More than 3,200 attendees gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Materials Science & Technology 2017 (MS&T17), making it one of the best-attended MS&T conferences in recent years. The event, which ran October 8–12, brought together participants from four societies: the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), ASM International, the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), and TMS. NACE International also participated as a programming partner. In all, 70 symposia were held in a dozen technical tracks.

Exploring Material Supply Issues A highlight of the meeting’s 15th installment was the all-conference plenary featuring award-winning speakers from each of the MS&T17 organizing societies. As the TMS/ASM Joint Distinguished Lecturer in Materials and Society, Alexander H. King delivered the presentation, “What Do We Need and How Will We Get It?” King is the director of the Critical Materials Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Innovation Hub at Ames Laboratory. His presentation explored material supply problems that could result from the demands of a growing global middle class and offered broad recommendations for improving future material supplies. What do we need? King’s reply to this was, “All of the periodic table. And more of all of it.” To illustrate his point,

Alexander King (center) is formally recognized as the TMS/ASM Joint Distinguished Lecturer in Materials and Society by 2017 TMS President David DeYoung (right) and ASM International President William E. Frazier.

King offered the example of the cell phone, pointing out that today’s smart phone uses 70 elements in its production

more than 40 years ago). If any one of those elements becomes unavailable, cell phone production stops. By comparison, King offered the observation that all of the complexities of life come from approximately 28 elements. “Life is very conservative in its use of elements,” said King, who offered the audience this recommendation: “With every generation of a technology, aim to use fewer elements, rather than more.” 2011 TMS Fellow Steven Zinkle, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, presented the ACerS Edward Orton Jr. Memorial Lecture at the plenary, where he discussed “What’s New in Nuclear Reactors?” His presentation looked at areas where advanced materials could improve performance in light water reactors, pointing out that many of the materials used in these reactors were selected in the 1960s. Unlike the automotive and aerospace industries, nuclear reactors have not kept up with materials advances. Zinkle offered examples of advanced materials that could

Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming MS&T Dates and LocationsMS&T18 Columbus, Ohio, October 14–18, 2018

MS&T19 Portland, Oregon, September 29–October 3, 2019

MS&T20 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 4–8, 2020

MS&T21 Columbus, Ohio, October 17–21, 2021

With nearly 100 exhibitor booths to browse, the MS&T17 exhibit hall was a popular destination for attendees.

15 Years and Going StrongKelly Zappas

JOM, Vol. 70, No. 1, 2018

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2684-0Ó 2017 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

7

8 Zappas

improve reactor performance and safety. The plenary also featured Bruno C. De Cooman, vice president of Research & Development, NLMP Group. He delivered the AIST Adolf Martens Memorial Steel Lecture, “Mechanical Twinning in Formable Advanced Ultra-High Strength Steel.”

Highlighting Efforts to Increase STEM Workforce Diversity Six invited speakers discussed how their institutions were addressing issues of diversity and inclusion in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at the special MS&T17 symposium, Diversity in STEM and Best Practices to Improve It, held on October 10. Mary Juhas, associate vice president for gender initiatives in STEMM (STEM + medicine) at The Ohio State University, opened the session with a discussion of REACH for Commercialization, an initiative at Ohio State that promotes the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty in the STEMM disciplines. REACH consists of a series of four workshops designed to help women faculty and post-doctoral scholars explore commercialization as a means of expanding the impact of their research. Each of the workshops explores a different topic through a speaker panel made up of female entrepreneurs. Topics include visioning impact from research; learning the landscape; building a team; and understanding the funding life cycle. “REACH isn’t a bootcamp,” explained Juhas. “It complements that; it’s the emotional intelligence.” At the University of Alabama (UA), the goal of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is to enhance the STEM experience for underrepresented minority undergraduate students. Viola Acoff, UA associate dean for undergraduate and graduate programs, outlined several tactics that the LSAMP employs.

