16th Global Young Investigator Forum on Sustainability

The Global Young Investigators Forum (GYIF) aims to bring together students, postdoctoral researchers, young professionals, and early-career faculty from around the world to showcase their research and promote scientific discussions that identify and tackle emerging global challenges at the forefront of ceramic science and engineering research. The GYIF dedicated symposium and poster session are a platform to support networking among young professionals, fostering global cooperation to approach current and future challenges in ceramic science and technology. The Global Young Investigator Award laureate will deliver the opening keynote lecture of the symposium. All GYIF participants will be invited to attend a private luncheon hosted by the President of The American Ceramic Society. The American Ceramic Society will also provide complimentary registration for a select number of eligible student GYIF presenters.  

This year’s GYIF seeks to promote a theme of Sustainability, a global issue to be addressed by the next generation of leaders and international cooperation. Presentations and posters should discuss how the work may address sustainability needs through various approaches. 

Proposed Session Topics 

• Sustainable materials development and architectured ceramics: Exploring novel ceramics, composites, functionally graded materials, and architectured ceramic systems with enhanced properties for structural and functional applications 

• Thermo-mechanical behavior of ceramics and composites: Understanding mechanical properties, phase transformations, and thermal stability for diverse applications 

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact: Evaluating the sustainability of ceramic and composite materials from raw material sourcing to end-of-life strategies 

• Efficient manufacturing processes: Strategies for optimizing material usage, reducing energy consumption, and enhancing production efficiency in ceramic and composite processing 

• Circular economy and recycling approaches: Innovations in reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling of ceramic and composite materials to minimize waste 

• Design and performance of functional ceramics: Advances in piezoelectrics, batteries, energy storage, and energy harvesting materials for next-generation technologies 

• Green chemistry and sustainable synthesis methods: Environmentally friendly fabrication techniques for ceramics and composites 

• Bioceramics and glass for biomedical applications: Development, characterization, and clinical potential of bioceramics, bioactive glasses, and related materials for tissue engineering, implants, and regenerative medicine 

• Computational design, modeling, and artificial intelligence: Multiscale modeling, physics-informed AI, high-throughput simulation, and digital tools for sustainable materials development and manufacturing 

• Case studies and industrial applications: Showcasing successful research and practical implementations in ceramic and composite technology 

• Career development and collaboration in ceramics research: Career development in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), including building collaborative networks, research projects, as well as supporting different perspectives and promoting sustainability in the field of ceramics 

Symposium Organizers  

• Minh Chu Ngo, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan 

• Dong (Lilly) Liu, University of Oxford, UK 

• Meelad Ranaiefar, NASA Glenn Research Center, USA 

• Bai Cui, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA 

• Stefano De la Pierre, Politecnico di Torino, Italy 

• Mark Du, Argonne National Laboratory, USA 

• Ho Jin Ma, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Korea 

• Xiangyu Li, University of Tennessee, USA 

• Dustin Gilmer, University of Tennessee, USA 

• Sungho Lee, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan 

• Ying Chung, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan 

Points of Contact 

• Minh Chu Ngo; ngominh-chu@aist.go.jp 

• Dong (Lilly) Liu; dong.liu@eng.ox.ac.uk  

• Meelad Ranaiefar; meelad.ranaiefar@nasa.gov 

• Bai Cui; bcui@unl.edu