Sept01_Posterminaries POSTERMINARIES MRS BULLETIN/SEPTEMBER 2001 743 Ioseb Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili started it, just over a century ago. The son of a poor cobbler in a provincial back- water, his academic career ended with expulsion from a theological seminary. Undeterred, he recognized that his ambi- tions would be well served if his persona reflected one of the prominent measures of national prowess, so he moved to the center of power and changed his name to Joseph Stalin; borrowing from the Russian “stal,” or “steel.” For much of the 20th century, it was the production or control of materials that most critically defined the extent of national power. As the century dawned, steel output was the most important measure. At later times, access to “critical materials,” such as chromium, has been a matter over which wars have been fought, or at least it has determined the strategies of one or another party in the major wars. During the Cold War, one of the most important numbers sought by spies on either side was the uranium demand of their respective opponents, since that was the most direct measure of the number of atomic bombs that they planned to build. But times change: What critical material must we control now to assure national security? Materials sci- ence, like dentistry, has its own success to blame for making its original role obso- lete: For us, our loss in the arena of realpolitik comes because no material is as critical as steel, chromium, rubber, or molybdenum once were. Now we have an almost wonderful ability to substitute for materials once used uniquely, as well as such sophisticated though lifeless measures of power as Gross National Product instead of steel production. Ask any teenager the meaning of “gross.” But the history of the 20th century was largely determined by national needs for materials, so you might expect to find some materials scientists prominent among the world leaders of the time, right? It’s a pretty sorry history if you have any pride in your discipline. Herbert Hoover was a member of the Mining and Metallurgy Society of America, a fore-runner of AIME, before he became president of the United States of America. He was a scholar and a gen- tleman, widely traveled, and broadly enough educated to translate (with the help of his wife) the earliest known Leadership Material Margaret Thatcher, the one-time “iron lady” of British politics, arguably has real credentials in materials, . beyond her nickname . . . FREE online Web access in 2001 with all print subscriptions! As the Joumal of Materials Research (JMR) celebrates 16 years, it has become one of the world’s premier archival publications on advanced materials research. More specifically, JMR is ... � Devoted to original research encompassing all aspects of materials science � Edited by renowned materials scientists from the world’s most respected research facilities � Produced to the highest quality standards Published monthly (over 4000 technical pages annually), JMR contains archival papers, rapid communications and reviews. It is comprehensive in nature, and over the past 16 years has addressed more than 150 different topics including: metals; semiconductors; superconductors; ceramics; dielectrics; electronic and magnetic materials; polymers; fullerenes; diamonds; adhesives; thin films; composites; nanostructures; and materials synthesis, growth and characterization, as well as their chemical, physical and mechanical properties. Articles are posted electronically and are available for viewing approximately 4-6 weeks before the print issue is received in the mail. So subscribers enjoy both the convenience of early online access to leading-edge materials research and the continued benefit of a high-quality print publication. Journal of Materials Research—more than ever, the archival front-runner in international materials research. Materials Research Society Tel 724-779-3003 506 Keystone Drive Fax 724-779-8313 Warrendale, PA 15086-7573 info@mrs.org USA www.mrs.org Print ISSN: 0884-2914 Coden: JMREE 2001 Subscription Rates: Nonmembers MRS Members $785 USA $ 90 USA $815 Non-US (surface) $110 Non-US (surface) $870 Non-US (air freight) $180 Non-US (air freight) And now, all print subscriptions to the 2001 edition of JMR include FREE online Web access—full text of all JMR articles from January 1996 to the current issue. www.mrs.org/publications/bulletin https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2001.202 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Carnegie Mellon University, on 06 Apr 2021 at 00:59:26, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2001.202 https://www.cambridge.org/core https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms POSTERMINARIES 744 MRS BULLETIN/SEPTEMBER 2001 metallurgical textbook, Agricola’s De Re Metallica from its original Latin. (You can still obtain a copy of Hoover’s translation, with facsimiles of the original figures, from Dover Publications in New York.) For all his learning and prominence in the field of metallurgy, though, Hoover was not one of the most distinguished residents of the White House. He is remembered mostly for leading the U.S. into the great depression and selfishly insisting upon affixing his own name to the greatest public-works project of his time, a dam on the Colorado River. Leonid Brezhnev was not born into such a privileged life as Hoover, but he was the Soviet leader from 1964 to 1972. One of six workers’ children among 45 students in his school, he liked math best, but only did average work, generally speaking, and notably poorly in foreign languages. One of his earliest jobs was as a laborer in a steelworks, and through part-time schooling he eventually gradu- ated from the Arsenich Metallurgical Institute in Dneprodzerzhinsk, after pre- senting a thesis on “The Design of Electrostatic Cleaning of Furnace Gas in the F.E. Dzerzhinsk Factory.” Take note, please, of the industrial bent of his research topic, and his determination and quite striking ability to overcome a lack- luster academic record: He eventually served as director of the Dneproderzhinsk Metallurgical Technical College. Aca- demic politics must have prepared him well for his time in the Kremlin. Or maybe vice versa. Aleksei Nikolaievich Kosygin, who shared power with Brezhnev in the com- plicated Communist Party hierarchy, studied at the Leningrad Textile Institute in 1930. He would not have been recog- nized as a materials scientist at the time, and all of us have probably suffered from the problem of being mistaken for some kind of textile engineer when we have announced our profession at a cocktail party. These days, though, textile engi- neering is moving in from the fringe of materials science to the center of some of its activities, notably in the area of fiber- reinforced composites, so perhaps we can consider Kosygin to have been a man ahead of his time, and include him in the minuscule panoply of world leaders who have started out as materials scientists. