What are some good examples of emerging class of engineering materials?

Answer 1

Great question; material science is one of the most important engineering fields. Here are three of my favorite classes of new materials, there are many more.

One example of an emerging class of engineering materials is in solar voltaic technology. Caltech researchers have come up with a nano-wire based solar cell made up of 98% plastic and 2% silicon. Another team at Ohio State have developed a material made of molybdenum, titanium and plastics wich allows energy to be taken from the cell for a longer period of time (a lot of the energy potential of solar cells is lost because the production of electrons is too rapid).

Battery technology is being pursued in this day of electric car development and the hunger for better electronic devices. MIT researchers have devolped a new way of structuring Lithiom ions in batteries that allow them to be recharged much more rapidly. Argonne National Laboratory has been developing a battery made of composite cathode material that is supposed to last much longer than existing material and is being looked at by General Motors. AIST ( Japanese; Advanced Industrial Science and Technology ) are developing a titanium oxide battery that has an energy density 30% higher that lithium ion batteries.

Nanotechnology engineers at North Carolina State have been working on new materials for manufacturing computer chips and claim to have created a 1 Terabyte chip. Researchers at Stanford have created a new material that may allow electron spin to be used to carry information.