The efforts of the materials community can be characterized as the study of the relationship of processing, structure, properties and performance, as schematically illustrated in Figure 1. Added, in parentheses, are quantities of importance when these ideas are applied to ultrasonic NDE. It would be highly desirable if one could start from models of processes such as rolling, casting and extrusion; predict the microstructural features produced, such as grain size or shape, texture (preferred grain orientation), or the two-point correlation of elastic constants (to be discussed later); predict the resulting ultrasonic properties such as velocity v, attenuation a and backscattering coefficient η; and ultimately determine the inspectability of the part. Such a capability would allow NDE to be considered explicitly during the selection of material processing procedures.