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R&D 100 winners to speak at Ceramic Leadership Summit

R&D 100 winners to speak at Ceramic Leadership Summit

R&D 100 Award winners: George Wicks (left) and SRNL team members pictured with flame-former apparatus. Credit: ORNL and ACerS Bulletin.

For the last 49 years, the science and engineering community has looked forward eagerly to the day the R&D Magazine editors release the new R&D 100 Awards. Yesterday was that day.

It’s a little like a cotillion ball — a coming-out for the young, the beautiful, the promising. As we posted earlier, some previous R&D 100 débutantes went on to be wildly successful: ATMs, Nicoderm patches, the flashcube. Like the debs, some are still in their prime (ATMs, Nicoderm), some are grande dames (fax machines, halogen lamps), and some are of late-but-happy memory (flashcubes). As with a real cotillion, some on the list were not unexpected, A123 for example, a company we’ve covered extensively. Others were delightful surprises, not because they are unworthy, but because our imaginations constrained them within their humble origins.

This year’s surprise was “Porous Walled Hollow Glass Microspheres” that came out of work at the Savannah River National Lab led by George Wicks (president-elect of ACerS). Why surprising? The goal of the R&D 100 is to identify the “100 most technologically significant products of the past year.” SRNL’s press release frankly states, “Hollow glass microspheres have been used for years in lightweight filler material, insulation, abrasives and other applications.” How did microspheres make the leap from “used for years as filler” to among the “most technologically significant?”

The SRNL team discovered that glass microspheres with nanoscale interconnecting porosity could be fabricated through a phase separation and leaching process, and realized that the porosity could provide controllable ingress and egress of substances like medicine, reactive or flammable chemicals, hydrogen, and more. The award also recognized SRNL’s off-campus partners: Toyota, Georgia Health Sciences University and Mo-Sci Corp. Basically, the team saw a unique characteristic, and developed and perfected it to an extent where the technology’s potential is plain to see. Not fully mature yet, but undoubtedly heading in that direction.

Innovation and successful businesses are driven by vision, commitment, passion, and hard work. The experiences of those who have “been to the ball” can help (I won’t push the analogy much further), and that is what the Ceramic Leadership Summit 2011 meeting is really about. Speakers like George Wicks, Mo-Sci’s Ted Day, and A123’s Bart Riley will share their experiences of how they got there. All CLS speakers have proven track records breaking into new markets, navigating regulations, developing new materials, recognizing new applications, valuing their businesses, understanding how to position ceramic products in a diverse marketplace — they are prepared to share their experiences and help you do the same.

Anybody engaged in business or innovation knows how valuable their time is, and in a way, time away is even more valuable because of what it “costs” to be offsite. The CLS meeting recognizes that and has built a program that is business-centric, only two days long, and has plenty of built-in networking events.

Did you know that modern-era débutantes (and beaux) spend an average of two years preparing to take their place in society as recognized adults? A team of adults guides, forms and cheers them on to reach their full potential.

Surprises don’t just happen. Luck helps, but the old adage is true, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Think of CLS as part of your strategy and preparation team. We hope to see you there.

Dress is business casual, but I hope you return with a full dance card.

Ceramic Leadership Summit 2011
August 1-3, Baltimore, Maryland

R&D 100 Awards recognize materials innovations

R&D 100 Awards recognize materials innovations

SRNL microsphere filled with palladium where the top of the microballoon has been removed to view the inside. Source: The Bulletin, Vol. 87, No. 6, p. 26

The R&D 100 awards for 2011 have been released, and the list of winners includes a strong representation from the field of materials science. There were more entries this year than there have been in recent years. In the press release, Rita Peters, editorial director of R&D Magazine observed “During the recent economic downturn, industry, academia, and government labs continued to innovate. The editors were impressed with the strong field of candidates for this year’s R&D 100 Awards.”

The purpose of the awards is to identify the “100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the last year.” Awardees are chosen by an independent panel of judges and the editors of R&D Magazine. In the press release, it was noted that some previous R&D 100 winners have been so successful that they are now household names: ATMs, fax machines, Nicoderm anti-smoking patches, HDTV and more.

The American Ceramic Society extends its congratulations to all awardees, especially those connected to ceramic materials engineering. Highlighted below are awardees that occupy or connect with the ceramics universe. Some of the winners listed below are familiar names; other may not be….yet.

SRNL’s John Marra speaks to GOMD about materials for nuclear energy and impact of Fukushima incident

SRNL’s John Marra speaks to GOMD about materials for nuclear energy and impact of Fukushima incident

Credit: Eileen De Guire; ACerS

As announced in an earlier post, John Marra, chief research officer at Savannah River National Lab spoke at the conference dinner at the annual meeting of the Glass and Optical Materials Division on May 17. The title of the talk was “Beyond Fukushima: Advanced materials to enable enhanced nuclear power systems.”

Marra set the stage by providing some context for the strategic role of nuclear power in the energy portfolio of the United States and worldwide. At present, about 40% of the energy consumed in the U.S. is in the form of electricity, and, nationally, about 20% of U.S. electricity is produced by nuclear power plants. Globally, there are 436 operational nuclear energy plants, with about 100 located in the U.S.

The worldwide demand for electric power is expected to double by 2050, with much of the increase coming from transitional economies like India and China and emerging economies like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East.

In the U.S., one the Obama administration’s energy goals is to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. To reach that goal, Marra says nuclear power will have to continue be part of the nation’s energy portfolio because it is the only CO2-free power generation technology available that can also meet the demand. However, he noted traditional barriers to nuclear energy will have to be overcome, including the average $5 billion (or more) cost to build a standard size plant, more attention to siting considerations, other safety issues (real and perceived), proliferation risk and sustainable fuel cycles.

These barriers were addressed in a DOE report to Congress, “Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap (PDF),” which identifies four key R&D objectives for the nuclear industry as it looks to expand the use of nuclear power in the nation’s energy portfolio. There are opportunities for the materials community to contribute to each of the Roadmap’s objectives (paraphrasing)

  1. Develop technologies that improve the efficiency of the current fleet,
  2. Develop technologies that enable better, faster, cheaper building of new plants,
  3. Scale-up and deploy lab-proven sustainable fuel cycles (including waste management),
  4. Minimize nuclear proliferation risks.

Look for more about ways the materials community can respond to Roadmap objectives in the August issue of the Bulletin, which will include more extensive comments from John Marra about the role specific materials will play

In the second part of his talk, Marra summarized the sequence of events that occurred on March 11 in Japan. When the magnitude 9 earthquake struck, all safety systems in the plant operated as designed and shut down the three reactors, rendering them safe and stable.

But, of course, about 80 minutes after the earthquake, the 14-meter (imagine a 40-foot wall) tsunami, more than twice the size the plant had been designed to withstand, slammed into the shore-side plant, knocking out the grid feed, the diesel generators that were running cooling water pumps, and significantly damaged the building. Even so, a back-up cooling system operated with waste heat and batteries pumped cooling water, but eventually until the batteries drained and crippled the back-up system.

With the loss of cooling, reactor cores were exposed and temperatures rose, eventually exceeding 900 oC, above which the Zircalloy fuel cladding begins to lose structural integrity. With failure of the cladding alloy, fission products were released. When the cladding temperature reached 1200 °C, the Zircalloy reacted with steam in the reactor, producing hydrogen gas and leading to the dramatic explosion (broadcast instantly around the world), and releasing the accumulated fission products into the atmosphere. Ultimately, the reactor cores were drowned with seawater, and cooling water was restored to the reactor cores (within seven hours for two of the reactors and in 27 hours for the third).

Marra observed that in the face of a catastrophic, natural event that exceeded all design contingencies (and perhaps even imagination) and caused multiple system failures, the Fukushima plant personnel very quickly returned the plant to a safe and stable condition.

According to Marra, the impact of the Fukushima incident will be “significant and worldwide,” for existing plants and new builds. He expects ceramic materials to adopted to “buy time” in emergency situations. For example, claddings of silicon carbide are able to withstand reactor temperatures well beyond what Zircalloy can tolerate. New glass-to-metal seal materials would need to be developed to seal endcaps to SiC claddings. There are alternative fuel configurations in development that would use silicon carbide to self-encapsulate spent fuel, thus preventing the accidental release of fission products. Materials like pyrolytic carbon or cabon-carbon composites may find applications in the so-called “small modular reactors” (more about those in a future post). Waste containment continues to be a pressing materials problem, and nuclear fuel is expected to be oxide-based for the foreseeable future.

Marra cautioned, however, that it can take the Nuclear Regulatory Commission up to 15 years qualify new materials for reactor components, thus the first new materials likely to be adopted are those about which much is already known like silicon carbide, silicon nitride, carbon-carbon composites, etc.

In light of timelines like these, and the added scrutiny and political pressure that the Fukushima incident will inevitably create, the Obama administration’s goal of 80% CO2 reduction by 2050 makes the 39-year interval until then look very, very tight.

SRNL's John Marra to address advanced materials lessons from Fukushima nuclear accident

SRNL’s John Marra to address advanced materials lessons from Fukushima nuclear accident

Marra

The ACerS Glass and Optical Materials Division is holding its annual meeting May 15-19 in Savannah, Ga., and I just learned that nuclear energy materials expert John Marra has agreed to do a special and timely presentation about Japan’s nuclear power accident at the conference dinner May 17. Marra, the chief research officer of the Savannah River National Lab, has tentatively titled his talk, “Beyond Fukushima: Advanced materials to enable enhanced nuclear power systems.”

I am really looking forward to this because, as far as I know, it will be the first semi-public presentation by a federal lab official in which there is an attempt to sum-up some of the engineering lessons from the Fukushima/TEPCO situation.

The context of this, of course, is that rising fuel prices and increased concerns about greenhouse gas emissions had many scientists and policy makers looking toward nuclear power (and new generations of nuclear reactors) as a way to offset fossil fuels. In reaction to the Fukushima situation, some nations and some members of the science and technology community now want to take a second look at future plans for growing nuclear power systems.

