Short answers, pulled from the story.
Materials science began to be recognized as a distinct field of science and engineering by the 1940s. Major technical universities around the world created dedicated schools for its study during this period.
American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs demonstrated that thermodynamic properties related to atomic structure in various phases are connected to physical material properties. This breakthrough shifted human understanding from ancient metallurgy to a scientific discipline.
The relationship between processing methods and resulting properties is called the materials paradigm. Materials scientists emphasize how the history of a material influences its structure through this concept.
Solid materials generally group into three basic classifications: ceramics, metals, and polymers. Iron alloys make up the largest proportion of metals today by quantity and commercial value.
Diffusion serves as the most common mechanism by which materials undergo change under various forces when out of equilibrium. Kinetics details how microstructure changes with application of heat.