Selecting materials for en vivo use has moved away from tissue replacement implants to using materials that stimulate the body's own regenerative mechanisms. The two main strategies are in situ tissue regeneration and tissue engineering, both techniques grow cells on bone scaffolds which are directly implanted into the body.

The perception in civil engineering that the use of stainless steels for bridge construction is expensive is changing. In times of high alloy prices duplex steels have become more economically attractive. These newer lean alloys can provide corrosion protection over a wide range of environmental conditions typical of bridge structures.

The 2006 Hopley lecture, described sixty years of mining and mineral processing by the Cavendish Mill plant, in Derbyshire, UK for the recovery of barytes and fluorspar for the coal industry.

The need to recycle may prompt a new approach to the selection of materials used by designers and manufacturers of components in the automotive industry. Legislation such as the New End of Life Vehicles Directive, and the European New Car Assessment Programme are aimed at addressing the safe use of materials in the construction of vehicles for better road safety and identify the best materials for cars.

Planning constraints on architects and planners, designed to minimise the environmental impact from industry from the erection of new buildings, have highlighted the benefits of green roofs. A vegetated rooftop combines layers of aggregate with some organic matter and can promote the growth of plant and wildlife biodiversity.