It’s notable for i...

Susumu Kitagawa is a prominent Japanese chemist specializing in materials science. He achieved international recognition for his groundbreaking research on metal-organic frameworks or MOFs. These porous materials are notable for their potential applications including gas storage and separation techn...

Cai Lun, a Chinese court official during the Han Dynasty, is recognized for pioneering paper production around 105 CE. His innovations utilized readily available materials like bark, hemp waste, and old cloth to create a durable writing surface. This development fundamentally transformed communicati...

Richard Robson was a prominent chemist specializing in materials science based in Melbourne. His research significantly advanced the understanding of porous materials, especially metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). He developed innovative techniques for synthesizing silicone polymers and related compou...

Dan Shechtman is an Israeli chemist recognized globally for his pioneering work on quasicrystals. These materials possess a unique, ordered structure unlike traditional crystals, defying established principles of crystallography. His research fundamentally altered our understanding of solid-state ph...

Moungi G. Bawendi is a chemist recognized for his pioneering work in nanochemistry. His development of colloidal quantum dot synthesis allows scientists to precisely control nanocrystal size and properties. This research has broad applications including advancements in display technology and potenti...

M. Stanley Whittingham is a chemist recognized for his groundbreaking work on rechargeable lithium batteries during the 1970s. His research at Exxon established the fundamental design of lithium-ion batteries, a technology now essential for portable electronics and electric vehicles. This innovation...

Louis E. Brus is a chemist specializing in materials science. He gained recognition for his groundbreaking research on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals—later termed quantum dots—beginning in the 1980s. His work demonstrated how these tiny particles respond to changes in light, impacting areas li...

Margaret Knight was an American inventor credited with developing a machine in 1868 that automatically folded and glued paper to create flat-bottomed brown paper bags. She successfully secured the patent for this device in 1871 after defending her invention against a male machinist who attempted to...

Band theory in physics describes how electrons behave within crystalline materials. It explains that electrons occupy energy levels arranged into “bands,” separated by regions where they cannot exist. The width of these bands and the gaps between them determine a material’s electrical properties – w...

Leo Baekeland was a 20th-century chemist recognized for developing Bakelite, the world’s first wholly synthetic plastic. His creation, achieved in 1907, revolutionized materials science and provided a durable, heat-resistant alternative to natural substances. Initially utilized in electrical compone...

The Meissner effect describes how certain materials, when cooled to extremely low temperatures, expel all magnetic fields. This phenomenon—perfect diamagnetism—is a key characteristic of superconductivity. It’s notable for demonstrating quantum mechanical behavior in condensed matter physics and is...

James L. Fergason was an American inventor instrumental in the development of practical twisted nematic liquid crystal display technology. His work during the 1960s led to significant advancements in materials science and display technology. Fergason’s innovations are foundational for modern LCD scr...

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology is an 11-volume reference work published by Elsevier in 2001. Edited by K.H.J. Buschow and an international team of experts, it provides comprehensive coverage of the field of materials science. The encyclopedia features peer-reviewed articles sp...

Aleksey Yekimov is a chemist specializing in nanochemistry and materials science. He gained recognition for pioneering work with quantum dots and their application within coordination compounds. His research significantly advanced understanding of glass chemistry and analytical techniques. Primarily...

Altair OptiStruct is a leading FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software renowned for its advanced capabilities in structural analysis, particularly for complex geometries and composite materials. Its integrated workflow streamlines the entire simulation process, from mesh generation to results analysi...

A topological insulator is a state of matter where electrons conduct electricity along surfaces while remaining insulating within the bulk. Its notable characteristic arises from topologically protected edge states—conducting pathways immune to scattering by impurities or defects. These materials ar...

Alan Heeger (born 1936) is an American physicist and chemist who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering and developing conductive polymers, underpinning the field of organic electronics.

Mária Telkes was a Hungarian-American inventor renowned for her work integrating solar energy into building design during the 20th century. She developed thermoelectric devices to convert heat from sunlight into usable warmth. Her most notable achievement involved designing and constructing the firs...

The Fermi surface describes the region in momentum space where electrons exist within a solid material at absolute zero. It’s defined by the highest energy levels occupied by electrons and is crucial for understanding electrical conductivity and thermal properties. Physicists and materials scientist...

The Vanguard Materials ETF (VAX) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the performance of companies involved in the materials sector, including basic metals and industrial chemicals, utilizing a low-cost, passively managed index approach.

Harry Brearley (1871–1948) was an English metallurgist and inventor credited with the industrial development of stainless steel. While working at the Brown-Firth research laboratory in Sheffield in 1913, he sought a corrosion-resistant alloy for gun barrels and discovered that adding chromium to iro...

The Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials is an Elsevier reference on materials for clean energy, recycling, and green manufacturing.

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Metals and Alloys is a 2022 Elsevier reference, notable for focused coverage of metallic systems, processing, and properties.

Roy Plunkett was an American chemist who discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, while working for DuPont in 1938. The material was found unexpectedly during research involving refrigerant gases and was later marketed under the Teflon trademark. PTFE is distinguished by its low friction, chemic...

Chad Mirkin (born 1963) is an American chemist at Northwestern University who invented dip-pen nanolithography and spherical nucleic acids, two foundational technologies in nanoscience and nanomedicine.

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Technical Ceramics and Glasses is a 2021 Elsevier reference on engineered ceramics, glass science, processing, and uses.