The 4th International Congress on Ceramics (ICC4) was held July 15-19, 2012, in Chicago, IL. It was hosted by The American Ceramic Society. The International Ceramic Federation (ICF) convenes the ICC every two years in cooperation with ICF member Societies.
ICC4 attracted 470 business leaders and materials professionals from 40 countries to Shape the Future of Ceramics. Because ceramic materials are so critical to next generation technological advancements, the ICC4 program spanned such diverse themes as aerospace; biology and medicine; electro-, optical-, and magnetic-ceramics and devices; environment, energy, and transportation; infrastructure; nanostructured ceramics; and security and strategic materials. In addition, the program covered the development of an innovative workforce to tackle these challenges and focused on entrepreneurship and technology transfer in the 3rd Ceramic Leadership Summit track. For the first time, ICC featured an Interactive Technology Forum using LCD displays in addition to traditional posters. The Congress concluded with review of the emerging opportunities and challenges for the ceramics and glass communities that are identified over the week. Attached is a summary of the report that was presented in the final Shaping the Future of Ceramics Wrap-up Session.