Jul 31 2011
Solving the gamut of issues from energy efficiencies and national security to human health and welfare may be on the horizon by speeding up the pace of innovation and development of materials and manufacturing technologies.
Exploring the possibilities to profoundly reduce the current 20-year transition from discovery to commercial use will be the focus of "Accelerating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation for Global Competitiveness," a materials information luncheon in Washington. D.C., which will be presented by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) and the Materials Research Society (MRS) on August 3.
The acceleration of materials development and production process was conceptualized in the Materials Genome Initiative, which is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) announced by President Barack Obama on June 24. The goal of AMP is to fuel a renaissance of American manufacturing.
The luncheon will be hosted by Congressman Randy Hultgren, R-Illinois, who is a member of the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. His 14th District is home to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory where scientists carry out research in high energy physics.
TMS member Kevin Hemker, of Johns Hopkins University, will serve as event moderator. Speakers are TMS member John Allison, of the University of Michigan, and formerly of Ford Motor Co., and MRS member James Roberto, Associate Laboratory Director for Graduate Education and University Partnerships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Allison will discuss, "Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME): The Next Big Thing in Materials." His presentation will incorporate his experience in the development and implementation of successful Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) at Ford, as well as data from a recent National Academies report on ICME that identified barriers and opportunities for the future.
"The development and use of advanced integrated computational tools for more rapidly and efficiently engineering new materials, manufacturing processes and products is at a tipping point. The Materials Genome Initiative can serve as an important catalyst to drive the technological developments and cultural changes that will be needed to make this technology truly transformational for industry and science," he said.
Roberto's presentation, "Computational Materials Science and Chemistry for Innovation," will examine how the U.S. has developed the world's most powerful collection of research facilities for materials science and chemical sciences over the past 20 years. "This has profound implications for the pace of innovation and the development of new technologies," he said.