Rapid implementation of new materials into engineering systems may require a paradigm shift in our approach to materials research. One option is to obtain fundamental material properties from experimental systems that can also serve as devices. This concept is applied to the measurement of Young's modulus of a novel ceramic, a polymer-derived silicon carbonitride (SiCN), directly from the performance of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device. The device is an electrostatic actuator. The flexure resistance of the arms of the actuator is measured and analyzed for the elastic modulus of SiCN. The comparison between theory and experiment yields a value for Young's modulus in the range 130-155 GPa.