The global geopolitics of advanced materials in the 21st century

3^rd International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Science & Engineering

October 06-08, 2014 Hilton San Antonio Airport, USA

Michael Silver

Keynote: J Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

Today it is a constant refrain that the only way to rebuild middle class jobs in America is through new cutting edge innovation. It is said America simply needs to get back in the business of making things. While much of this is true, innovation is only the starting point. To manufacture the products flowing from great ideas, a nation must also have access to the critical materials on which the discoveries are based. Due to the many disruptive discoveries in materials science over the last two decades, the innovations of the 21st century will require massive amounts of new advanced materials that are very different from those that mattered in the 20th century; metals often controlled by a single nation. The author will explain how the growing power of these sovereign monopolies will impact high technology manufacturing in both developed and emerging nations in the 21st century.