Through detailed case studies of the most important advanced material creations of the latter 20th and early 21st century, the author explores the role of the field of advanced materials in the technological and economic activity today, with implications to the innovation process in general.

• A comprehensive study that encompasses the three major categories of advanced material technologies, i.e., Structural Materials (metals and polymers), Functional Materials (transistor, microchip and semiconductor laser) and Hybrid and New Forms of Matter (liquid crystals and nanomaterials).
• Extensive use of primary sources, including unpublished interviews with the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs on the front lines of advanced materials creation
• Original approach to case study narrative, emphasizing interaction between the advanced material process, perceived risk and directing and accelerating breakthrough technology

Dr. Sanford L. Moskowitz is Associate Professor of Global Business at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict (Collegeville, MN). Dr. Moskowitz specializes in the evolution of advanced global technologies and their markets. He is a consultant to global business in the area of innovation and technological development and has delivered key-note presentations on advanced materials and related technologies at academic and professional conferences within the US and internationally. His views on the future of advanced material development have appeared in such publications as The Economist and Wired Magazine. Dr. Moskowitz is the author of The Advanced Materials Revolution: Technology and Economic Growth in the Age of Globalization (2009, John Wiley & Sons). Dr. Moskowitz holds a B.S. in physics from the City College of New York (CCNY) and an M.S., M. Phil. and Ph.D. in economic and business history from Columbia University (New York, N.Y.).