This article presents a summary report of the 18th biennial conference on National Materials Policy, held May 24–25, 2004 at National Academies Keck Center, Washington DC. This conference addressed the educational needs in materials science for the 21st century through a series of presentations which focused on all aspects of materials education including elementary (K-12), undergraduate as well as graduate education and continuing education. The conference therefore contributed to the definition of the educational needs for the 21st century workforce.