Newswise — The Minerals Metals & Materials Society (TMS) has been commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) to lead a project consisting of a two-phased study into areas where new materials and processing breakthroughs can lead to transformational advances in energy efficiency, energy security, and reductions in carbon emissions. The studies will support DOE in launching two new university-led Manufacturing Energy Systems Centers intended to accelerate both knowledge development and dissemination in distinct manufacturing areas with critical technical needs. The ITP has already requested $10 million in its Fiscal Year 2011 budget for these centers as part of its work to help develop innovative technologies for a clean energy economy.
TMS, a professional society of materials scientists and engineers that is headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, will conduct the project throughout 2010. This project grew from the ASM/TMS Energy Materials Initiative—a collaborative effort by two of the world’s leading materials societies—to provide information resources and connections both within and outside of the materials community to focus and accelerate the pace of development of new energy technologies.
The two phases of the project will hone the focus of the studies to maximize their potential impact.
First, an “Energy Materials Blue Ribbon Panel,” consisting of thought leaders in the materials science and engineering field, will convene in February to identify significant high-impact materials and processing combinations most necessary for an energy-efficient and low-carbon economy. This panel will explore potentially untapped areas of materials and manufacturing science where breakthrough opportunities exist.
Twenty-one panelists representing academia, industry, and government have agreed to participate and will meet on February 18 in Seattle, Washington.
The panel’s recommendations will be captured in a vision document that will be widely disseminated. Dissemination events are planned in Washington, D.C., as well as to the materials community through JOM, the TMS member journal, and other society channels.
In the second phase TMS will convene Technical Working Groups to identify and prioritize critical research and development needed to address the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel. A final report of the highest impact research and development areas identified by the Technical Working Groups will be created and communicated throughout the materials science and engineering community. Society meetings as well as other communication channels will be the primary venues for sharing these results.
The energy project is an excellent fit for TMS, whose members have been focusing in recent years on the potential for materials science and engineering to provide solutions to societal challenges.
“TMS is the home of our professional community, so it is natural for TMS to be the catalyst and provide the vehicle for us to come together to deliberate these energy-related topics and to come up with implementable recommendations,” said Diran Apelian, chair of the Blue Ribbon Panel and Past President of TMS.
The contract was awarded in February, with the final report to be published in December.
The Blue Ribbon Panelists:
Diran Apelian, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Metal Processing Institute at Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWilliam J. Bernard, president and chief executive officer of Surface Combustion, Inc.Yet-Ming Chiang, professor of ceramics in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; cofounder of American Superconductor and A123 SystemsLeo Christodoulou, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Sciences OfficeMichael J. Dolan, senior vice president at Exxon Mobil CorporationJames Evans, P. Malozemoff Professor Emeritus and Professor of Metallurgy Emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, BerkeleyBrian Gleeson, chair of materials science and professor of materials engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of PittsburghJoseph Goldstein, distinguished professor and dean emeritus of engineering at the University of Massachusetts, AmherstKevin Hemker, professor and chair of mechanical engineering at John Hopkins UniversityEnrique Lavernia, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, DavisSteven McKnight, director of the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation Division of the Directorate for Engineering, National Science FoundationCherry Murray, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied SciencesAlton D. Romig, Jr., executive vice president, deputy laboratories director, and chief operating officer at Sandia National LaboratoriesTomás Díaz de la Rubia, chief research and development officer and acting principal associate director for science and technology at Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryMark A. Smith, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Molycorp Minerals, LLCDavid B. Spencer, founder, chairman, and chief technology officer of wTe CorporationAlan Taub, vice president of global research and development for General Motors CompanyJohn Vickers, manager of the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight CenterJeffrey Wadsworth, chief executive officer and president of Battelle Memorial InstituteJames C. Williams, professor of materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State UniversitySteve Zinkle, director of the Materials Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
About TMSTMS is the professional organization encompassing the entire range of materials science and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production to basic research and the advanced applications of materials. Included among its professional and student members are metallurgical and materials engineers, scientists, researchers, educators and administrators from more than 70 countries on six continents.For more information on TMS, visit our Web site at: www.tms.org.
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