International

DLC coatings reduce plowshare friction in soil

By Eileen De Guire / July 6, 2011

DLC coated plowshare (right). Left images show difference between initial test (top) and test of DLC coated tool. Credit: Felizitas Gemetz; Fraunhofer IWM/Martin Höerner; Fraunhofer IWM. The humble plowshare may…

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The business of doing business in the ceramics industry

By Eileen De Guire / June 29, 2011

Participants from the 2010 Ceramic Leadership Summit. Credit: ACerS The Ceramic Leadership Summit is about business – and the unique aspects of doing business in the ceramics industry. ACerS president,…

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Ceramics and glass business news this week

By / June 28, 2011

Here is what we are hearing: Rubicon Technology Malaysian polishing facility earns key endorsements, begins volume production of large-diameter sapphire wafers The company’s new Malaysia facility recently completed qualification of…

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New UK ceramic armor being tested that may cut weight 15-30%

By / June 28, 2011

Hywel Jones with plate made of lightweight ceramic composition. Credit: Richard Hanson. From the United Kingdom comes a story about what is being described as a new, lighter-weight body armor…

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R&D 100 Awards recognize materials innovations

By Eileen De Guire / June 23, 2011

  SRNL microsphere filled with palladium where the top of the microballoon has been removed to view the inside. Source: The Bulletin, Vol. 87, No. 6, p. 26 The R&D…

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Ceramics and glass business news this week

By / June 21, 2011

Swedish company producing low-cost aerogel pellets. Credit Svenska Aerogel. Here’s what we are hearing: NASA gives Ceralink SBIR award for microwave-processed multifunctional polymer matrix composites Ceralink Inc. announced that it has…

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Gaining the competitive edge: economic outlook and the ceramic industry

By Eileen De Guire / June 20, 2011

From CLS 2010: Rodney Lanthorne (Kyocera) , Joel Moskowitz (Ceradyne) and David Morse (Corning) jointly spoke on the topic, “Emerging Business and Technology Opportunities and Challenges for the Ceramics Community.”…

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Rare-earths chess game intensifies with new moves in China, Washington

By / June 16, 2011

Maybe not a zugzwang yet, but rare-earth strategies are getting more complex and riskier. Credit: Wikipedia. It’s been a while since I have addressed strategic materials, but several recent developments…

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Science communications gets fresh (and smart) down under

By / June 13, 2011

Can you explain your research to a coworker? That’s probably fairly easy. How about your spouse? Or your parents? Get’s a little trickier, doesn’t it? But, of course, they know…

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Materials stories that may also be of interest

By / June 10, 2011

Check ‘em out: Three Mercedes-Benz hydrogen cell vehicles have successfully completed their 30,000-kilometer F-CELL World Drive Stealthy chip startup’s technology is a big power play GE combines natural gas, wind and…

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