Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) operates two large facilities for materials research: the neutron source BER II and the synchrotron source BESSY II, which provide deep insights into the structure of materials and the processes within complex systems. Each year around 3,000 scientists are using the HZB infrastructures. One important focus of HZB research is thin film...

The University of Cambridge Department of Engineering operates a very informative site on material selection and processing. Its purpose is "to aid good practice in the selection of materials for product design." Of the many features offered on the site, a particularly valuable section is the Process Encyclopedia. This has a long list of manufacturing processes with detailed descriptions and...

The National Science Foundation funds 26 Materials Research Science & Engineering Centers (MRSEC) and website highlights research conducted at the MRSECs at universities across the United States. The featured projects have been "selected with care and pride by the director of each MRSEC" and "represent samples of exemplary research at the Centers." Some examples include Cornell University's work...

"The field of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) is a very broad, interdisciplinary field that plays a critical role in assuring that structural components and systems perform their function in a reliable and cost effective fashion." This surprisingly in-depth site offers detailed information about NDT, its applications, and the technologies used in its practice. After a brief introduction, the user can...

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a branch of engineering that detects and evaluates flaws in materials. NDTnet is a monthly online journal that offers news and information about NDT technology and ultrasonics. Research papers and conference proceedings are often included as well, complete with abstracts. This is the Web site of the August, 2002 issue, which has "selected papers of the 3rd...

The Rogers research group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studies "soft materials for flexible 'macroelectronic' circuits, nanophotonic structures, microfluidic devices, and microelectromechanical systems." Researchers can learn the details about the group's four current research projects: plastic and molecular electronics, microfluidics and liquid crystals for photonics,...

What's That Stuff? Well, the Web site provided by Chemical and Engineering News answers this question on many of those everyday items that are just a bit curious. For example, Silly Putty is a "dilatant compound, which means it has an inverse thixotropy--that is, as a viscous suspension or gel, it becomes solid under the influence of pressure." The site explains the history and characteristics of...