The selection of engineering materials is a critical step in engineering design and manufacturing. When done optimally, it improves the overall quality and reliability of the final product and reduces the unexpected costs incurred in the production process. In the recent past, there has a been a proliferation of engineering materials with more superior properties to those used previously. The number is growing exponetially as researchers across the globe discover more robust engineering materials. A robust tool is necessary to capture all these new developments and enable the selection of the best engineering material for different products. This text looks into how this can be done by way of formulating indices that can then be used to screen engineering materials stored in a stadard database with the aim of optimizing the selection process
