Beginning with a vision of a "materials-blind" society in the late 1960s, a few forward-looking individuals, with an eye toward advancing the cause of interdisciplinary research, made that vision a reality—the Materials Research Society, officially founded in 1973. The society's core principles were interdisciplinarity, focused symposia and greater interaction among researchers. These principles make MRS different from single-discipline professional societies because they encourage communication and technical information exchange across the various fields of science affecting materials. Read more about MRS' founding in "The founding of MRS—The rise of interdisciplinarity" (PDF) from the April 2016 MRS Bulletin.

This page includes links that highlight MRS' history and future, including an Interactive MRS History Timeline that covers important milestones for the society.

We invite you to watch three videos that tell the story of MRS — its history, where it is today and where the society is heading in the future:

• MRS Past—Bruce Clemens, 2012 MRS President
• MRS at 40 Years—Orlando Auciello, 2013 MRS President
• MRS Into the Future—Tia Benson Tolle, 2014 MRS President

40th Anniversary MRS Bulletin Articles

Two articles from the November 2013 MRS Bulletin discuss not only the history of MRS, but 40 years of materials developments that have transformed society:

• Four decades of materials developments transform society
  Philip Ball
  Feature Editor Gordon Pike
• 40 years, one vision
  Gail A. Oare