This article introduces the November 2005 issue of MRS Bulletin on the life and works of Arthur Robert von Hippel, who pioneered the interdisciplinary approach to materials research. This issue of MRS Bulletin celebrates his long life, his large volume of work, and the overall impact he had on materials research as practiced today. This introductory article summarizes the start and progression of the various fields presented in this issue, and how many were inspired directly by von Hippel's work and ways, and how new fields continue to emerge based on the same foundations of interdisciplinarity. The articles in this issue cover research areas in which von Hippel was involved, namely, ferroelectrics and magnetism; fields that thrived on an interdisciplinary approach that von Hippel represented, such as semiconductors; and areas that reflect his own vision about materials research and interests later in life, including molecular design and biomaterials. Before the scientific work is presented, the issue begins with a personal sketch of von Hippel, contributed by his son Frank N. von Hippel.

“We will not be intimidated!” is one of the mottos Arthur R. von Hippel lived by. From refusing to salute Hitler to starting a unique interdisciplinary university laboratory–the Laboratory for Insulation Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology–von Hippel followed his principles, laying the foundations for modern materials research and distinguishing himself as a pioneering scientist, an inspirational mentor, and a devoted family man. This article shows the personal and professional contexts within which von Hippel–the namesake of the Materials Research Society's highest award–emerged as a scientific leader and role model of interdisciplinarity, as seen through the eyes of his son, Frank N. von Hippel, physicist, professor of public and international affairs, and co-director of the Program on Science & Global Security at Princeton University.

This article highlights the major role Arthur von Hippel and the Laboratory for Insulation Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology played in the early development of the field of ferroelectricity in mixed oxides with the perovskite structure and, in particular, in the identification of ferroelectricity in barium titanate following its discovery in industrial laboratories in the United States during World War II.Very early optical and x-ray studies highlighted the characteristics of the ferroelectric domain structures in both ceramic and single-crystal BaTiO3, the elimination of domains at the Curie temperature TC, and the salient characteristics of the two low-temperature phase transitions. Perhaps the culmination of this work was the detailed studies of lamella 90° domains by Peter Forsbergh and the gorgeous patterns these could generate. This article also traces the manner in which the early studies contributed to whole industries based on perovskite ferroelectrics. The ceramic capacitor industry is now fabricating sophisticated, cofired multilayer capacitors (MLCs) with up to a thousand 1-µm-thick dielectric layers interleaved with base metal electrodes, addressing a market for some 1013 capacitors per year.

Manufacturers of large piezoelectric transducers depend almost exclusively on perovskite-structure oxide ceramics. Navy sonar systems are major customers, but spinoff has occurred into a wide range of commercial and medical ultrasound systems. The capability of current materials has improved more than tenfold over the original BaTiO3 ceramics as a result of the effective application of molecular engineering, a strong testament to the insight of the founder of this area of study.

This article examines the role that Arthur von Hippel played in magnetism work in the 1950s.Von Hippel understood that the ferrimagnetic insulators represented by the ferrospinels, magnetoplumbites, and ferrogarnets were critical for the high-frequency technology that was being developed after World War II. At the Laboratory for Insulation Research at MIT, he and his students concentrated on the response of these materials to electric and magnetic excitations over a wide frequency range that extended, with gaps, from dc to the ultraviolet. For magnetic studies, he used microwave frequencies to obtain resonance and relaxation data that could be interpreted because the magnetic spins are relatively loosely coupled to their surroundings. He supplemented these resonance studies with classical magnetometer, transport, and x-ray diffraction measurements on single-crystal samples in order to obtain fundamental information that would aid in the design of materials for technical applications.

While Arthur von Hippel did not work directly in semiconductors, his interdisciplinary style introduced a way of doing science in universities that was applied to semiconductors and now is applicable to nanotechnology as well as many other technologically important areas. This article covers the major developments and players in semiconductors from their early discovery and understanding, in the context of von Hippel's seminal development of the interdisciplinary approach to research and its impact on the field.

Arthur von Hippel, a pioneer in the emergence of modern materials science, had a great goal: “the molecular designing of materials and devices.” In this article, I describe how computational materials theory has evolved over the last half century, helping to transform that goal from dream to reality. I start with two great puzzles of the 1950s: why band theory and the nearly free electron picture work. These were resolved by Landau's quasiparticle theory and by pseudopotential theory, respectively.Together with the creation and development of density functional theory, key methodological advances, and the rapid evolution of computer hardware and software, these two insights have resulted in the achievement of the quantitative prediction of the structures and properties of complex materials. Bandgapengineering and design of multilayer multifunctional materials are given as examples of “molecular design.”

This article celebrating Arthur von Hippel's career considers the expanding frontiers in the field of biomaterials, a subject that intrigued him given his interests in the molecular engineering of materials. The interface of materials science and biology started to develop decades ago when synthetic materials were first used to repair parts of the human body. An exciting transformation is now occurring in the field, as advances in biology are used to engineer bioactive materials at the molecular level. The transformation is going further to other frontiers that include the use of sophisticated materials to obtain biological information and learn biology, the creation of materials that imitate biological microstructures and functions, and the manipulation of organisms to create artificial materials.