New materials always open door to new technologies, in fields like civil, chemical, construction, nuclear, aeronautical, agricultural, mechanical, biomedical or electrical engineering.

The definition of the academic field of Materials Engineering stems from a realization concerning every application of materials. The properties of the material gives it value. A material may be chosen for its strength, its electrical properties, resistance to heat or corrosion, or a host of other reasons; but they all relate to properties.

Experience shows that all of the useful properties of a material are intimately related to its structure, at all levels, including which atoms are present, how the atoms are joined, and how groups of atoms are arranged throughout the material. Most importantly, we learn how this structure, and the resulting properties, are controlled by the processing of the material.

Finally materials must perform their tasks in an economical and societally responsible manner. Understanding the relationships between properties, structure, processing and performance makes the Materials Engineer the master of the engineering universe.

The basis of materials science involves studying the structure of materials, and relating them to their properties. Once a materials scientist knows about this structure-property correlation, they can then go on to study the relative performance of a material in a given application. The major determinants of the structure of a material and thus of its properties are its constituent chemical elements and the way in which it has been processed into its final form. These characteristics, taken together and related through the laws of thermodynamics and kinetics, govern a material's microstructure, and thus its properties.

Materials exhibit myriad properties, including the following.

·         Mechanical properties, see Strength of materials

·         Chemical properties, see Chemistry

·         Electrical properties, see Electricity

·         Thermal properties, see Thermodynamics

·         Optical properties, see Optics and Photonics

·         Magnetic properties, see Magnetism

The properties of a material determine its usability and hence its engineering application.