Towards Transparent Aluminum

From the Stone Age, to the Bronze Age, to the Iron Age and beyond, it is often said that civilizations are defined by their materials. Today we are on the verge of a new Age, where simulation-based engineering and science will drive the syntheses of new types of materials that are designed - not simply selected - for specific applications. In the future, materials will be made on the spot, when desired, to precise specifications; that is, on demand. As simulators, we control the fate of this new Age of Materials on Demand because it is our tools that will make real-time material design and optimization possible. We discuss design strategies for materials on demand, and introduce new statistical mechanical simulation approaches based on computational alchemy.