This site has not been updated since early 2010, consider visiting one of the other links below.
Click here if you are looking for interactive games, simulations and quizzes from the UKCME and others
classroom.materials.ac.uk
Click here for education and careers information from the Institute of Materials
www.iom3.org/content/education-training
Welcome to the Why Study Materials website!
Our mission here is to give you an insight into the exciting world of Materials Science, and the opportunities available should you consider a career in this area. Our website is packed with information and resources on all aspects of the subject, including interactive games and quizzes, career options and case studies from our industry friends. We hope you’ll find this all useful, whether you’re here as a student, a teacher or an innocent passer-by.
Firstly, what do we mean by "materials"? Good question. Let’s think about it for a minute:
The simplest definition is simply stuff. People interact with stuff all the time. We can think of natural stuff - wood, bone, straw, wool, cotton - and man-made stuff - steel, pottery, plastic, semiconductors, concrete, textiles, paper.
People interested in these materials are usually fascinated by two very important questions: Why does each material behave the way it does? and How can I exploit the properties of a material to make something better or cheaper?
To explore how we can answer these questions we need to be able to study the science of the structure, properties and processing of the materials. This is what we mean by Materials Science.
