Student Support: 2022 Solid State Studies in Ceramics Gordon Research Conference: Coupled Phenomena in Ceramics Across Length Scales; South Hadley, Massachusetts; 7-12 August 2022

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This grant will support the registration fee costs for graduate students to attend the 2022 Solid State Studies in Ceramics Gordon Research Conference, subtitled Coupled Phenomena in Ceramics Across Length Scales. The subtitle reflects basic science topics that capture the key challenges in ceramics, including in particular the advancement of manufacturing for the next generation of engineering materials, with applications in a wide variety of sectors from energy, aerospace, automotive and microelectronics. The conference will be held August 7 - 12, 2022 at Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. The purpose of the conference is to bring world experts together to discuss the forefront of ceramics research to advance research and engineering in the United States and to expose graduate students and early career professionals to the latest findings in the science of ceramics so that they may become the leaders of tomorrow. The funding is meant to encourage graduate students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to participate to enhance their engineering and science education. Many of the most interesting and technologically relevant properties of ceramics derive from coupled phenomena (mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, optical) that originate at the atomistic and nanometer length scales, but manifest across all scales. The complex behavior of ceramics under extreme conditions and/or away from equilibrium leads, on the one hand, to challenges in deciphering behavioral mechanisms, and on the other, to opportunities to create ceramics with unprecedented properties. Advanced manufacturing depends on these types of scientific advances. A wide variety of experimental and theoretical tools have recently emerged to reveal multiphysical, multiscale mechanisms that govern material behavior during processing and service. These specifically include the emergence of data driven atomistic and mesocontinuum computational modeling approaches, novel in situ experiments, and measurements under extreme conditions. Advanced manufacturing is a critical part of the future of ceramics and will be embedded in sessions for the entire conference. Sessions that will explicitly address advanced manufacturing include Achieving Exceptional Responses in Structural Ceramics and Processing of Complex Structures. The conference is designed to advance the field of ceramics by bringing together experts across various disciplines to discuss the latest discoveries and advancements and define where the field will go. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.