[Image above] ACerS headquarters is home to the world’s largest crystal ball—but can it foretell what’s to come in 2015? Credit: ACerS
New Year’s Eve—traditionally a day of reflection at the year that was, looking ahead at the year to come, and steeling ourselves for resolutions we will make tomorrow.
Last week April, Jessica, and I each wrote about our perspectives on “ACerS 2014.” Today I’ll tell you what we’re working on at ACerS for 2015. However, as a member-driven society, I can guarantee that by the end of 2015 the Society will have accomplished even more!
Best wishes from ACerS for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. We look forward to continuing to serve you and the global ceramics and glass community in the year to come!
What’s new?
The Society works very hard to improve continually our established products and services, especially our peer-review journals, conference proceedings, and books. New things keep us growing and meeting the needs of our membership. Look for these things very soon.
Ceramics Expo—Long needed in North America, Ceramics Expo tradeshow will showcase a range of ceramic and glass materials and connect industry buyers with ceramic and glass specialists. Free to attend, this focused ceramics marketplace will attract technical leaders, production directors, engineers, project leaders, buyers, and senior executives from industry. A concurrent—and also free—technical program will round out the event. Be sure to come to Cleveland, Ohio, April 28–30, to be part of the inaugural event.
Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation—Even though we’ve been telling you about it for a full year now, this year marks the start CGIF’s programming to attract students to the ceramic and glass industry. Programs and activities will commence by mid-2015. Fundraising has already begun and will continue into 2015 and beyond.
ACerS Bulletin archives and app—We’ve digitized the entire Bulletin archive, all the way back to the first issue in 1922. The fully searchable archive will be available online in early 2015. Access to the archive will be free for members—talk about a great member benefit! Institutions and others will be able to buy subscription access or single articles on request. Also, the Bulletin is now published as an app for iOS or Android devices. This gives us the opportunity to add video, more images, longer articles, etc.
Phase Equilibria online—One of the most useful tools ACerS offers through its partnership with NIST, the online platform is being completely reworked. The new product, due out in spring, will have increased functionality and be easier to use.
Global Graduate Research Network—This new membership category provides a home for graduate students researching in the ceramic and glass fields. Through this network, graduate students will have a framework for building their network, presenting their work, and gaining recognition in the community. This is so new we don’t have a link for it yet!
The ole poster presentation. Credit: ACerS
Meetings
ACerS is known for its high-quality meetings and conferences. They provide our community with a venue for exchanging research ideas, meeting others working on similar problems, finding new business partners, and networking. This year the Society’s meeting schedule is strongly international, reflecting the global nature of the problems ceramic and glass materials help solve. Here are a few highlights.
Winter—We begin the year with the sixth edition of Electronic Materials and Applications in Orlando, Fla., followed by the 39th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites in Daytona Beach, Fla. Last year the polar vortex’s icy tentacles impacted travel, but not the quality of the talks and exchange of ideas. Start the year strong at either or both of these meetings.
Spring—“Refractories as Engineered Ceramics” is the theme of the St. Louis Section/Refractory Ceramics Division 51st symposium (pdf) in March. Still think refractories are dusty, commodity products? This symposium will convince you otherwise. New demands for higher performance and cost targets challenge refractory engineers to develop new solutions for extreme environments.
GOMD-DGG—Last year the German Glass Society (DGG) hosted the ACerS Glass and Optical Materials Division meeting at Aachen, Germany. This year, GOMD returns the favor and will welcome DGG to Miami, Fla. in May. Wilkommen! The Art, Archaeology, and Conservation Science Division will piggyback a workshop on “What’s new in ancient glass research” at the beginning of the GOMD–DGG meeting.
Summer—The 11th International Conference on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applications will be in Vancouver, Canada in mid-June. Dubbed as “Ceramic technologies for sustainable development,” this conference promises to be a focal event for the international energy technologies community. Also in summer, ACerS Cements Division and Structural Clay Products Division hold their meetings.
Fall—MS&T15 and ACerS 117th Annual Meeting will be in our “hometown” of Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is easy to get to and easy to be in—affordable, walkable, and loaded with good restaurants and off-hour activities.
Abroad—Throughout the year, ACerS is involved in a number of important conferences abroad. Be sure to check these out: Materials Challenges in Alternative and Renewable Energy (Korea) and the 11th PacRim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technologies (Korea).
We have a lot more going on, and a great way to stay abreast of what’s happening in our world is to subscribe to the Ceramic Tech Today e-Newsletter. We sift through the tsunami of information out there and bring you just the good stuff throughout the week.