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, would never have claimed to be a materials scientist, but occasional- ly tried to belie his characterization as a simple peanut farmer by claiming the title of “nuclear engineer,” based upon his service in the U.S. Navy. Since MRS has a long-running tradition of technical programming in the area of nuclear waste management, maybe we can stretch a point and include Mr. Carter as an adjunct materials scientist, in the inter- est of boosting our numbers on the world stage. Sadly, his was not a very distin- guished presidency, either, ending in dis- array with American embassy staff held hostage in Tehran, so it does little to redeem the reputation of our subject on the world stage. On the positive side, however, like many U.S. presidents after Hoover, Carter is better regarded in retirement than he ever was in office, so perhaps this is a group we should try to identify with a little more. Margaret Thatcher, the one-time “iron lady” of British politics, arguably has real creden- tials in materials, beyond her nickname, having worked as an industrial research chemist, once publishing a paper on Langmuir–Blodgett films. Named in her honor, too, is a professorship in the Department of Materials and Interfaces at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. It is not clear whether all of this actually justified the Royal Society in bestowing a fellowship upon her “for ser- vices to British science,” but at least she stands as an undeniable example of strong leadership. Let’s face facts. If we are trying to por- tray the study of materials as a means of preparation for a life of political leader- ship, we have precious few examples to point to, and most of those are not all that attractive. This is despite the fact that our work teaches us to compromise over con- flicting demands (for properties), and even to create coalitions (or composites, in our case) that bring together the best properties of disparate factions (or mate- rials). I don’t see any cure in sight: The researcher “scholar and gentleman,” once personified by Hoover, has long since been supplanted as the predominant per- sona among materials scientists by the “geek.” Just look around your lab and you will see what I mean. Can you imag- ine any of your colleagues having any real political appeal in an election cam- paign? I think we should not expect to find too many grassroots MRS members getting elected to high office anywhere in the world very soon. However, the real power in a complex modern state lies not so much with the figurehead as with the people who sur- round and advise him or her. MRS Von Hippel Award recipient Sir Alan Cottrell has filled the role of chief scientific advi- sor to the British government with some distinction. Donald Evans now serves as Secretary of Commerce in the Washington administration of George Bush the Second: not so much a leader as a techni- cian within the government. Evans is business-trained, like his leader, but also holds a degree in mechanical engineering and has, like Brezhnev, worked in a steel mill, which must count for something. Another Bush cabinet member is Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, who was chair and CEO of Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, and retired as chair at the end of 2000, just in time to join the new administration. Prior to joining Alcoa, O’Neill was president of the International Paper Company from 1985 to 1987, where he was also a vice president from 1977 to 1985. He may only be a businessman with degrees in eco- nomics and public administration, but his success at making money out of materials has been used as a case study by the Harvard Business School. So it appears inevitable that for the next generation or so, at least, materials professionals will wield power not through elected office, but through appointment to advisory roles in the world’s governments. And what is the record of success in this role? Only one critical review stands out. U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie wished for a one-armed scientist to advise him, who would not qualify his advice with “on the other hand....” So those of you who would go into this strange form of leadership take heed: Political decisions are made out of single recommendations, not lists of options. Give your elected officials a clear message, and don’t confuse them with counter-arguments or alternatives. If they were bright enough to distinguish between all of the options, they would be scientists, not politicians, after all, or at least they wouldn’t need you to advise them. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who noted the little-mindedness of politicians, long before the 20th century dawned, and observed how their thinking was hobbled with the need for “foolish con- sistency.” The influence of materials on the world stage may have come and gone, but the character of the politician remains the same. ALEX KING [M]aterials professionals will wield power not through elected office, but through appointment to advisory roles in the world’s governments. www.mrs.org/publications/bulletin https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2001.202 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Carnegie Mellon University, on 06 Apr 2021 at 00:59:26, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2001.202 https://www.cambridge.org/core https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms