Society/Division/Section/Chapter News

For more information: ceramics.org

Welcome new ACerS Corporate Partners

ACerS is pleased to welcome its newest Corporate Partners: XX.

To learn about the benefits of ACerS Corporate Partnership, contact Marcus Fish, director of development and industry relations, at 614-794-5863 or mfish@ceramics.org.

Dayton/Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Section and the University of Cincinnati host talk by Raj Singh

In collaboration with ACerS Dayton/Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Section, the University of Cincinnati arranged for FACerS Raj Singh to give a talk to students in the materials science and engineering program.

During the talk on Oct. 6, 2023, which was titled “Perspective on diamond as a wide band gap material for quantum devices and applications,” Singh shed light on current advancements in wide band gap electronic materials for use in quantum devices. He also provided invaluable insights into the potential applications of ceramic matrix composites within the aerospace industry.

Dayton/Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Section and the University of Cincinnati host talk by Raj Singh

In collaboration with ACerS Dayton/Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Section, the University of Cincinnati arranged for FACerS Raj Singh to give a talk to students in the materials science and engineering program.

During the talk on Oct. 6, 2023, which was titled “Perspective on diamond as a wide band gap material for quantum devices and applications,” Singh shed light on current advancements in wide band gap electronic materials for use in quantum devices. He also provided invaluable insights into the potential applications of ceramic matrix composites within the aerospace industry.

New Mexico Section sponsors 33^rd Rio Grande Symposium on Advanced Materials

The 33^rd Rio Grande Symposium on Advanced Materials was held on Oct. 23, 2023, at the Clyde Hotel in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than 130 scientists and engineers attended the symposium. Several members of ACerS New Mexico Section helped with organizing and sponsoring the event.

Ramana G. Reddy of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, delivered the Kreidl Memorial Lecture, titled “Innovative approaches in decarbonizing metals production.” Several students, technologists, and postdocs were recognized with best presentation and poster awards at the end of the symposium.

New Mexico Section sponsors 33^rd Rio Grande Symposium on Advanced Materials

The 33^rd Rio Grande Symposium on Advanced Materials was held on Oct. 23, 2023, at the Clyde Hotel in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than 130 scientists and engineers attended the symposium. Several members of ACerS New Mexico Section helped with organizing and sponsoring the event.

Ramana G. Reddy of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, delivered the Kreidl Memorial Lecture, titled “Innovative approaches in decarbonizing metals production.” Several students, technologists, and postdocs were recognized with best presentation and poster awards at the end of the symposium.

ACerS International Spain Chapter hosts workshop on vitreous and ceramic materials for high-technology applications

The ACerS International Spain Chapter hosted a workshop on vitreous and ceramic materials for high-technology applications on Oct. 26, 2023, at the University of Sevilla, Spain. About 25 people attended the workshop.

The workshop started with welcoming words by ACerS International Spain Chapter chair Arnaldo Moreno, followed by eight lectures. Topics covered in the talks included residual stresses in electrolytes for protonic conductive fuel cells, flash sintering of ceramic materials, graphene-based structures in zirconia ceramics, zirconia graphene composites for solid oxide fuel cell components, and lead-free low melting point glasses for structural and functional uses.

Speakers came from various centers linked to the Spanish National Research Council, such as the Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology Research Center, the Materials Science Institute of Madrid, and the Materials Science Institute of Sevilla. Other speakers were members of the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Sevilla, the Institute of Materials at the University of Santiago de Compostela, the University of Lyon INSA Lyon (France), and the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of Punjab Engineering College (India).

ACerS International Germany Chapter hosts guest speaker from India

On Oct. 19, 2023, ACerS International Germany Chapter, in cooperation with the MRS Chapter Cologne, welcomed Rajiv Prakash from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhilai. His visit started with a lab tour followed by a networking session with students, from bachelor’s level through Ph.D. The students asked Prakash questions about his career path and what advice he could offer them for their lives over coffee and tea. Afterward, Prakash gave a lecture in which he talked about campus life at IIT Bhilai and his own research topics, including electronic polymers, nanocomposites, organic electronics, sensors, and energy storage devices. The lecture closed with a Q&A session.

Volunteer spotlight

ACerS Volunteer Spotlight profiles a member who demonstrates outstanding service to the Society.

Krista Carlson is associate professor of chemical and materials engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She received a B.S. in glass engineering science and Ph.D. in glass science from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Carlson works primarily on developing materials and processes to deal with the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle and waste generated from the nation’s nuclear weapons program. As a lover of water in all forms, she has also focused her efforts on understanding the role of suboxide and disordered phases on the electrochemical behavior of titanium oxide electrodes for water purification.

Last year, Carlson served as chair of the Energy Materials & Systems Division (EMSD) and co-chair of the Education and Professional Development Council. She is currently the faculty advisor for the Material Advantage student chapter at UNR.

Carlson was recently recognized as a Global Ambassador for her work with EMSD and for being a co-lead organizer for MCARE 2023.

Arnaldo Moreno is full professor of chemical engineering at Jaume I University in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. He received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from that university as well.

Moreno is a member of the Institute of Ceramic Technology at Jaume I University, where he studies sinter-crystallization of ceramic glazes and bodies.

Morena has been an ACerS member since 1995. He is affiliated with the Engineering Ceramics Division and is currently chair of the ACerS International Spain Chapter, a position he has held since 2019.

We extend our deep appreciation to Carlson and Moreno for their service to our Society!

Names in the news

Members—Would you like to be included in the Bulletin’s Names in the News? Please send a current head shot along with the link to the article to mmartin@ceramics.org. The deadline is the 30^th of each month.

Babak Anasori, professor of materials engineering and mechanical engineering at Purdue University, was ranked as the #1 scholar in mechanical engineering in the U.S. and #7 in the world according to a new ScholarGPS analysis that evaluated scholar impact based on publications in the past five years.

Michel Barsoum, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University, was ranked as the #1 scholar in materials science and #124 for all research disciplines worldwide in 2022 according to an October 2023 Elsevier report titled “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators.”

Manoj Choudhary, adjunct professor of materials science and engineering at The Ohio State University, received several honors in 2023. He gave the Varshneya Frontiers of Glass Technology Lecture during the 2023 Glass & Optical Materials Division meeting in June, the M. G. Bhagat Lecture at the Indian Ceramic Society meeting in December, and was made a member of the World Academy of Ceramics.

In Memoriam

• Charles Robert

Some detailed obituaries can also be found on the ACerS website.

Remembering ACerS past president John B. “Jack” Wachtman, Jr.

The American Ceramic Society has lost an esteemed member—John B. “Jack” Wachtman died on Dec. 13, 2023, at the age of 94. He is predeceased by his wife, Edith V. Wachtman.

Wachtman grew up in the small town of Conway, S.C., where he attended public schools. During his early school years, Wachtman was influenced by the discovery of geometry, algebra, and physics. He applied for and received a scholarship from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Wachtman received B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics from Carnegie Tech and was a research and teaching assistant there from 1949–1951. Wachtman stated in his memoir that “my time at Carnegie was perhaps the highlight of my life. I loved the intellectual life and companionship of the students. The curriculum was designed to give scientists and engineers some degree of liberal arts education to the extent that this was possible.”

Wachtman joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST]) in 1951 as a physicist in the Engineering Ceramics Division. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland in 1961.

Wachtman left NBS in 1983 and began a second career as the first director of the Center for Ceramic Research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick. During his 12 years at Rutgers, Wachtman taught courses on characterization and mechanical properties of ceramics intended for seniors and incoming graduate students.

