ASM Online Member Community

Let's have some fun with this one!

Finish the sentence:

"You know you work in materials science when…"

What's something you do, notice, say, or experience that only another materials professional would understand?

Maybe you've looked at a rusty object and thought, "Interesting corrosion mechanism…" instead of "That needs replacing."
Maybe you've said, "It depends on the material…" more times than you can count.
Maybe you've admired the grain structure of something more than the finished product.

Now it's your turn! Finish the sentence...

Bonus points for the answers that make your fellow materials professionals say, "Yep, been there!"

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Nicole Hale
Director, Membership & Affiliates
ASM International - MAIN
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You know you work in materials science when you take pictures of ax molds in archaelogy museums.

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Véronique Vitry
Mons
+1 (326) 537-4438
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/12/2026 10:23:00 AM
From: Véronique Vitry
Subject: RE: You know you work in materials science when…

You know you work in materials science when you take pictures of ax molds in archaelogy museums.

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Véronique Vitry
Mons
+1 (326) 537-4438
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You know you work in materials science when realize everything and anything has a defect.

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Steve Heifner
Laboratory Manager
Tulsa OK
+1 (918) 832-5207
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When you develop a journal paper, patent or a new product that combines the use of polymers, ceramics/glasses, composites or metals.  

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Ronald Myers
Retired
Strongsville OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-12-2026 15:55
From: Steve Heifner
Subject: You know you work in materials science when…

You know you work in materials science when realize everything and anything has a defect.

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Steve Heifner
Laboratory Manager
Tulsa OK
+1 (918) 832-5207
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You know you work in materials science when you can explain the corrosion behavior of a coin - but that's just my two cents

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Andre Liberati
Maître de Conférences / Associate Professor
Limoges
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-13-2026 08:09
From: Ronald Myers
Subject: You know you work in materials science when…

When you develop a journal paper, patent or a new product that combines the use of polymers, ceramics/glasses, composites or metals.  

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Ronald Myers
Retired
Strongsville OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-12-2026 15:55
From: Steve Heifner
Subject: You know you work in materials science when…

You know you work in materials science when realize everything and anything has a defect.

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Steve Heifner
Laboratory Manager
Tulsa OK
+1 (918) 832-5207
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You know you're a metallurgist when you meet Eastern European ladies at church and start talking about the fascinating contributions of the Eastern Europe metallurgical engineers and novel titanium horn ultrasonic modification of silicon in Al-Si cast alloys. They nod politely by the way, very kind ladies.

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Otho Otte
Senior Metallurgical Engineer
La Crosse WI
+1 (608) 461-3475
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Before I had any formal metallurgy education I asked the architect why he was going to allow the contractor to put EMT ( thinwall electrical tubing ) inside the concrete forming, because I had seen this done in a parking structure. After just 20 years it had exfoliated to the point of destroying the wiring. That was an expensive retrofit.

One more?

As a body shop technician I wondered why a major auto manufacturer would opt for self etching primer to avoid the expense of a phosphoric acid wash with the associated rinse to be followed by electrostatic discharge epoxy primer. Of course it would slash production costs. I knew this material is a compromise that would end badly. ( They are bankrupt )

I still do not have a degree😬
Jeff Brandt

Sent from my iPad


Original Message:
Sent: 8/17/2026 10:00:00 AM
From: Otho Otte
Subject: RE: You know you work in materials science when…

You know you're a metallurgist when you meet Eastern European ladies at church and start talking about the fascinating contributions of the Eastern Europe metallurgical engineers and novel titanium horn ultrasonic modification of silicon in Al-Si cast alloys. They nod politely by the way, very kind ladies.

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Otho Otte
Senior Metallurgical Engineer
La Crosse WI
+1 (608) 461-3475
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You look at every piece of metal and silently say to yourself, "I would have made that out of [insert specific metal type]". As a heat treater, my usual suggestion is air-hardening tool steel or precipitation-hardening stainless steel. 

