Thanks Orstio!
Material Science/Engineering is a hybrid field that combines the fields of chemistry and physics. Many technical and engineering universities and schools have Material Science and Engineering (MSE) departments.
Metallurgy is the branch of MSE that deals with metals (obviously). There are equivalent branches in ceramics and glasses, semi-conductors, super-conductors, plastics, polymers, composites, and a few others.
careers.
Subject areas include:
extraction (mining) and processing (most of which is related to chemistry)
alloys - applied chemistry and physics
strength of materials - applied physics
corrosion engineering - applied chemistry (electrochemistry, thermochemistry)
materials integrity and performance - combination of the above topics
Some of the more interesting areas of research involve finding ways to manufacture a given product, from raw materials to finished product. How one makes a material (in terms of homogeneity of chemistry and microstructure) will determine how is performs. This is particularly true of nuclear materials that must operate in a thermal-chemical environment which also involves radiation.
Applications like power and propulsion engineering involve pushing the materials to their natural limit. Generally, materials are limited to about 0.3-0.4 of their melting temperature when used in loaded conditions (tensile or compressive stress), but there are ways to design around this limit. Again, the challenge increases when the material is placed in a radiation environment.
Corrosion engineering is an interesting field. Alloy metals and alloys are usually found in the form of oxides, sulphides, or other chemical complexes like carbonates, sulphates, silicates, etc. These ores are chemically processed to the desired elements, which are then mixed to form alloys. Quite naturally, the metals corrode, i.e. turn back into there more natural form (lower chemical energy state). The challenge is to prevent or at least slow this process.
The field is challenging and there are many opportunities for interesting research and development.
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