Presents an overview of the teaching of plastics at various levels of technological education in the Netherlands focusing on mechanical engineering. Highlights the design process and discusses the Dutch perspective of the role of materials engineering in engineering curricula. (ML)

Reviews the scope and dimensions of engineering new surface technologies. Focuses specifically on thermochemical treatments. Identifies the more widely used thermochemical treatments and describes the nitrocarburising and bonding treatments in particular. (ML)

Presents a rationale for the teaching of materials in engineering degree courses. Reviews the requirements established by various professional engineering bodies in the United Kingdom for accredited engineering degree courses. Discusses the aims of the course as well as instructional concerns. (ML)

Discusses some of the federal and state engineering research initiatives that have been launched in recent years, including the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Centers. Proposes that the status of the United States' competitiveness may depend on how well we manage this process as much as on the resulting technologies themselves.…