WASHINGTON -- The National Materials and Manufacturing Board has named veteran electronics materials scientist Dr. Jennie Hwang to its committee.

Part of the National Academy of Sciences, the NMMB is a new entity formed in recognition of the increasing importance of materials and manufacturing. It combines the charges of two preexisting boards: the National Materials Advisory Board and the Board on Manufacturing and Engineering Design. Its mission is to provide objective, independent assessments of the current state of materials, devices and manufacturing and the applications of new and existing materials and devices in innovative ways, including global supply chains and national security, real-time detection of damage to materials in aerospace applications and of threat agents, integrated computational materials engineering, and management of existing US materials resources.

Under the sponsorship the US Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, and the National Science Foundation, NMMB is responsible for the strategic planning, program development, and administrative oversight of studies and other activities.

The committee is made up primarily of leading academics and scientists with backgrounds in high-reliability materials as such places as at TRW and GE Aviation.

Dr. Hwang holds eight patents and has been a leading materials scientist for 30 years. Some other members of the committee include Dr. Carol Handwerker of Purdue University and Dr. Bob Pfahl of iNEMI.