ISRAEL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY, Vol. 24, 1988, pp43-49
Proc. 4th Israel MATERIALS ENGINEERING Conference
Materials Science in Israel
Past Achievements and Future Challenges

M.P.Dariel
Dept. of Mat. Eng., Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel
and
Nuclear Research Center-Negev

It is a rare privilege to have been granted the opportunity to review and
Summarize 40 years of achievements and accomplishments in this discipline,
common to all of us, members of the Community of Materials Science and
Engineering in Israel. Forty years are a significant part of a human life-time,
they are but a tiny fraction of the 30 century-long history of our people.
These forty years, however, along with forty other years which our forefathers
spent wandering in the wilderness more than three thousands years ago, span the
most significant, the most enriching chapters of our history. Forty years in
the Sinai desert have forged the character of our nation and have deeply
affected the history of mankind. The last forty years have seen the re-birth of
our ancient nationhood, it is fitting, therefore, that gathered here today, we
briefly review four decades of Materials Science and Engineering in Israel.

Yet, if we consider the extraordinary diversity of disciplines encompassed by
what MSE represent, the variety of concepts, ideas, processing and
manufacturing techniques employed, the multitude of products resulting from the
cooperative effort of engineers and scientists, technicians and production line
workers, we'll realize there is no way we can, in those sparse minutes
allocated to this talk, even remotely come close to render justice to all those
involved in this generation-long endeavor. How can we complete the roll-call of
the persons and groups who have participated in the research and development,
the design, processing and manufacturing and who by their initiative and
creativity, by their skill and perseverance, have been instrumental in lifting
MS&E from a backyard garage shop like level, to that which allowed us, a few
weeks ago, to reach for the sky by launching a satellite. A small satellite,
grant you, others too, have launched satellites. But if we look back at what we
started from, we may feel some pride in our achievements, and rightly so.

Some may argue that these past forty years were the hardest, the more arduous
and the more difficult period, in the course of which, with no human expertise
or experience, no natural resources, no tradition of MS&E manufacturing, under
continuous economical, political and sometimes even military constraints, we
had to design and build everything from scratch. And we did succeed, in some
fields, one may even claim that the success was spectacular. The realizations
of our defense related industries are probably the best yardsticks of our
achievements.Whatever one may think of defense based industries, on must grant
that they are the most exacting with regard to quality and performance and the
most likely to take advantage of the latest developments of science and
technology. Undoubtedly, a modern military system is a highly complex ensemble
of a variety of technologies based on many different disciplines. Yet, these
technologies almost always have a materials of materials-processing related
breakthrough at their origin. This is clearly true for the armor and the
armor-piercing ammunition, for the aircraft structure, for the electronics and
the optronics. Our ability to incorporate the latest products of these
technologies in the various systems which bear the mark "Made in Israel"
provides the convincing proof that we have reached a stage of maturity that
allows us to sit face to face, as equals, with the foremost representatives of
perhaps not in all, but in certainly many and important fields of Materials
Science and Engineering.

I may have singled out our defense-related industries, but I donot wish to
imply to any extent that the achievements of the industry oriented towards the
civilian market fall short of those of the former. Both industries, the
defense-related and the civilian are manned by engineers and technicians who
received their professional formation in this country. This brings me to one
of the foremost achievements of the last forty years, the one that stands at
the foundation of all the others, namely the instruction in the field of MS&E.
Starting from zero, we have succeeded in training over the past twenty years
in the major institutes of higher learning, literally hundreds of engineers
and tens of scientists in MS&E. Their imprint is felt at all the levels of the
various industries, be it the metal, the semiconductor, the plastic and even
the ceramic-based ones. A for the fundamental research, we may not have been
at the very forefront, but if you peruse the scientific literature, even the
most prestigious periodicals of our field, you'll come across israeli
authorship by far, above and beyond our economical or political weight in the
world. I don't have to remind you to what extent israelis, Profs. Schechtman,
here present, and Prof. Blech, contributed to one of the most far reaching
revolutionary discoveries of the past decade, the icosahedral phases, the
impact of which extends well beyond the conventional boundaries of Materials
Science.

So much for the past, what about the future? First of all, we must be aware
that what lies ahead may not be easier, on the contrary. When you start from
almost nothing, doubling the little that you have, is perhaps on an absolute
scale, a minor endeavor. This 100 pct. early growth is easier to come by than
trying to maintain a continuous 5 pct. growth rate under normal, quasi steady
conditions.

We are entering, in fact we already have, an era of great challenges, which
require, nay, which compel us to tax our ingenuity, our perseverance, our
skills and our intelligence to the utmost. This is an era of great
opportunities on a global scale but also of severe dangers and pitfalls. If I
had to point out some key features which characterize the present and the near
future and affect or will affect significantly our professional environment, I
would like to point out the following:

