TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The refractory metal is titanium, group IV-VI transition metal, zirconium, hafnium, tungsten, niobium, molybdenum, chromium, tantalum or vanadium. The metal component is a salt, hydride, carbonyl compound, halide of the refractory metal, particles of the refractory metal, tungsten powder, tantalum powder, titanium hydride, zirconium hydride or hafnium hydride. Preferred Process: Boron and the refractory-metal compound or particles of refractory metal are dispersed in the thermoset. The method further involves placing the precursor mixture into a mold or shaped reactor and heating the precursor mixture in an inert atmosphere or vacuum at a temperature that causes decomposition or reaction of the refractory-metal compound or particles to form refractory-metal nanoparticles to form a metal nanoparticle composition. The heating of precursor mixture causes polymerization of the organic compound to a thermoset. The metal nanoparticle composition is heated in an inert atmosphere, argon, nitrogen, or vacuum at a temperature that causes formation of ceramic comprising nanoparticles of a refractory-metal boride in a carbonaceous matrix and heating the ceramic in an oxygen-containing atmosphere to form an oxide of the refractory metal on the surface of the ceramic. The precursor mixture is heated to 150-600 degrees C and metal nanoparticle composition is heated to 500-1900 degrees C. Preferred Composition: The composition further comprises fibers, carbon fibers, ceramic fibers or metal fibers.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Composition: The organic compound contains only carbon and hydrogen, aromatic and acetylene groups, contains only carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen or oxygen, does not contain oxygen, or contains a heteroatom other than oxygen. Preferred Component: The organic compound is 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(phenylethynyl)benzene or its prepolymer, 4,4'-diethynylbiphenyl, N,N'-(1,4-phenylenedimethylidyne)-bis-(3-ethynylaniline), dianilphthalonitrile, or resorcinol phthalonitrile or its prepolymer.