Forget what Penn State University claims. Prof. Morris Fine has documents to prove Northwestern had the first materials science department.

“In 1957 Penn State created a graduate degree in solid state technology,” said Fine, NU materials science professor emeritus, to about 140 people in the Rebecca Crown Center’s Hardin Hall Thursday. “But I have a letter from Don Whitmore (founder of NU’s department) from 1954 about creating a materials science department here.”

NU’s materials science and engineering department, which was the first of its kind in the world, hosted a two-day symposium and banquet Thursday and today in honor of its 50th anniversary. Materials science uses chemistry and physics to examine solid materials, such as metal and glass, and their functions.

Past and present NU faculty, alumni and guest lecturers spoke about the history and future of materials science and offered suggestions for scientific development.

History

An interest in materials science dates back to the beginning of civilization, Jeffrey Wadsworth said in his symposium presentation. Wadsworth is the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Advancement in human understanding of materials “changes the balance of power” in the world.

“Neanderthals used materials less effectively than Cro-Magnons, and that’s why they’re not here anymore,” Wadsworth said.

Industry and government in the 1940s and 1950s sparked scientific interest in studying materials, Fine said. Bell Labs and IBM increased their examination of materials in this post-World War II era, and the U.S. government created the Atomic Energy Commission in 1946.

NU had a graduate department in metallurgy, or the study of metals. The first materials science course was taught in 1955. The Materials Science Department was not named until 1959.

“After screwing around for a while, the dean wanted us to make plans,” Fine said. “We did.”

The current curriculum explores specific materials, including biological ones, rather than broad principles. This is key to future materials science studies, Fine said.

Future

Materials science has been used to assist homeland security efforts, Wadsworth said, but it needs to evolve and address nuclear nonproliferation.

Nuclear weapons that have not been detonated still pose a threat, and scientists need to understand how to handle and detect these large substances, he said.

Materials science also will be used to develop energy efficient fuel sources in the future, but emphasis needs to be placed more on research than on specific products, Wadsworth said.

“No one wants to invest in basic materials work because people want gadgets,” he said. “We need money to develop ideas rather than stuff.”

NU’s strength has been communication between science departments, Fine said. Students said this interdisciplinary approach will help further materials science discoveries.

“Materials science will continue to keep the American industries going,” said Lynn Costanza, a McCormick senior. “I think materials science is working with biological and mechanical engineers. It’s going everywhere.”

Courses in the materials science department will highlight biological materials starting in Fall 2006, Fine said.

The creation of the materials science department was “radical” for its time, and Provost Lawrence Dumas said he hopes NU continues to engage in research and make discoveries.

“Radical ideas don’t always have the success that they’ve had here,” Dumas said at Thursday’s symposium. “We are indeed a place that welcomes radical ideas.”

The second half of the symposium will continue today from 8:30 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. in Hardin Hall.

Reach Margaret Matray at [email protected].