ACerS 117th Annual Meeting—State of the Society is strong, aimed for future growth

[image above: Kathleen Richardson passes the President’s Gavel—and the ACerS presidency—to Mritunjay Singh. Credit: ACerS]

The American Ceramic Society holds its Annual Membership Meeting, many committee and Division meetings, several award lectures, and the annual awards banquet during the MS&T conference.

President Kathleen Richardson presided over the 117^th Annual Meeting on Monday, October 5, 2015, and provided a “State of the Society” overview and informed the membership of Society activities.

Richardson entered her presidential year with the goal of strengthening existing international partnerships and initiating new ones. “We are working hard to enhance our inclusiveness,” she says, citing outreach and interactions in the last year between ACerS and ceramic societies in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Korea, China, India, and Canada. “Our goal,” she says, “is to support outreach activities that are common to us all.”

Applying the “common to us all” approach to activities within the Society, Richardson reported on improved communication between the Society’s Division leaders, where they are able to share best practices and generate new ideas for collaboration. For example, the relatively new Art, Archaeology, and Conservation Science Division held a workshop in tandem with the Glass and Optical Materials Division Meeting in Miami, Fla., last May. Also, the dormant Whitewares Division transformed into the new Manufacturing Division. “We hope the [Manufacturing] Division will lead cross-cutting programming across all Divisions,” Richardson says.

Lastly, Richardson updated members on the Ceramics and Glass Industry Foundation, which established its Board of Trustees in 2014–15. The CGIF BoT held its first meeting in April 2015 and met again during MS&T15. The BoT set programming priorities for the CGIF, which include building university–industry partnerships, facilitating internships through a new online career center, and outreach activities to elementary and high school audiences.

Treasurer Dan Lease updated the membership on the financial position of the Society. He opened his remarks with “I bring good news!” The Society has earned budget surpluses for five consecutive years, and Lease says 2015 is looking like a “black” year, too. The Society’s asset position is strong, it carries no debt, and is exceeding all of its internal financial control metrics.

With this meeting, the Society presidency transferred to Mritunjay (Jay) Singh, and Richardson passed him the ceremonial ceramic gavel. “It’s really heavy!” a surprised Singh said.

Singh outlined his goals for his presidential year to grow membership, improve volunteer recognition, and evaluate performance against the ACerS strategic plan to ensure future growth and sustainability. “Bright days are ahead, and we will achieve it with all of you,” he said to the members.

The Society recognized its distinguished members and their accomplishments at the annual awards banquet on Monday night, as shown in the photos below.

The technical conference included ACerS prestigious lectures: Orton, Sosman, Rustum Roy, Friedberg, and the Fulrath symposium. The GOMD Cooper symposium also takes place at MS&T. Besides recognizing leaders in ceramic and glass science, these lectures and symposia are outstanding vehicles for highlighting the most intriguing and elegant discoveries in our field.

We look forward to seeing you again next year in Salt Lake City, Utah, for MS&T16 and the 118^th Annual Meeting of The American Ceramic Society!