You are browsing the archives of Linda Jones.

We are at MS&T this week and a little busier than usual. We hope to bring back lots of news and information to tell you about. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest.

Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Alfred University’s Center for High-Temperature Characterization Friday afternoon were, from left, Ralph Truitt, division vice resident & research director, Corning, Inc.; Doreen Edwards, dean of the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering at AU; State Senator Catharine Young of Olean; Charles M. Edmondson, AU president; and Linda Jones, vice president for statutory affairs and head of the College of Ceramics at AU. Credit: Alfred University.

Alfred University dedicates center for analyzing materials of the future

Alfred University dedicated a new Center for High-Temperature Characterization of Materials on Oct. 5, that will help researchers analyze new materials and their characteristics, an integral step in development of new products. The center contains five suites of specialized equipment for analyzing materials that are either processed or used at very high temperatures (1300-degrees C). In the past year, the Center for High-Temperature Characterization has helped AU researchers secure about $3 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the Defense Department. Additionally, General Electric has contracted with Alfred University to undertake characterization and analytical work on the new battery materials at a cost of $1.2 million as part of its $2 million project funded by the  New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Besides the research projects, the high-temperature materials characterization center is doing analytical work for New York State companies including Corning Inc., Corning; TAM Ceramics, Niagara Falls; Cummins Engine, Jamestown; Dal-Tile and Cooper Power, Olean; Free Form Fibers, Saratoga Springs; Air Flow Catalyst Systems, Rochester; and Ceragen, Alfred.

Colorado workshop Oct. 18 to explore plans for national network for manufacturing innovation

Boulder, Colo., will be the site of the fourth and final public workshop to gather input on the design of the proposed National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, on Oct. 18, at the Millennium Harvest House Boulder. ”Designing for Impact IV: Workshop on Building the NNMI” is organized by the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, a federal interagency body launched in late 2011 to coordinate federal resources and to promote collaborations addressing key manufacturing technology challenges and opportunities. Area hosts include the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Boulder workshop will be seeking ideas on the technology focus, organization, operation, management, and other topics and activities relating to the proposed network. Advance online registration is now open and will close by Oct. 16. For more information on the workshop and to access the registration site, go to: http://manufacturing.gov/event_101812.html

Felix Baumgartner to attempt record-breaking supersonic freefall Tuesday

On Tuesday morning (Oct. 9), Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner will attempt to break the world record for highest-ever skydive, leaping from a balloon nearly 23 miles above Earth’s surface. If all goes according to plan, Baumgartner will step into the void 120,000 feet (36,576 meters) above southeastern New Mexico early Tuesday, then plummet to Earth in a harrowing freefall that will see him become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. Baumgartner hopes to break a skydiving record that has stood for more than 50 years set by Joe Kittinger (102,800 feet; 31,333 m) back in 1960 while a captain in the USAir Force. If everything works out on Tuesday, Baumgartner will also shatter the marks for fastest freefall, longest-duration freefall and highest manned balloon flight.

Editor’s note: This project has been in the works for awhile. We reported on the design of the special suit that Baumgartner will be using in a CTT last February.

A clock that will last forever

A device known as a “space-time crystal,” a four-dimensional crystal that has periodic structure in time as well as space may keep perfect time forever, even after the heat-death of the universe. However, there are also practical and important scientific reasons for constructing a space-time crystal. With such a 4D crystal, scientists would have a new and more effective means by which to study how complex physical properties and behaviors emerge from the collective interactions of large numbers of individual particles, the so-called many-body problem of physics. A space-time crystal could also be used to study phenomena in the quantum world, such as entanglement, in which an action on one particle impacts another particle even if the two particles are separated by vast distances. A space-time crystal, however, has only existed as a concept in the minds of theoretical scientists with no serious idea as to how to actually build one—until now. An international team of scientists led by researchers with the Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has proposed the experimental design of a space-time crystal based on an electric-field ion trap and the Coulomb repulsion of particles that carry the same electrical charge.

Share

Getting a sneak preview of the displays at the soon-to-be dedicated Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics are Kate Wilkins and Susan Kowalczyk. Credit: Alfred Univ.

Recently I’ve covered a few stories related to exhibitions on technical ceramics (e.g., here and here), but these have been about exhibits that are part of much larger ceramic and glass art museums. But, today’s story is about a museum fully dedicated to the science and engineering aspects of ceramics.

Alfred University representatives have announced that they will be holding an official dedication ceremony May 10 for the Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics, in Alfred, N.Y., that will serve as the main showcase for ceramic research and technologies.

Inamori

(First, some semantics housekeeping: Some international ceramists, especially the Japanese, use the term “Fine Ceramics” as interchangeable with “High Tech Ceramics.” Obviously, this gets confusing because many North American and Europeans also use the term “Fine China” to refer to a high quality of ceramic dinnerware. But, the “Fine Ceramics” reference in the museum’s title is made in deference to the namesake, Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corp. — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-tech ceramics — and a long-time supporter of Alfred’s programs.)

