The winter wallop that paralyzed much of the South and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States arrived in Daytona Beach this week in the form of a windy, cold, blustery few days. In other words, perfect weather for staying inside and focusing on science.
Sujanto Widjaja, chair of the Engineering Ceramics Division, says this year’s ICACC attracted participants from 42 countries and “provided an environment for learning and exchanging ideas, and for developing new collaborations.” He said student participation was up, too. “This year we’ve seen more young people than we’ve seen before. Professors are bringing more of their students, and those students are not just attending, but contributing with presentations and posters.”
The conference exhibition is always a highlight of the conference, and more than fifty exhibitors welcomed attendees to the Ocean Center arena. According to Widjaja, the exhibition is an important aspect to the conference, “Exhibitors return year after year for the opportunity to introduce their products and service solutions to new potential customers and update old customers.” Also, exhibitors find the conference expo offers a broad spectrum of attendees to reach, especially the international conference participants. Others, such as GE Aviation, use the expo as an opportunity to recruit new talent.
The exhibit marked the official launch of the Ceramics Expo trade show. ACerS is partnering with UK-based Smarter Shows on the event that will take place April 28–30, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. Adam Moore, event director of Ceramics Expo, says, “The exhibitors we’ve met here are very excited about this new show. Already we have had several vendors sign up for booths at the Ceramics Expo.”
A popular feature of the expo is the Schott glass drop competition. This year about 20 teams designed plastic straw cages to protect the shot glasses. The winning team of friends from Germany constructed a cage that survived a drop from 20 feet.
The conference ends today, but already, many are looking forward to next year’s 39th ICACC. See you there in 2015, I hope!
Sanjay Mathur (University of Cologne, Germany) and Gary Messing (Pennsylvania State University) chat during a coffee break. Credit: ACerS.
The international presence at ICACC is strong. Here, Johannes Homa (left) from Austria talks with Francis Cambier from Belgium. Homa is an entrepreneur and CEO of Lithoz, an additive manufacturing company. Cambier is director of the Environment and Materials Research Assoc., as well as secretariat of the European Ceramic Society. Credit: ACerS.
Charles Birks (left) and Reto Fehr from Keith Company are ready with solutions for high temperature processing problems at the conference expo. Credit: ACerS.
The poster session at the expo generated plenty of “in the weeds” discussion. Credit: ACerS.
Larry Fehrenbacher was the uncontested winner of my impromptu “Editor’s Best Dressed” award! Besides being a proud Illini—as am I—Fehrenbacher is president of Technology Assessment and Transfer, Inc. Bill Rogers of Oxy-Gon (green sweater) talks to a customer in the background. Credit: ACerS.
The Schott glass drop contestants. Credit: ACerS.
ACerS staffer Andrea Silnes enjoyed a fleeting “thrill of victory” moment when her shot glass survived a drop. Sadly, it was the last successful drop for her glass. Jack Richtsmeier from Sonoscan looks on. Credit: ACerS.
The victorious glass drop victors and their “Igel,” Igel is the German word for porcupine, the inspiration for their straw cage design. From left: Anke Kaletsch, Stefanie Wiesner, Erik Skiera, and Ralf Berger. Credit: ACerS.
George Quinn explains how resonant vibration sets up in bend test specimens in the short course on mechanical testing that he coteaches with Richard Bradt. Credit: ACerS.
Blustery weather calls for a good book. ACerS’ publishing partner, Wiley, displayed a collection of new releases and best sellers. Credit: ACerS.