ACerS celebrates 125 years during Annual Meeting at MS&T23

ACerS celebrated its global history during its 125^th Annual Meeting at the 2023 Materials Science & Technology technical meeting and exhibition, held October 1–4 in Columbus, Ohio.

“Being able to celebrate 125 years of ACerS with so many members, both domestic and international, in the Society’s hometown was a gratifying experience,” says Mark Mecklenborg, ACerS executive director. “We look forward to continuing the growth of our global impact and strengthening our engagement with our international members and other materials societies.”

Below are highlights from ACerS 125^th Annual Meeting at MS&T23.

ACerS announces launch of ACerS International branding

In recognition of ACerS’ significant global membership, outgoing ACerS president Sanjay Mathur announced a new branding initiative during the Annual Business Meeting on Monday, Oct. 2.

The new brand extension, ACerS International, will be used to increase awareness of how ACerS serves the scientific and technological needs of the global ceramic and glass community outside the United States. International activities and collaborations will feature the ACerS International logo, as well as ACerS International Chapters.

More information about the new ACerS International branding initiative can be found on the ACerS website at https://ceramics.org/acers-international.

In the same vein as the new ACerS International brand, incoming ACerS president Rajendra Bordia said that he plans to focus on enhancing the value of membership during his year in office.

Award lectures imagine a technology-driven, sustainable world

The increasing frequency and severity of both natural and anthropogenic hazards has intensified the urgency to develop new technologies and processes that reduce our environmental impact. Many of the award talks at this year’s Annual Meeting highlighted some of the ways that ceramic and glass scientists can help society embrace sustainability.

The award talks started on Monday morning with the Arthur L. Friedberg Ceramic Engineering Tutorial and Lecture, given by University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Kathy Lu. She described the maturation of polymer-derived ceramic technology, which allows for difficult-to-synthesize ceramics to be created using far less energy than traditional methods.

On Tuesday morning, Clemson University professor Kyle Brinkman delivered the biannual Navrotsky Award for Experimental Thermodynamics of Solids lecture on the potential of crystalline hollandite materials as a nuclear waste form, in contrast to today’s common glassy waste forms. This year’s Cooper Scholar recipient, student John Bussey of Washington State University, also talked about cleanup of nuclear waste, specifically salt formation and detection in nuclear waste glasses.

University of Jena professor Lothar Wondraczek delivered the Cooper Session Distinguished Lecture on the atomic structure and properties of some emerging glass systems, which have potential for application in gas separation and solid electrolytes, among other devices.

On Tuesday afternoon, University of Tennessee Knoxville Weston Fulton Professor Sergei V. Kalinin delivered the Edward Orton Jr. Memorial Lecture on the “rise of autonomous science.” He discussed how artificial intelligence-based computational and analysis techniques can accelerate the development of materials discovery while reducing the need for trial-and-error experiments.

Also on Tuesday afternoon, Ohio Aerospace Institute chief scientist Mrityunjay Singh delivered the Rustum Roy Lecture on additive manufacturing, which may also help preserve resources during manufacturing.

On Wednesday afternoon, Carnegie Mellon University Teddy and Wilton Hawkins Distinguished Professor Elizabeth Dickey delivered the Robert B. Sosman Lecture on using defects to improve the functionality of electronic ceramics.

Additionally, new this year, the Bioceramics Division organized an awards session.

CGIF launches new IGNITE MSE program for students

In addition to the usual student programming, the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation launched a new program called IGNITE MSE. This program, which focuses on professional development and career exploration for undergraduate and graduate students, will run in conjunction with select conferences affiliated with ACerS.

The debut of IGNITE MSE at MS&T23 involved a professional development symposium on Monday morning, followed by a career panel luncheon and a meet-and-greet event in the ACerS lounge. Featured IGNITE MSE posters appeared during the larger poster session on Tuesday, and a hot glass and networking reception took place at Glass Axis (Columbus, Ohio) on Wednesday evening.

Networking events and ACerS 125-year Afterglow celebration

The Annual Meeting offered numerous networking opportunities, including the Diversity in Science reception and LGBTQ+ and Allies Networking Mixer, both on Sunday night.

On Monday evening, following ACerS Annual Honor and Awards Banquet, the Society held an Afterglow reception to celebrate ACerS’ 125 years. The event featured a magician and dueling pianists.

Visit the ACerS Flickr page for more photos from ACerS Annual Meeting at MS&T23.

ACerS 126^th Annual Meeting at MS&T24 will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Oct. 6–10, 2024.

SIDEBAR

ACerS students tour Owens Corning plant during MS&T 2023

As the sun rose on the final day of ACerS Annual Meeting at MS&T23, 11 undergraduate and graduate students boarded a bus to Newark, Ohio, home to the Owens Corning Newark fiberglass plant and the destination of this year’s ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors plant tour.

Upon arriving at the facility, students were greeted by Clayton Smith and Moeed Andrabi, the tour guides for the day and members of the human resources staff at the Newark facility. After the mandatory safety seminar, students were fitted with personal protective equipment before setting off to the factory floor.

Two factories comprise the Newark plant: the wool factory and the pipe factory. The tour began in the wool factory, which is responsible for manufacturing fiberglass insulation for both interior and exterior uses. The next stop—the pipe factory—is where the fiberglass mats are then rolled into various diameters to fit over piping.

The students were joined for lunch by team members from different divisions within the Newark plant, who talked to them about career and leadership roles within Owens Corning and Newark’s push for automation and sustainability.