Advanced materials innovation : an overview -- Advanced casting technology : ultra-thin steel and the microalloys -- High-pressure technology and Dupont's synthetic fibers revolution -- Low-temperature (interfacial) polymerization : Dupont's specialty fibers vs. General Electric's polycarbonate revolution -- Fluidization I : from advanced fuels to the polysilicones -- Fluidization II : the polyethylenes, the unipol process, and the metallocene polymers -- The metal-on-silicon (MOS) process : the rise of the integrated circuit -- The silicon gate process : the memory chip and the microprocessor -- The epitaxial process I : Bell Labs and the semiconductor laser -- The epitaxial process II : IBM and the silicon-germanium chip -- Product-oriented materials I : liquid crystals and small LC displays -- the electronic calculator and the digital watch -- Product-oriented materials II : liquid crystals, thin-film transistors and large LC displays -- flat screen televisions and personal computers -- Nanomaterials : the promise and the challenge