Glossary
Materials Scientist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential materials scientist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key materials scientist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in materials scientist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Ceramic
- Inorganic hard material.
- Characterization
- Measuring structure and properties.
- Crystal structure
- Ordered atomic arrangement.
- Electrolyte
- Ion conductor in batteries.
- Glove box
- Sealed inert workspace.
- Grant
- Research funding.
- Hypothesis
- Testable prediction.
- Nanomaterial
- Material at nanoscale.
- Peer review
- Expert review of research.
- Polymer
- Chain molecule.
- Protocol
- Study procedure.
- Replication
- Repeating results.
- TEM
- Transmission electron microscope.
- Thin film
- Very thin layer.
- XRD
- X-ray diffraction.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Materials Scientist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Materials Scientist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.