There is a world wide recognized reality that R&D centrally supported,
benefits everybody. The developed countries and those who strive earnestly to
develop are increasing their support and their pace of research as they
recognize that ECONOMIC GROWTH AND, ULTIMATELY, THE NATION'S STRENGTH AND
VITALITY DEPEND ON REACHING THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGY. It is also recognized
that MS&E provide the basis or atleast the leverage for many technologies
[electrical, mechanical, computer science]. There are clear indications that
materials will be an important factor, through the innovation of materials
with intrinsic properties - physical, chemical, magnetic - which procure a
performance advantage, and also in that materials with advanced properties
will enable other technologies to be realized. Advanced materials may be new
materials with advanced functions and also conventional materials with
significantly improved properties. Thus, all over the world we are sensing an
upsurge of interest, in planning and in ideas involving materials and
materials-based technologies. As a consequence, most probably almost all
industrialized countries have set up or are planning to set up centrally
stimulated R&D on new materials and processes. In Japan, for instance, support
for research has increased on a logarithmic scale, and the field in which R&D
support increased fastest was that of the CONDENSED MATTER including MS&E. In
the U.S., in spite of the huge deficit, all discretionary funds are channelled
to R&D. Central support for R&D, contrary to many fields, has continuously
increased in Western Europe. In the U.K., in France, in the German Federal
Republic, we have witnessed government sponsored and supported materials
research programs aimed at linking the basic research potential of the
universities and the public research centres with the R&D capacity and
potential of the industry. The results of this policy are not uniform
everywhere, but on the overall the breakthroughs are numerous and occur in so
many fields that it becomes difficult to keep track of them. And the examples
abound:

Advanced structural materials including polymers, advanced ceramics, metals
and hybrids composites have progressed to such an extent that they are now
projected to grow tenfold over their present level by the end of the century.
Biomaterials have witnessed the development of 'BIOELASTICS', the new
biocompressible and sterilizable polypeptides that can be formed into
cross-linked sheets and strips and used on mechanochemical engines, synthetic
arteries and burn cover materials. Superconductive materials, which for a
generation have strived to reach and consolidate their usefulness at the
liquid hydrogen temperature, have, within a three years period, jumped well
above the liquid nitrogen temperature and nothing in this domain seems to lie
beyond the imagination anymore. Magnetic materials have made tremendous
progress over the past decade. The once record breaking Sm-Co magnets, have
been overshadowed by the newer Nd-Fe-B magnets which not only are
significantly more powerful, but are based on incomparably cheaper and more
plentiful elements. You may frown at my lack of modesty when I claim that it
looks like as if human ingenuity knows no bounds nor limits. Having tasted the
taste of genetic engineering in biology, we entered the age of genetic
engineering of materials. The artificially layered semiconductors and more
recently the artificial metallic superlattices are just the first precursor
examples of what awaits us soon with the coming of the third millenium.
Rudimentary precursors in some instances, but still tomorrow's custom tailored
materials, designed to fit specific, predefined needs and requirements.

Clearly, the industrial world and those countries aiming at joining the
industrialized world are entering the age of RESEARCH BASED TECHNOLOGY and the
question we have to ask ourselves in Israel, is whether we shall be able to
join this ever faster moving active world, or, as many of us present perceive
it anxiously, we are going to lag behind and the gap, at present still
bridgeable, is going to widen into an irraparable chasm.

The opportunities are there, the question is whether we are going to be able
to meet, challenge and master them. In order to do so, we have to recognize
the realities which characterize the world at the beginning of the 21st
century. WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THESE REALITIES AND ADAPT OURSELVES TO THE
WORLD THEY DEFINE. Let me try and formulate very succinctly some of these
realities which are worldwide true, they are not specific to our country but
nonetheless it is imperative that we acknowledge them, adapt ourselves and
learn to live with them. The first of these can be stated as follows:

NOBODY HAS AN ENDURING MONOPOLY ON IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGIES. OUR ERA IS AN ERA
OF INCREASINGLY FASTER DISSEMINATION OF IDEAS, CONCEPTS, TECHNIQUES AND
TECHNOLOGIES. The center of gravity of the centers of learning, of innovation,
of excellence that my generation has been brought up to acknowledge, has
shifted significantly from the northern shores of the Atlantic Ocean to a more
homogeneous world-wide distribution. It also follows from the written on the
slide that NO ADVANTAGE CAN BE CONSIDERED AS BEING PERMANENT. AN ADVANTAGE
WHICH IS NOT CAPITALIZED UPON RAPIDLY, IS AN ADVANTAGE LOST. In other words
again, RUNNING FASTER IS THE KEY TO COMPETITIVE SUCCESS.

This brings me to a short story which I have made a note to tell you. I heard
it several weeks ago at the Chicago World Materials Congress. Those of you who
have heard it, will excuse me, but since the majority of the audience did not
attend the Chicago meeting, I am taking the liberty of repeating it. Well, the
story is about two hunters out on the tundra, in the far North. Suddenly, they
catch sight of a grizzly bear running towards them at great speed and with
what looked like non-pacific intentions. One of the hunters immediately
started putting up his Reebock sprinting shoes. His friend asked him: "Do you
really believe that you'll be able to outrun that bear?" and the answer was:
"Not the bear, but I hope I'll be able to outrun you". That's all. Clearly
it's a story whose moral aspect leaves a lot to be desired. Nevertheless it is
quite illustrative of the world we are living in and which will surround us in
the foreseeable future. This brings me to the second point I wish to make.

In our present world, and even more so in the one that awaits us at the dawn
of the next millenium, ALERTNESS, ADAPTABILITY AND LOW INERTIA, in addition to
CREATIVITY and INNOVATION are the keys for survival. We have to make our
utmost in order to shorten the time between CREATION and APPLICATION.

The third point of general relevance which I wish to make can be stated as
follows:

Keeping ahead is the outcome of the synergistic coupling of Basic RESEARCH
with PROCESSING and MANUFACTURING. One has to link successfully INNOVATION and
FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH with DESIGN, MANUFACTURING and MARKETING. Nor should we
forget that even though PERFORMANCE and FUNCTIONALITY are important,
ultimately QUALITY and LOW COST win markets.