Support for the 4th International Congress on Ceramics; Chicago, IL; July 15-19, 2012

This award by the Ceramic program in the Division of Materials Research to Northwestern University is to meet the expenses related to travel and registration of up to six US students to attend the 4th International Congress on Ceramics to be held from July 15 to 19, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, this award will support up to four invited speakers working in non-ceramic areas. This Congress is the third in a series of biennial meetings designed to facilitate discussion on emerging opportunities and technologies, and critical areas for scientific advancement and process innovations that face the ceramic and glass community. The meeting will focus on the following areas: environment, energy, infrastructure, transportation, aerospace, biology, medicine, security, electro- magnetic- and optical ceramics and devices, and other ceramic related areas. Workforce development and strategies for cultivating a diverse workforce would be other topics of presentation. This Congress like it's previous ones is organized by a consortium of the American Ceramic Society, the European Ceramic Society and the Ceramic Society of Japan, under the auspices of the International Ceramic Federation. Selection of student participants will be based on the quality of the abstract submitted and the letter of recommendation from the student's research advisor. Availability of travel support will be advertised through the Material Advantage website and direct contact with Material Advantage advisors in universities and colleges throughout the US. Special consideration will be given to diversity (both for females and underrepresented minorities) for the meeting. To enhance interaction among the participants at poster sessions, a novel Interactive Technology Forum using liquid crystal displays (LCDs) will be introduced at this Congress. This Forum would provide a unique opportunity for individuals to interact one-on-one with the presenter and to actively exchange information, ask questions, and explore the implications of the scientific results displayed in the poster. For wider dissemination of the outcomes from this Congress on Ceramics, synopses of this congress will be published in the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology and International Journal of Applied Glass Science.

Students participating in this Congress on Ceramics would benefit greatly from presenting their work, hearing concrete ideas for enhancing their research, gaining overviews of different thematic areas of ceramic research, and learning about emerging opportunities. In addition to presenting their own research in a high level scientific environment, they will be able to interact with both junior and senior investigators from academia, industry and national laboratories working in the ceramics field from around the world. In addition, synopses of the 4th International Congress on Ceramics will be disseminated by through publications in the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology and International Journal of Applied Glass Science. These synopses will include an outlook of the global ceramics field and projections for future research and development. An innovative Interactive Technology Forum using liquid crystal displays will be introduced at this Congress during the poster sessions. These electronic poster sessions are expected to provide enhanced interactions among the presenters and the Congress attendees.