Müllner publishes on technology’s demand for specialized materials in The Conversation

Peter Müllner, Distinguished Professor in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State University, published an essay in The Conversation on how transformative technologies like automobiles, smartphones and generative artificial intelligence increase demand for specialized materials and reshape societal systems.

In the piece, Müllner explains that as technologies gain wide adoption, they create new infrastructure and behaviors that depend on advanced materials - many of which rely on critical minerals with constrained global supply chains. He notes that early automobiles, made initially from straightforward steel, evolved into modern vehicles composed of multiple specialized alloys to improve performance and efficiency.

Looking ahead, Müllner argues that generative AI and other emerging technologies will accelerate this cycle, creating heightened demand for new materials and intensifying geopolitical competition over mineral resources. He writes that these shifts could influence global power structures and highlight the importance of responsible domestic resource production.

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