Material ConneXion.  I guess this name betrays the whole point of the field trip.  Material ConneXion is a company that serves as a resource for new and innovative materials.  Manufacturers and inventors of materials submit their latest to the company where they are evaluated and then each month, a select few are picked as being the most innovative.  These materials are then put on display at the company library for public viewing as well as for other companies and people to select from for their work.  I still don’t completely understand their role and how they make their profits, but I was there to see materials, not worry about accounting and finance.

The panoply of materials we got to see at their library was mind-blowing.  They had everything - plastics, ceramics, fabrics, metals, composites, glasses, and even bright LEDs.  The little descriptions accompanying each item actually made sense - I guess after a year of constantly being exposed to materials science, things do start to sink into your brain.  None of the terminology was new and even some of the manufacturing processes listed were familiar to me.  The really cool stuff included an LED system where the lights follow movements above them, a lamp with sliding-touch controls for brightness and color temperature, and a glass-based panel that can go from clear to opaque at the flick of a switch thanks to a liquid crystal layer that changes polarization.  Neat stuff.

I realize that a post like this needs pictures and perhaps even actual samples!  But unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed and no technology exists that will let me beam the feel of the materials straight to your brains.