[Image above] Honorary Chair Mrityunjay Singh, far right, moderates an industry roundtable discussion on Tuesday afternoon. Panelists, from left: Jared Weaver of GE Aerospace Research, Hidenori Shirakawa of Toyo Tanso, Denny Schüppel of Composites United, Eric Bouillon of Safran Group, and Christina Back of General Atomics. Credit: ACerS
Next-generation energy and transportation systems require materials that can operate in increasingly demanding environments, from the corrosive core of nuclear reactors to the red-hot leading edges of hypersonic aircraft. Research on such materials is thus progressing at a rapid pace, which means there was plenty to discuss at the 12th International Conference on High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites (HTCMC-12) and 3rd Global Forum on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Development (GFMAT-3).
HTCMC is a global event that takes place every three years. However, its location only rotates to the United States once every nine to 12 years, so co-locating it with GFMAT “amplifies the scope and impact of this gathering,” according to the organizers.
Tatsuki Ohji, left, and Mrityunjay Singh, right, give thanks to the attendees at the conference dinner on Thursday night. Credit: ACerS
The organizers for this year’s joint conference include General Chair Tatsuki Ohji, Honorary Chair Mrityunjay “Jay” Singh, HTCMC-12 Lead Chair Amjad Almansour, and GFMAT-3 Lead Chair Palani Balaya. They along with many prominent members in ACerS Engineering Ceramics Division developed a program that drew more than 500 attendees from 26 countries to sunny San Diego, Calif., on May 31–June 5, 2026.
Ohji says that the “remarkable engagement and outstanding scientific contributions from researchers around the world” made this year’s HTCMC and GFMAT event a “truly memorable” experience.
“With the beautiful San Diego weather providing an ideal setting, the conference highlighted the strong momentum of our field. Furthermore, the special industry round table on Tuesday underscored the importance of collaboration between academia and industry. Also, the outdoor dance social event on Thursday offered a wonderful opportunity for participants to connect in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere,” Ohji says.
Below are highlights from HTCMC-12 in conjunction with GFMAT-3.
Short course opens the week with a focus on materials testing
Before the conference officially started on Monday, ACerS held a short course on Sunday called “Testing of Materials in Extreme Environments.” Structured in three parts, this course introduced attendees to materials built for extreme conditions, reviewed their mechanical and thermal behavior, and worked through open-literature case studies on property measurements of ceramic matrix composites.
Carmen Carney, Hypersonics Key Initiative Lead at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, and Erica Corral, distinguished scholar of materials science and engineering at the University of Arizona, led the instruction. The course is part of ACerS’ growing slate of hypersonics education, including the Society’s hypersonic training program, which was developed in collaboration with the United States Advanced Ceramics Association to build the specialized workforce that these materials demand.
Short course participants enjoy a networking lunch. Credit: ACerS
Plenaries cover the gamut of advanced CMCs and energy applications
The Monday morning plenary session opened with welcoming remarks from Honorary Chair Singh, chief scientist at Ohio Aerospace Institute, who then introduced the first speaker, Christina Back of General Atomics. Back works in the Electromagnetic Systems business unit of General Atomics, and her presentation titled “Modernizing nuclear power with ceramic matrix composites” focused on the role that silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites could play in modernizing nuclear energy systems.
HTCMC-12 Lead Chair Amjad Almansour, left, presents plenary speaker Christina Back with a gift following her lecture. Credit: ACerS
The second plenary presentation was delivered by Yutaka Kagawa of Tokyo University of Technology. His talk titled “Advances in research and development of ceramic matrix composites: Current Japanese scenario” shifted the focus to Japan’s national and industrial research landscape for ceramic matrix composites and environmental barrier coatings.
Ji Yeon Park of Sewon Hardfacing Co., Ltd. delivered the third plenary presentation titled “Progress in the development of SiC CMC composites for extreme environments in Korea.” This presentation dove into the ideal properties of silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites and how more than 20 years of research and development in the Republic of Korea has driven the development of manufacturing processes to the point of real-world applications in gas turbines and nuclear reactors.
Finally, Alexander Michaelis of Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS delivered his presentation titled “Advanced ceramics for stationary storage and CCU (carbon capture and utilization) technology.” Michaelis discussed the potential for innovation that advanced ceramic materials present in the fields of energy storage and conversion, using lithium-free solid-state batteries and processes such as solid oxide electrolysis for green hydrogen production as examples.
Industry roundtable discusses challenges and opportunities for the global ceramics industries
The inaugural Global Ceramic Industry Leaders Roundtable convened senior research and development executives and technology experts from across industrial sectors and continents for a wide-ranging discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing the global ceramics community. Moderated by Singh, the Tuesday afternoon forum covered topics ranging from supply chain resilience and workforce development to sustainable processes and stronger industry–government–academia partnerships.
Panelists for the event included leaders from across the global ceramics landscape: Christina Back of General Atomics (U.S.), who brought a perspective on nuclear technologies and space power; Eric Bouillon of Safran Group (France), who offered more than two decades of experience working with ceramic matrix composites for aerospace; Denny Schüppel of Composites United (Germany), who represented the European ceramics industry; Hidenori Shirakawa of Toyo Tanso (Japan), who provided expertise on the carbon and graphite sector; and Jared Weaver of GE Aerospace Research (U.S.), who focused on ceramic matrix composites and environmental barrier coatings. Attendees were invited throughout to ask questions, share best practices, and propose joint initiatives.
Among the threads that ran through the discussion, Weaver weighed in on workforce development from the hiring side. He said that in his years as a hiring manager, he has seen a modest but encouraging post-pandemic shift in how universities are preparing graduate students for industry careers. His message to academia: Graduate training should not be limited to the deep, specialized lab work that defines most Ph.D. programs. Instead, pairing that research experience with applied, hands-on learning produces graduates who arrive in industry ready to contribute. Weaver framed the point as an opportunity for industry and academia to keep building stronger pipelines together.
Looking ahead to 2027: HTCMC-13 announcement
The number of attendees at this year’s joint conference made HTCMC-12 one of the strongest conferences yet in this series. Singh says, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all speakers, delegates, sponsors, and volunteers for making the joint HTCMC-12/GFMAT-3 a highly successful and inspiring conference. Your extensive experience, thoughtful perspectives, and generous spirit made this gathering truly special and memorable.”
View more images from HTCMC-12 in conjunction with GFMAT-3 on ACerS Flickr page. The 13th International Conference on High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites will be hosted by the Ceramic Composites network in September 2027 in Augsburg, Germany. Stay tuned for more details at www.htcmc13.com.