After retiring from Rutgers, Wachtman wrote books based on the courses he taught. One of these books, Mechanical properties of ceramics, was published in 1996; a revised, second edition that was co-authored with his Rutgers colleagues Roger Cannon and John Matthewson published in 2009. These books were well received, with the first book selling 500 copies in the first six months. According to George Quinn (retired, NIST), these books are by far the best and most balanced textbooks on the topic.

In 1989, Wachtman took on the part-time role as technical editor for ACerS publications, a position he held for 12 years. During this time, his principal focus was on Journal of the American Ceramic Society. In his final year as editor, he, along with ACerS staff, succeeded in putting JACerS online with a subscription system. According to Mark Mecklenborg, ACerS executive director, “Having Dr. Wachtman involved in this process was essential. His knowledge, expertise, and commitment to the Society positioned the journal for success for many years to come.”

One of Wachtman’s final contributions to ACerS was editing the book Ceramic innovations in the 20th century. This book, published in 1999, coincided with the 100th anniversary of the founding of ACerS.

Wachtman collected a multitude of honors from various organizations, including NBS. In his memoir, Wachtman mentioned that the most meaningful honor to him was the election to the International Academy of Ceramics in 1988, as well as serving as president of The American Ceramic Society (1978) and the Federation of Materials Societies (1975). He was a Distinguished Life Member and an ACerS Fellow.

Wachtman was such an inspiration to so many people that it is fitting he ends his memoir with this closing quotation by polymath Albert Schweitzer: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lit the flame within us.”

Editor’s notes:
ACerS appreciates NIST Library for sharing the “Oral history interview of John B. Wachtman,” Feb. 4, 2010, and Wachtman’s 24-page “Memories and reflections on a career as a scientist-engineer in research management, teaching, and editing,” 2009, revised 2010.

Wachtman also featured in the December 1999 Ceramic Bulletin (Vol. 78, No. 12), pp. 36–41, “Profiles in ceramics” by Kathy Woodward.

Adrian C. Wright, Distinguished Life Member, 1944–2023

Adrian Carl Wright, ACerS Distinguished Life Member and ACerS Fellow, died on March 22, 2023, at the age of 79. Wright, who dedicated his research career to understanding glass structure, was a member of the Glass & Optical Materials Division and also active in the Society for Glass Technology, where he served as the 49th president from 2002–2004.

Wright was professor of amorphous solid-state physics at the University of Reading, U.K. He earned his B.Sc. in chemistry, Ph.D. in physical chemistry, and D.Sc. degrees from the University of Bristol, U.K. After completing his Ph.D. studies, he took a position in 1969 at the University of Reading, where he remained until his retirement as professor emeritus in 2007.

He spent three sabbatical years in the United States working at leading institutions, including Xerox Palo Alto Research Center; Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory; Argonne National Laboratory; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Florida; and New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Wright pioneered use of neutron scattering and modeling studies to understand the structure and dynamics of a wide range of inorganic glasses and other amorphous solids, including silicate, borate, borosilicate, phosphate, chalcogenide, and fluoroberyllate glasses. He had more than 200 publications in the scientific literature, and he sat on the editorial boards of Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids and Fizika i Khimiya Stekla (Soviet/Russian Journal of Glass Physics and Chemistry).

Wright received several prestigious awards, including Fellow in 1995 of both ACerS and the Society of Glass Technology. In 1990, he shared the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London Award, and in 1996, he received the ACerS Glass &

Optical Materials Division George W. Morey Award for his establishment of the field of amorphography. He presented the 2006 Samuel R. Scholes Lecture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology in 2009.

Most recently, he shared the 2012 Otto Schott Research Award for “his lifelong outstanding scholarly work devoted to the experimental study of glass structure in general.” In 2014, he presented the ACerS Edward Orton Jr. Memorial Lecture, titled “My borate life: An enigmatic journey,” at ACerS Annual Meeting at MS&T in Pittsburgh, Pa. He served on the Steering Committee and Council of the International Commission on Glass. In 2016, he was designated an ACerS Distinguished Life Member.