Sharing effective strategies for improving diversity and inclusion in STEM at a special MS&T17 symposium were (left to right): Doreen Edwards, Rochester Institute of Technology; Viola Acoff, University of Alabama; Mitra Taheri, Drexel University; Mary Juhas, The Ohio State University; Ellen Cerreta, Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Ernest Brothers, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

First, the program offers performance-based stipends,

enrolling in or completing a degree program. “It’s more

making them feel welcome.” A summer bridge program, held the summer before

classes begin. A Spring Research Conference then allows students to practice presenting their work before an audience. “The goal is to instill a sense of empowerment and inclusion,” said Acoff. “It’s important to have peer support

Ernest Brothers, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, focused his talk on diversity and mentoring, citing that faculty mentoring was the single most important factor to

said. Brothers offered several suggestions for building a successful mentor-mentee relationship. Formal measures that he suggested included establishing an individual development plan to set expectations for the mentoring relationship. He also offered more informal tips, such as

the mentee. Brothers reminded the audience that having a mentor is not a static relationship. Over time, he noted,

sometimes end. He also highlighted that mentoring is not dependent on a single person. Having a network of mentors who offer different types of support, encouragement, and advice is helpful. Ellen Cerreta, deputy division leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), offered a look at diversity and inclusion initiatives in the government sector, noting some of the constraints to diversity that are unique to LANL, such as its remote location. With the laboratory set to lose a third of its population to retirement in the

MS&T17 opened on Sunday evening with the Women in Science reception, a relaxed social event that included brief comments from representatives of each of the four MS&T sponsoring societies. Joy Forsmark, TMS Financial Planning Officer on the TMS Board of Directors (inset), introduced the crowd to TMS and its diversity and inclusion initiatives.

MS&T17 15 Years and Going Strong 9

be essential. As a result, LANL is working to encourage a more diverse workforce by engaging in mentoring programs, career progression planning, and student development. It is also encouraging employee-led initiatives, such as the Atomic Women group. Cerreta said that while there is

opportunities for underrepresented minorities have been created,

being explored, and there is much more discussion about diversity when leadership and professional

Elizabeth A. Holm, Carnegie Mellon University (inset), presents “Surviving the Scientific Hype Cycle: The

Emerging Role of Machine Learning in Materials Science and Engineering” at the Young Professional Tutorial

Luncheon held during MS&T17.

opportunities arise. The session closed with a pair of speakers who discussed programs being implemented at their own universities. Doreen Edwards, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), provided an overview of three programs at Alfred University and RIT. Mitra L. Taheri, Drexel University, provided an outline of her institution’s Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering (ELATE) program, designed to advance senior women faculty in academic engineering, computer science, and

“Hiring is not enough,” said Taheri. “We need to have women in positions that provide upward mobility.” The session was organized by TMS members Kinga Unocic, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Amy Clarke, Colorado School of Mines; Megan Cordill, Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science; and Somayeh Pasebani, Oregon State University, and was sponsored by the TMS Diversity Committee.

Surviving the Hype Cycle Exhilarating. Impactful. All-enveloping. Stressful.

professor of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, used to describe the atmosphere caused by the hype around high-temperature superconductivity in the late 1980s. Since then, as Holm told Young Professional Tutorial Luncheon Lecture attendees at MS&T17, she has seen many other technologies undergo the “hype cycle”—a term coined by the research and advisory company, Gartner Inc. to characterize an explosion of interest in a technology that ultimately wanes to a more stable and sustainable focus once the publicity moves on. Holm warned attendees that being at the forefront of a technology as it enters a hype cycle is unlikely. Even with the right skills, so much depends on the right timing, place, and preparation. Instead, using the example of the current focus on machine learning and the metaphor of the hype cycle as a train ride, Holm showed attendees how to identify when they are already in one and three equally

