50年代後期，嚴東生與其同事們的研究重點轉向新材料的探索。其中，對高溫氧化物陶瓷的研究，最有成效。如對制造過程中各種因素對氧化物陶瓷的顯微結構與性能之間關系的闡明，為發展氧化物特種陶瓷的生產提供了科學基礎。1960年嚴東生任中國科學院上海矽酸鹽研究所副所長，他結合本國稀土資源特別豐富的特點，指導了兩個科研小組對稀土氧化物與其他高溫氧化物體系進行了十幾個系統的相平衡與結晶化學規律的基礎研究，寫成了“CaF2-La2O3系相平衡研究”、“三價稀土氧化物——氧化鈹系統的研究”、“稀土氧化物——氧化鈦系統的相平衡”等多篇論文，這些成果獲1962年國家自然科學獎。
近10年來，嚴東生的主要研究方向著眼於新型無機復合材料和無機高溫材料等新領域的研究，以改善無機材料的性能，尤其是提高無機材料抗熱沖擊和機械沖擊的性能，發展在更高溫度下使用的若幹類新材料，為節約能源及新壹代材料的應用提供新的材料基礎。與此同時，在他的主持下，壹個以中國科學院上海矽酸鹽研究所為依托的、面向全國的中國科學院高性能陶瓷和超微結構開放實驗室於1988年正式成立了，嚴東生任室主任，重點開展先進陶瓷材料的探索和基礎研究工作。
畢生致力於材料科學研究事業。他在高溫材料制備科學與機理、氮化物與氧化物等系統的熱力學與動力學研究、高性能材料設計與微觀結構控制以及陶瓷基復合材料的研究等諸方面做出了開創性的工作，在高性能無機材料的基礎研究和應用研究方面成就卓著，是中國無機材料科學的奠基人。他是精細陶瓷、納米材料科學等國家重大研究項目的首席科學家，並與國外建立了廣泛的研究合作關系，他領導研制生產的鍺酸鉍(BGO)大單晶被歐洲核子中心選用，其質量、數量與性能均居世界第壹。 1?黃振坤、林祖、嚴東生，Re2O3-TiO2系統的相平衡和晶體化學研究，Re2O3-TiO2(Re=La,Nd,Gd,Ho,Yb)系統的相平衡關系，矽酸鹽學報，1979，7(1)：1～10。
2?D?S?Yan，Progress of Inorganic Materials Research:Structure?Property Relationships of Inorganic Materials Viewed from Different Microstructural Levels，Invited Lecture at the 1978 Annual Meeting of the Chinese Chemical Society,Proceedings of the Chinese Chemical Society,1980.
3?D?S?Yan，Fabrication of Some Ceramic Materials and Their Performance in Energy Conversion Simulation Systems，Proceedings of CIMTEC IV,Saint Vancent,Italy(1979),Published in 1980.
4?D?S?Yan，Studies on the Systems of Rare Earth Sesquioxides?BeO，Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society,April 27～30，1980.
5?D?S?Yan，Structural Model of the Melt in the Systems of Rare Earth Sesquioxides?BeO，Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society,April 27～30，1980.
6?D?S?Yan，Progress of Ceramic Research in the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics，Academia Sinica?Ceramics International,1981,7:111.
7?D?S?Yan，The Application of Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity Measurements in the Study of Microstructure and Phase Transformation of Inorganic Materials，Presented at the 17th International Symposium on Thermal Conductivity,and Published in Its Proceedings,1981.
8?D?S?Yan，The Scientific and Technological Developments in Ancient Chinese Pottery and Porcelain，Presented at the International Conference on Ancient Chinese Pottery and Porcelain,1982(Appears in Its Proceedings).
9?郭景坤、茅誌瓊、嚴東生等，碳纖維增強氮化矽復合材料，材料科學學報，1982，17(12)：3311～3316。
10?D?S?Yan，Introduction to Modern Functional Materials，Science Press,1983.
11?D?S?Yan，Preparation of Some High Purity Ultrafine Non?Oxide Powders，Proceedings of CIMTECV,Ceramic Powder，Elsevier Scientific Pub?Co?,1983，403.
12?T?G?Xi and D?S?Yan,The Relationship of Thermal Conductivity Behavior of Hot?pressed Silicon Nitride with Its Processing and Microstructure,Trans?J?Brit?Ceram?Soc.,1983，82：175～177.
13?D?S?Yan，Phase Equilibrium in the Systems of Rare Earth Sesquioxide?Beryllium Oxide，J?Amer?Ceram?Soc.,1983,66:860.
14?D?S?Yan，Microstructure and Properties of Post?Sintered RBSN Containing YAG as Grain Boundary Phase，Presented at International Symposium on Ceramic Components for Engine,Hakone,Japan,Oct?1983，17～21，(Appeared in the Proceedings),Eds?S?Somiya,et al?,KTK Scien?Publishers,1984，368.
15?溫樹林、馮景偉、嚴東生，α-Si3N4結構缺陷的高分辨電子顯微鏡研究，材料通訊，1984，3(1，2)：15～16。
16?D?S?Yan，An Overview of Chinese Research on Processing,Microstructure and Properties of New Ceramic Materials，Proceedings of the lst Chinese US Seminar on Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic Materials，Eds?T?S?Yen and J?A?Pask?Science Press,1984，1.
17?D?S?Yan，Sintering and Microstructural Features of Some Fine Silicon Nitride Powders by Different Preparatory Methods，Ibid,156.
18?D?S?Yan，Phase Equilibrium Studies in Si2N2O-Containing Systems:I?Phase Relations in the Si2N2O-Al2O3-Y2O3 System，Int?J?High Technology Ceramics，1985,1:119.
19?D?S?Yan，Phase Equilibrium Studies in Si2N2O-Containing Systems:Ⅱ?Phase Relations in the Si2N2O-Al2O3-La2O3 and Si2N2O-Al2O3-CaO Systems，Ibid,1986,2:115.
20?D?S?Yan,Transmission Electron Microscopic Observation of the Martensitic Phase Transformations in Tetragonal ZrO2,J?Am?Cer?Soc?,1986，69：570～572.
21?D?S?Yan，Hot?pressed Silicon Nitride Ceramics with High Fracture Toughness at Elevated Temperatures，Presented at Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Ceramic Materials and Components for Egines,Verlag Deutsche Keramische Gesellscharft,1986,729.
22?D?S?Yan，High Temperature Structural Ceramics Development for Engine in the Chinese Academy of Sciences，Ibid,209.
23?D?S?Yan，Overview of Structural Ceramics Research in the Chinese Academy of Sciences，Presented at Joint China?France Symposium on Materials Research,Shanghai,China，1986.
24?D?S?Yan，High Performance Nitride Materials Research in Chinese Academy of Sciences，Mater?Res?Bull?,1987,22:1249.
25?D?S?Yan，Critical Review and Revision of SiAl-Y-O-N System and Compositional Design of Nitride Ceramics，Presented at US?China Symposium on Advanced Ceramic Materials,NBS,Gaitherburg,Maryland，1987.
26?D?S?Yan，Creep Behavior of Hot?pressed Silicon Nitride Ceramics with Rare Oxides and Alumina Additives，Presented at the International Conference on Electronic Structure and Phase Stability in Advanced Ceramics,Argonne National Lab?,1987.
27?D?S?Yan，Compositional Design of Nitride Ceramics for Advanced Performance，Invited Lecture,MRS International Meeting,Tokyo,May,1988.