The dedication ceremony will be at 12:30 p.m. on May 10, in Binns-Merrill Hall on the AU campus.  The event is open to the public, and Inamori, himself, will be on hand for the dedication.

In an AU news release, the university’s president, Charles M. Edmondson, says the school is very honored to have Inamori at the event. “Dr. Inamori has been a valued friend to the University and in particular to our School of Engineering, so we are delighted he will be here as we dedicate this museum in his honor,” notes Edmondson.

Edmonson goes on to say that the museum “will play an important role in educating young people about the vital role of ceramics in the future economy — in areas ranging from information technology to medical devices, diagnostic systems, industrial equipment, renewable energy and environmental preservation.”

On the morning of the dedication, AU is holding a special symposium, ”Ceramics: Past, Present and Future,” organized in Inamori’s honor. The symposium will start at 9 a.m. on May 10 in the Nevins Theater located in the Powell Campus Center, and is open to the public, free of charge. (If you are planning to attend, AU asks that you email Marlene Wightman, director of continuing education, at Wightman@alfred.edu or to call her at 607-871-2425.

Inamori is expected to speak as part of the symposium. He will be joined by ACerS President Marina Pascucci, a 1977 AU alumna and president of CeraNova in Marlborough, Mass.; Terry Michalske (’75), director of the Savannah River National Lab; and Gary Messing (’73), head of the materials science and engineering department at Pennsylvania State University. Also among the speakers is Linda Jones, associate vice president and head of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, who is an ACerS Fellow and a member of its board of directors.

The museum will offer information on ceramic materials and applications, including historical developments, technical breakthroughs and examples of how ceramics have become ubiquitous as enabling technology in everything from electronics to more specialized applications like fuel cells, solar panels and biomedical implants.

AU is also opening the Discovery Lab next to the Inamori Museum. School officials say the lab will be AU’s center for outreach activities involving students (and their teachers) from kindergarten through 12th grade. University faculty members are developing educational programming, including demonstrations and hand-on activities.

Doreen Edwards, dean of the school of engineering, says she anticipates visitors will include specialists and scientists. “People who are involved in the manufacture of ceramics and related technologies will find this of interest, but there is also plenty to draw the general public,” she says.

The artistic side of ceramics is not totally left out of the picture. The university notes that its Schein-Joseph Museum of Ceramics has an extensive collection of ceramic art and is located adjacent to the new museum in Binns-Merrill Hall. “This is an absolute reflection of the College of Ceramics that joins both the School of Art & Design and the Inamori School of Engineering,” says AU’s Linda Jones. “From the inception of the College, it was recognized that creativity and technical understanding are essential to address the challenges of our time.”

AU recalls that Inamori’s relationship with Alfred University dates back to the 1980s. The school awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1988, recognizing his leadership in the field of advanced ceramic materials.  He created Alfred University’s Inamori Scholarships, which assist deserving students studying art or engineering.

Share

Alfred University today announced that Linda Jones, a ceramics professor we recently featured in one of our videos, will be the new chief administrative officer of the university’s College of Ceramics.

Jones, currently the director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, will join the staff at Alfred University as associate vice president for Statutory Affairs beginning July 1. Alfred is part of the New York state university system. Jones becomes the first woman to head the College of Ceramics in its 110-year history.

Jones earned her bachelor’s degree at Mary Washington University, and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in fuel science at Penn State.

The selection of Jones allows her to return to Alfred where she taught ceramic engineering for 14 years before going to Smith.

It will be interesting to see what imprint Jones makes on the college. Her responsibilities will include both the School of Art & Design and the materials programs in the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering. I know that she is a strong advocate for cross-collaborative education and research approaches. She certainly changed Smith. Through her leadership in the Picker program, she was able to push a liberal arts, all-women campus into a top-20 engineering program. Really terrific stuff!

Jones is a Fellow of The American Ceramic Society and serves on its board of directors. In fairness, I should also disclose that she serves on an ACerS board that advises my department on its work. Having said that, my experience is that Jones is a engaging, thoughtful personality who coincidentally does great academic work in the area of high-temperature, corrosion-resistent ceramic and glass materials.

At the risk of tooting my own horn, the video I link to above gives a good sense of what great personal and intellectual assets Jones will be bringing to Alfred.

Share

(Either JavaScript is not active or you are using an old version of Adobe Flash Player. Please install the newest Flash Player.)

ACerS Fellow Linda Jones is the Hewlett Professor of Engineering at Smith College. Through much of her career, Jones has focused on how materials behave when exposed to oxygen and other gases under conditions of high temperatures and high levels of vibrations, such as might be found on the leading-edge surfaces of the Space Shuttle. Jones, who is director of Smith’s Picker Engineering Program, explains how oxidation occurs and how ceramics can behave differently than glass. She also discusses how this area of work requires combining the insights from both thermodynamics and kinetics to develop corrosion- and oxidation-resistant materials.

6 minutes.

Share