Emily Bautista

Andre Nemeth

Congratulations to Superalloys Scholarship Recipients Each year, two students who have distinguished themselves in the study of high-temperature, high-performance materials used in the gas turbine industry and other applications are selected for the prestigious International Symposium on Superalloys Scholarship. This year’s recipients were formally recognized at MS&T17. One of the recipients, Emily Bautista, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), commented, “I have always loved exploring and understanding the world, including the materials that make up the world! As a fourth year student, I have become intensely involved in all things materials science and engineering. I am eager to enter the working world and use my past experiences to create a positive impact not only at my respective company but in the greater materials community.” Also receiving a scholarship was Andre Nemeth, University of Oxford, who noted, “To receive this scholarship is a great honor. I am especially grateful to TMS and Material Advantage for recognizing my contributions to the field and providing a foundation for graduate students to build an international career on.” This scholarship is funded by the TMS Foundation and issued under the generosity of the TMS International Symposium on Superalloys Committee. For additional information, visit the TMS Professional Honors and Awards website at awards.tms.org,

10 Zappas

JOthemagazineJJJOthemagazine

viable options for responding to it.

outlined is making a career out of capitalizing on the opportunities that go along with the hype by “train hopping” from one popular technology to another. The second option is to invest in the long run

class ticket for the ride.” She notes that this approach is ideal for someone whose research will be involved in the long-term sustainment of the technology.

go by” by ignoring the hype, maintaining their core focus,

choice. The Young Professional Tutorial Luncheon Lecture at MS&T was sponsored by the TMS Young Professionals Committee, but open to all MS&T17 attendees.

Getting Ready for MS&T18 and Beyond The four MS&T organizing societies, along with programming partner NACE International, are now working on plans for MS&T18, which will be held October 14–18, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. For

2018, the Metallurgy and Materials Society of the Canadian

four existing partners as a sponsoring society for the event. Following MS&T19, ASM International will no longer be an MS&T sponsoring society, but TMS will continue to work with ACerS, AIST, NACE, and other organizations on the MS&T conference series.

Editor’s Note: Ashley-Anne Bohnert and Alexandra Grese also contributed to this article.

TMS Members Honored at MS&T17TMS congratulates its many members whose outstanding contributions to their fields earned them distinction from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and ASM International during MS&T17.

ACerS 2017 Honors and Awards BanquetMonday, October 9ACerS Edward Orton Jr. Memorial Lecture Steven J. Zinkle, Governor’s Chair professor at University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ACerS/Education and Professional Development Council (EPDC) Arthur Frederick Greaves-Walker Lifetime Service Award William M. Mullins, U.S. Office of Naval Research

EPDC Outstanding Educator Award W. Craig Carter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Richard and Patricia Spriggs Phase Equilibria Award Shu Yamaguchi, University of Tokyo

2017 Class of Fellows Tyler Ley, Oklahoma State University Kathy Lu, Virginia Tech Roger Narayan, North Carolina State University Steven Tidrow, Alfred University

Distinguished Life Member Masahiro Yoshimura, National Cheng Kung University

2017 ASM International Awards DinnerTuesday, October 102017 Class of Fellows Paul D. Jablonski, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Diana A. Lados, Integrative Materials Design Center Michele V. Manuel, University of Florida Christopher A. Schuh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology David A. Shifler, U.S. Office of Naval Research

David van Aken, Missouri University of Science and Technology Timothy P. Weihs, Johns Hopkins University

The Marcus A. Grossmann Young Author Award Youn-Bae Kang, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology

The Henry Marion Howe Medal Ekkes Brück, University of Technology Delft, The Netherlands

The Henry Clifton Sorby Award Colin Humphreys, University of Cambridge

The 2017 Alpha Sigma Mu Lecturer Joseph W. Newkirk, Missouri University of Science and Technology

2017 TMS/ASM Distinguished Lectureship in Materials and Society Alexander H. King, Ames Laboratory

The Edward DeMille Campbell Memorial Lecturer David E. Laughlin, Carnegie Mellow University

The Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers Timothy J. Rupert, University of California Irvine

The Albert Easton White Distinguished Teacher Award Mysore A. Dayananda, Purdue University

The Albert Sauveur Achievement Award Tsu-Wei Chou, University of Delaware

The Engineering Materials Achievement Award Gary Doll, The Timken Company

The Bronze Medal Award Lesley D. Frame, University of Bridgeport

The Silver Medal Award Kip O. Findley, Colorado School of Mines

The Gold Medal Award John H. Perepezko, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Honorary Membership Jeffrey Wadsworth, Battelle Memorial Institute