text: The field of crystallography, where X-rays are shone through crystals of a solid material, was founded by William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg at the Institute of Physics during and after World War II. Materials science became a major established discipline following the onset of the Silicon Age and Information Age. This led to the development of modern computers and then mobile phones, with the need to make them smaller, faster and more powerful leading to materials science developing smaller and lighter materials capable of dealing with more complex calculations. This in turn enabled computers to be used to solve complex crystallographic calculations and automate crystallography experiments, allowing researchers to design more accurate and powerful techniques. Along with computers and crystallography, the development of laser technology from 1960 onwards led to the development of light-emitting diodes (used in DVD players and smartphones), fibre-optic communication (used in global telecommunications), and confocal microscopy, a key tool in materials science.