In an abstract on his presentation, Marra says:

On March 11, 2011 an earthquake centered near Japan and the resultant tsunami caused significant damage to several reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant causing many to question the long-term future of nuclear power. As Japan and the international community begin to look at the lessons-learned from the Fukushima accident, advanced materials that eliminate or reduce the consequences of severe accidents will find increased application in advanced nuclear power systems.

Ceramic and glass materials, which have long played a very important role in the commercial nuclear industry, offer some significant advantages under accident conditions. This presentation will review the sequence of events that led to the Fukushima Daiichi accident and discuss the critical role that ceramic and glass materials play throughout the nuclear fuel cycle, and the critical material advancements required to enable the “nuclear renaissance” in light of the recent events.

The conference dinner runs 7-10 p.m. on May 17, and I expect Marra will begin his talk around 8:30 p.m.

I plan on running an interview with Marra, a past president of ACerS, for the August issue of the Bulletin, but I highly recommend that anyone interested in advanced glass science and technology (including optical materials, optical devices, coatings, sensors, solar energy materials, glass–ceramics, and structures and properties) considere coming to the GOMD meeting.

Alfred U.'s Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics to be dedicated May 10

Alfred U.’s Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics to be dedicated May 10

Getting a sneak preview of the displays at the soon-to-be dedicated Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics are Kate Wilkins and Susan Kowalczyk. Credit: Alfred Univ.

Recently I’ve covered a few stories related to exhibitions on technical ceramics (e.g., here and here), but these have been about exhibits that are part of much larger ceramic and glass art museums. But, today’s story is about a museum fully dedicated to the science and engineering aspects of ceramics.

Alfred University representatives have announced that they will be holding an official dedication ceremony May 10 for the Inamori Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics, in Alfred, N.Y., that will serve as the main showcase for ceramic research and technologies.

Inamori

(First, some semantics housekeeping: Some international ceramists, especially the Japanese, use the term “Fine Ceramics” as interchangeable with “High Tech Ceramics.” Obviously, this gets confusing because many North American and Europeans also use the term “Fine China” to refer to a high quality of ceramic dinnerware. But, the “Fine Ceramics” reference in the museum’s title is made in deference to the namesake, Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corp. — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-tech ceramics — and a long-time supporter of Alfred’s programs.)

The dedication ceremony will be at 12:30 p.m. on May 10, in Binns-Merrill Hall on the AU campus.  The event is open to the public, and Inamori, himself, will be on hand for the dedication.

In an AU news release, the university’s president, Charles M. Edmondson, says the school is very honored to have Inamori at the event. “Dr. Inamori has been a valued friend to the University and in particular to our School of Engineering, so we are delighted he will be here as we dedicate this museum in his honor,” notes Edmondson.

Edmonson goes on to say that the museum “will play an important role in educating young people about the vital role of ceramics in the future economy — in areas ranging from information technology to medical devices, diagnostic systems, industrial equipment, renewable energy and environmental preservation.”

On the morning of the dedication, AU is holding a special symposium, ”Ceramics: Past, Present and Future,” organized in Inamori’s honor. The symposium will start at 9 a.m. on May 10 in the Nevins Theater located in the Powell Campus Center, and is open to the public, free of charge. (If you are planning to attend, AU asks that you email Marlene Wightman, director of continuing education, at Wightman@alfred.edu or to call her at 607-871-2425.

Inamori is expected to speak as part of the symposium. He will be joined by ACerS President Marina Pascucci, a 1977 AU alumna and president of CeraNova in Marlborough, Mass.; Terry Michalske (’75), director of the Savannah River National Lab; and Gary Messing (’73), head of the materials science and engineering department at Pennsylvania State University. Also among the speakers is Linda Jones, associate vice president and head of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, who is an ACerS Fellow and a member of its board of directors.

The museum will offer information on ceramic materials and applications, including historical developments, technical breakthroughs and examples of how ceramics have become ubiquitous as enabling technology in everything from electronics to more specialized applications like fuel cells, solar panels and biomedical implants.

AU is also opening the Discovery Lab next to the Inamori Museum. School officials say the lab will be AU’s center for outreach activities involving students (and their teachers) from kindergarten through 12th grade. University faculty members are developing educational programming, including demonstrations and hand-on activities.

Doreen Edwards, dean of the school of engineering, says she anticipates visitors will include specialists and scientists. “People who are involved in the manufacture of ceramics and related technologies will find this of interest, but there is also plenty to draw the general public,” she says.

The artistic side of ceramics is not totally left out of the picture. The university notes that its Schein-Joseph Museum of Ceramics has an extensive collection of ceramic art and is located adjacent to the new museum in Binns-Merrill Hall. “This is an absolute reflection of the College of Ceramics that joins both the School of Art & Design and the Inamori School of Engineering,” says AU’s Linda Jones. “From the inception of the College, it was recognized that creativity and technical understanding are essential to address the challenges of our time.”

AU recalls that Inamori’s relationship with Alfred University dates back to the 1980s. The school awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1988, recognizing his leadership in the field of advanced ceramic materials.  He created Alfred University’s Inamori Scholarships, which assist deserving students studying art or engineering.

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