“He was the consummate scientist and had many original ideas. He was productive until the end of his life,” says colleague Steve Feller, B.D. Silliman Professor of Physics at Coe College, Iowa.

Awards and Deadlines

For more information: ceramics.org/members/awards

Last call for 2024 award nominations

Nominations for several Division awards are due in January 2024. Nominations are encouraged for deserving candidates from groups that have been underrepresented in ACerS awards relative to their participation in the Society, including women, underrepresented minorities, industry scientists and engineers, and international members. For more information, visit www.ceramics.org/awards or contact Vicki Evans.

Announcing: The David W. Richerson Educational Outreach Award

The American Ceramic Society has a new award to recognize undergraduate or graduate students in the ceramic and glass materials community who have made a significant impact in outreach to primary and secondary school students. The David W. Richerson Educational Outreach Award was established through a gift from David W. Richerson, Richerson & Associates. Richerson is an early pioneer in the development of high-strength silicon nitride, introducing grain boundary engineering and the use of fracture surface analysis to improve materials.

The award will be given annually at the ACerS Annual Meeting Awards Banquet to honor up to two ACerS student members who have demonstrated exceptional efforts in educational outreach. Recipients will receive a certificate, a $2,000 award honorarium, and a registration waiver to attend ACerS Annual Meeting. The nomination deadline is March 1, 2024.

For more information, visit www.ceramics.org/awards or contact Erica Zimmerman.

Society awards: Nominations due March 1, 2024

Contact: Erica Zimmerman

Society awards will be presented at the Annual Awards Banquet during ACerS Annual Meeting at MS&T in October 2024.

ICACC 2023 best poster winners announced

The Engineering Ceramics Division announced the winners for best posters at ICACC 2023, which was held last January in Daytona Beach, Florida. The awards will be presented during the plenary session at ICACC 2024. Congratulations to the authors of these award-winning posters!

First place

• Magnetic field-assisted chemical vapor deposition of MgFe₂O₄ films for photoelectrochemical water splitting—by Ziyaad Aytuna, H. Lee, A. Bhardwaj, M. Wilhelm, B. May, D. Müller, K. Lê, and S. Mathur; University of Cologne, Germany

Second place

• Ammonolysis and sintering of complex nitride compounds—by Shannon Rose Rogers, G. Brennecka, E. Toberer, and R. Smaha; Colorado School of Mines

Third place

• Lead-free (1–x)BaZr_0.08Ti_0.92O₃–(x)CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposite obtained by SPS—by Laís Pacheco Caminata, J. A. Eiras, and R. H. Kiminami; Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil

Trustee awards

• The effect of BN coating layer thickness for LSI processed SiC/SiC composites—by Seyoung Kim, I. Han, H. Bang, S. Kim, Y. Seong, S. Lee; Korea Institute of Energy Research, Republic of Korea
• Chemical imaging of Li-rich disordered rocksalt-type vanadium oxide particles using hard X-ray spectroscopic ptychography—by Hideshi Uematsu, N. Ishiguro, M. Abe, S. Takazawa, J. Kang, I. Konuma, N. Yabuuchi, Y. Takahashi; Tohoku University, Japan
• Influence of weathered polyethylene terephthalate on performance of cement–polymer composites—by Rachel Elizabeth Cook, S. Jhang, A. Newman, L. Sung; National Institute of Standards and Technology, Maryland

Class and Division awards: Nominations due Jan. 15, 21, 31 or March 1, 2024

Contact: Vicki Evans

2022–2023 Global Ambassador awardees

The Global Ambassador Program recognizes dedicated ACerS volunteers worldwide who demonstrate exceptional leadership and/or service that benefits the Society, its members, and the global ceramics and glass community.

