This classic textbook, Elements of materials science and engineering, is the sixth in a series of texts that have pioneered in the educational approach to materials science engineering and have literally brought the evolving concept of the discipline to over one million students around the world.

The major modification to this edition has been in the attention to the commonalty found within the materials field, in which structures and properties are considered generically for all materials rather than categorically by material classes-metals, polymers, ceramics, and semiconductors. This pedagogical change reflects the growing coherence and overall importance of materials science engineering and thereby establishes a sound foundation for later courses dealing with specific kinds of materials.