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Deidra Minerd
Operations Manager
Euclid OH
+1 (216) 481-8444
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"You know you work in materials science when…" 

You want to (silently!) correct everyone's bad assumptions about engineered materials, e.g., 

• Stainless steel is the ultimate in corrosion resistance!  It depends on the application.  And the SS alloy.  SS is often not very suitable in seawater, for instance. 
• Porcelain dishes can be recycled in the glass bin!  No, they are two very different materials.  Please do not put any ceramics in the glass recycle bin. 
• Plastics can be melted and injection-molded over and over!  Some probably can, although recycling plastics is always more complicated and less desirable than most of us imagine.  Cross-linked and other thermosetting plastics cannot be recycled, as they decompose irreversibly when melted or dissolved.  And don't get me started on that number in the triangle! 
• The metal broke because it crystallized!  No, that is a sign of brittle fracture and/or corrosion, usually.  
• Aluminum beverage cans can be reprocessed into new cans and save X amount of energy!  Yes, but not that simple.  The cans are one alloy, the ends and tabs another, and they must be separated to a large degree.  Furthermore, cans have an organic coating inside, plus ink and beverage remnants, that must be burned off and generate a significant amount of pollution.  Nothing is as simple as we would like it to be. 
• You can use a Zn- or Cd-plated screw instead of stainless or brass, in a pinch!  You can, but you will probably get a galvanic corrosion failure in the near future.  Don't. 
• The weld failed because the heat destroyed the crystal structure!  No, the crystal structure was not destroyed, but it might need post-weld heat treatment in the heat-affected zone.  Welds, even in mild steel, are never as trivial as they appear. 

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Richard Chinn
retired
Beaverton, OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-18-2026 08:45
From: Deidra Minerd
Subject: You know you work in materials science when…

You look at every piece of metal and silently say to yourself, "I would have made that out of [insert specific metal type]". As a heat treater, my usual suggestion is air-hardening tool steel or precipitation-hardening stainless steel. 

------------------------------
Deidra Minerd
Operations Manager
Euclid OH
+1 (216) 481-8444
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 8/24/2026 6:01:00 PM
From: Richard Chinn
Subject: RE: You know you work in materials science when…

"You know you work in materials science when…" 

You want to (silently!) correct everyone's bad assumptions about engineered materials, e.g., 

• Stainless steel is the ultimate in corrosion resistance!  It depends on the application.  And the SS alloy.  SS is often not very suitable in seawater, for instance. 
• Porcelain dishes can be recycled in the glass bin!  No, they are two very different materials.  Please do not put any ceramics in the glass recycle bin. 
• Plastics can be melted and injection-molded over and over!  Some probably can, although recycling plastics is always more complicated and less desirable than most of us imagine.  Cross-linked and other thermosetting plastics cannot be recycled, as they decompose irreversibly when melted or dissolved.  And don't get me started on that number in the triangle! 
• The metal broke because it crystallized!  No, that is a sign of brittle fracture and/or corrosion, usually.  
• Aluminum beverage cans can be reprocessed into new cans and save X amount of energy!  Yes, but not that simple.  The cans are one alloy, the ends and tabs another, and they must be separated to a large degree.  Furthermore, cans have an organic coating inside, plus ink and beverage remnants, that must be burned off and generate a significant amount of pollution.  Nothing is as simple as we would like it to be. 
• You can use a Zn- or Cd-plated screw instead of stainless or brass, in a pinch!  You can, but you will probably get a galvanic corrosion failure in the near future.  Don't. 
• The weld failed because the heat destroyed the crystal structure!  No, the crystal structure was not destroyed, but it might need post-weld heat treatment in the heat-affected zone.  Welds, even in mild steel, are never as trivial as they appear. 

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Richard Chinn
retired
Beaverton, OR
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You know you work in materials science when a shiny surface makes you suspicious, 🤔

When you see a crack and immediately want to know how it started, 🧐

When you turn a two-word phrase into a 2hrs conversation "It Broke" 😁

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Miguel Diaz
Sr. Metallurgical Materials Technician
Sun Valley CA
+1 (661) 702-5536
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You know you work (and teach) in materials science when you get so engrossed in finding and photographing the "lattice defects" in an ear of corn that by the time you remember you wanted to eat it your corn has gotten cold.

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Harold Ackler
Clinical Associate Professor
Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering
Boise State University, Boise ID
408-230-7277 cell
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Weird enough,

You know you work in materials science when… your friends outside of work don't know how to say or spell metallurgical.

Either that or when you see a carnation a flower does not come to mind...but white iron microstructure rosettes do.

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Matt Munkwitz
Hartford WI
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