[Image above] From left, 2019–2020 ACerS president Tatsuki Ohji, 2018–2019 ACerS president Sylvia Johnson, ACerS treasurer Stephen Houseman, and ACerS executive director Mark Mecklenborg. Credit: ACerS
The American Ceramic Society organizes numerous meetings each year that feature research by members in various ACerS Divisions. But there is only one meeting that brings together members from the whole Society—the ACerS Annual Meeting!
The 121st ACerS Annual Meeting is held in conjunction with the 2019 Materials Science & Technology (MS&T19) meeting, taking place September 29–October 3 in Portland, Ore. The meeting currently is in full swing—take a look below to see some of the highlights so far!
Johnson passes the gavel
On Monday, September 30, the 121st ACerS Annual Business Meeting took place at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. ACerS president Sylvia Johnson summarized the Society’s 2018–2019 accomplishments, specifically making note of the steps taken to increase diversity and inclusion in the Society within the past year. After retiring officers and directors on the ACerS Board of Directors and Executive Committee were recognized and new officers and directors sworn in, 2019–2020 ACerS president Tatsuki Ohji talked about his goals for the Society next year.
PCSA initiates new officers
The ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA) held their annual meeting on Saturday, September 28. PCSA is the student-led committee of ACerS responsible for representing student interests to ACerS and its subsidiary committees, divisions, sections, and classes. At their annual meeting, new PCSA officers for 2019–2020 were initiated.
Volunteers discuss present and future initiatives
On Sunday, September 29, the ACerS Board of Directors and Volunteers Meeting was held at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront. The volunteers consist of ACerS Division, Section, and International Chapter leaders. They reported on the current state of their respective groups and discussed ideas for making each group more active.
The students speak
Also on Sunday, students competed in the Material Advantage Undergraduate Student Speaking Contest, a contest meant “to encourage undergraduate students to present technical papers and to improve their presentation skills.” Four students competed in the finals, and Victoria Reichelderfer (University of Connecticut) was announced the winner for her presentation “Phase field modeling of corrosion.”
Navrotsky presents new award
On Monday, September 30, the first-ever Navrotsky Award for Experimental Thermodynamics of Solids was presented to Alexander Beautl, a junior scientist at the Austrian Institute of Technology. Alexandra Navrotsky, professor at Arizona State University, established the award to honor researchers who made the most innovative contribution to experimental thermodynamics of solids technical literature during the two calendar years prior to selection. Beautl was given the award for his work on designing a novel apparatus for coulometric titrations in lithium containing systems.
More exciting events are scheduled at MS&T in the coming days. Keep your eye out for tomorrow’s CTT, which will feature more highlights!
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