Until the beginning of the 19th century, flame produced by combustion was the only source of artificial light. Since then, physical phenomena other than pyroluminescence have been used to produce light. Limelight (incandescence of calcium oxide heated by the flame from an oxyhydrogen blowpipe), gas mantles (candoluminescence of gas-flame-heated rare-earth oxides), and the electrical Jablochkoff candle (an early type of carbon-arc lamp) were among the important milestones that led to modern lighting technology. In the 21st century, most of the residential lighting worldwide is provided by tungsten incandescent lamps. Compact fluorescent lamps are also actively promoted because of their higher performance—a broader spectrum for higher-quality white light and elimination of 100–120-Hz flickering, for example. Most work environments employ fluorescent tubes for general lighting, and street lighting is dominated by sodium lamps. Lighting consumes ∼2000 TWh of energy annually, about 21% of the global consumption of electricity. However, during the past 20 years, none of the conventional lighting technologies has exhibited a significant improvement in efficiency. The drive to save lighting energy and reduce its negative environmental impact (i.e., carbon emissions and the disposal of mercury contained in discharge lamps) stimulates the search for new, efficient sources of light.

Diamond is one of the most intriguing and potentially useful materials known to science. It is the hardest substance that we know, and it has the highest sound velocity and the highest thermal conductivity of any material. Because diamond is so difficult to fabricate, the challenge is to take meaningful advantage of its extraordinary properties. The chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond overcomes many of the fabrication problems and has become the focus of an important research and development effort worldwide. Although the General Electric Corp. succeeded about 50 years ago in the synthesis of diamond by high-pressure, high-temperature techniques, the low-pressure, or CVD, methods were developed only about 20 years ago in the former Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States. This presentation will deal with a more recent development in diamond CVD that allows one to control the crystallite size in such a way as to synthesize phase-pure nanocrystalline diamond films, which have many unique and fascinating properties not shared by other forms of diamond.

We are living in the golden era of materials science. To cite but one example, consider the field of thin-film physics. Crystal growers have been moving inexorably closer to being able to deposit layers and hence to control film properties on an atom-by-atom basis. We are nearing an era in which it will be possible to deposit “designer” materials with a specified set of properties.

Many technologies require load-sustaining components that are as lightweight and compact as possible. This requirement is especially true in the transportation area, where lightness equates with fuel efficiency and range. Concept implementation is dictated by the tradeoff between performance and manufacturing cost, which is manifest in a value factor. The attainment of the minimum weight has a long history. Four technical factors are involved: materials selection, utilization of shape, topology optimization, and multifunctionality. The new developments to be addressed in this article arise in topology optimization. Multifunctionality has been elaborated elsewhere.

The three most important components of tissue engineering are biomaterials, cellular biology, and vascular supply. Biomaterials are needed to control the delivery of new cells into the body. In the absence of biomaterials, cells that are injected into a vein, a cavity, or tissue tend to disperse, so a sufficiently high density of cells to perform the intended function—replacement or repair of a damaged structure—is never achieved.1 A porous delivery system is needed that confines the cells to the desired location and promotes their nourishment until blood vessels grow in and new tissue is formed. Biomaterials such as plastics can provide such a porous delivery system.