(ORNL: Oak Ridge, TN) -- The first materials scientists might have been early humans who, through trial-and-error experiments, discovered the first “cutting-edge” technologies. They found that the best arrowheads and other tools could be made from certain types of natural, structural materials, which at the time included stones and animal bones. 

Today, many of the most promising new materials are “functionalized,” meaning they are often carefully and methodically designed and synthesized at the atomic scale. 

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