ACerS past president Sanjay Mathur (2022–2023) selected the following volunteers for the Global Ambassador Award:

• Krista Carlson; University of Reno, USA
• Gustavo Costa; NASA Glenn Research Center, USA
• Bai Cui; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
• Nobuhito Imanka; Osaka University, Japan
• Emanuel Ionescu; Fraunhofer IWKS, Germany
• Do-Heyoung Kim; Chonnam National University, Republic of Korea
• Kwang Ho Kim; Pusan National University, Republic of Korea
• Ravi Kumar; Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Germany
• C.D. Madhusoodana; Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, India
• Yogendra Kumar Mishra; Sonderborg University, Denmark
• Ahsan Ul Haq Qurashi; Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE
• Prabhakar Singh; Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi, India
• Ender Suvaci; Eskisehir Technical University, Turkey
• Jenny Wang; AdValue, USA
• Gunnar Westin; Uppsala University, Sweden

Nominations for Division Awards

• Deadline: Nomination deadlines for Division awards are XXX
• Contact: Karen McCurdy

Nominations for Society Awards

• Deadline: Nomination deadline is XXX
• Contact: Email Erica Zimmerman or call 614.794.5821.

Students and Outreach

For more information: ceramics.org/resources-for-students

Associate Membership

Find out how you can expand your knowledge and gain valuable connections by visiting ceramics.org/associate.

Did you just graduate, or are you new to the materials science field? ACerS can help you succeed by offering you a FREE one-year Associate membership. Your second year of Associate membership is only $40. Associate membership is available to those who have not previously had ACerS Individual membership.

ACerS Associate members enjoy these benefits:

• Leadership opportunities for young professionals
• Networking events with future collaborators
• Access to ACerS Career Center

Visit www.ceramics.org/associate to learn more and to sign up for your free Associate membership.

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CGIF hosts Teacher Training Workshop as Colorado School of Mines launches new ceramic engineering degree

The teachers pause to don a pair of paper solar glasses and file outside just in time to see the 2023 annular solar eclipse, visible in parts of North America on Saturday, Oct. 14. Slices of the sun can be seen in the shadows as the teachers gaze up at the rare sighting. The event only added to the excitement of the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation’s (CGIF) Teacher Training Workshop at Colorado School of Mines.

CGIF spent the day with local Colorado science teachers at this Teacher Training Workshop to equip them with the knowledge and tools to inspire the next generation of ceramic and glass professionals.

The day-long workshop, which took place on the Colorado School of Mines campus, allowed CGIF to train teachers from the Denver area using the nine hands-on lessons from the CGIF Materials Science Classroom Kit. The workshop was also generously sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, Direxa Engineering, and Deltech Furnaces.

In addition to graduate students and professors from Colorado School of Mines, local ceramic and glass industry professionals from Ardagh Glass and Johns Manville attended the event to network with the teachers at an industry luncheon.

The goal of the industry luncheon is for teachers to learn more about the diverse careers available in the ceramic and glass industries so that they can guide their students toward a career in materials science, or even guide them toward the new bachelor’s in ceramic engineering that launched in fall 2023 at Colorado School of Mines.

“It was a fantastic day of materials science learning for the teachers,” says Marcus Fish, director of development and industry relations at the CGIF. “It was so great to bring our teacher workshop to Mines with a new group of teachers to learn about materials science, especially with the new ceramic engineering undergraduate degree launching at Mines. This workshop will give teachers a firsthand view of an opportunity for their students to pursue a degree in ceramic engineering at one of the country’s leading programs in materials science.”

Throughout the day, the teachers followed a peer learning model, in which they first learned how to teach one of the lessons from the Materials Science Classroom Kit and then taught the lesson to their fellow teachers. Each teacher received a free kit to use in their own classroom.

The teachers also received a career packet that connects the CGIF Materials Science Classroom Kit lessons to real-life careers related to materials science and engineering, helping to further solidify the connection between materials science and the real world.

Want to see a Teacher Training Workshop near you? Visit ceramics.org/donate to help CGIF continue to bring this program nationwide.