member views of materials news 2010

Vol. 63 No. 1 • JOM 13www.tms.org/jom.html

Government AffairsFeature

Nitin ChopraAssistant Professor, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Center for Materials for Information TechnologyThe University of Alabama, USAMember, Biomaterials Committee

The future of nanomedicine neces-sitates fundamen-tal knowledge and development of novel drug deliv-ery systems, their clever implanta-tion in humans, and finally, pre-cisely control-

ling delivery of the drug molecules to cure a disease. A recent publication in Proceedings of the National Acad-emy of Sciences (Kolishetti et al., Pro-ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107 (2010) 17939–17944) reports the use of biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles as efficient delivery vehicles for multiple cancer drugs. This was achieved by precise blending of drug molecules with poly-mers, resulting in a polymer-based nanoparticle loaded with two differ-ent drugs with different properties. The drug is released precisely once

Member Views of Materials News 2010

Lynne Robinson

Intertwined with many of the top headlines of 2010 was a materials story. To highlight the critical role that ma-terials science and engineering (MSE) plays on both the world stage and in everyday lives, JOM asked an array of members to comment on what they believe the most significant news or de-velopment was in 2010 from a materials

perspective. We also encouraged them to offer predictions as to what might lie ahead for MSE in 2011 and beyond. Many of the individuals who responded are involved with TMS technical or general committees and their responses reflect those particular interests. What follows are excerpts from the many exceptional contributions to this

article, arranged according to the four broad technical communities that TMS has developed for its Materials Tech-nology@TMS resources. The full text of these responses, as well as links to the papers, websites, and resources referenced in many of them, can be ac-cessed at the Materials Technology@TMS link provided in each section.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and not of their places of employment or TMS.

the interaction with the tumor cells is established. Such particles will also eliminate difficulties and risks associ-ated with chemotherapy.

Diana Farkas Professor, Materials Science and Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USAMember, Computational Materials Science and Engineering Committee

A computational materials sci-ence approach has been used for many years to study deforma-tion and failure in metallic mate-rials from the at-omistic scale up, starting with the

basic interaction between atoms. A new, exciting development is the ap-plication of these techniques to bio-logical systems, as evidenced by the work of Markus Buehler, associate professor at the Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology, who has studied deformation and failure of structural protein materials, such as spider silk.

. . . This will enable the design of new generations of multifunctional materials with improved properties by using the principles that are observed in the natural biological geometries.

Fu GuoAssociate Dean, College of Materials Science and EngineeringBeijing University of Technology, ChinaMember, Electronic Packaging and Interconnection Materials Committee

Novel UBM layers and/or solder al-loys will continue to emerge in 2011 and beyond. Such innovative scien-tific/engineering activities can be achieved through the microstruc-ture design of

interfacial intermetallic compounds. Accordingly, portable electronic de-vices with high-density packaging technologies/materials can enrich the user experience for modern society. In other words, the “More than Moore” can keep running for the next decade.

Emerging Materials Technologies CommunityMaterials Technology@TMS link: http://materialstechnology.tms.org/EMT/article.aspx?articleID=3793

JOM • January 201114 www.tms.org/jom.html

C. Robert KaoProfessor and Chair, Department of Materials Science and EngineeringNational Taiwan University, TaiwanChair, Electronic Packaging and Interconnection Materials Committee

The growing interest in three-dimen-sional integrated circuits (3D ICs) represents a para-digm shift related to electronic pack-aging and inter-connection materi-als. It also presents new challenges

and opportunities for researchers. . . . A key pillar for the successful implemen-tation of 3D IC integration is to have reliable metallurgy bonding between different layers of silicon chips. In 2011 and beyond, we will see exponential growth in research activities in this area, including new low temperature bond-ing materials, new surface finishes, new bonding processes, and identification of new failure modes.

Fernand D.S. Marquis Professor, Wayne E. Meyer Institute of Systems EngineeringNaval Postgraduate School, USAJOM Advisor, Powder Materials Committee Expect to see the use of a system

approach to the design, develop-ment, and manu-facture of com-plex and sophis-ticated functional nanosystems. As a consequence, there will be con-

siderable breakthroughs in several fields such as energy, health, catalysis, sensors, and water purification.

Georg J. SchmitzAccess e.V.RWTH Aachen University, Germany Member, ICME Committee

Efforts to stan-dardize and gener-alize data formats

Nitin SinghResearcherNovelis Global Technology Centre, CanadaMember, ICME Committee The aluminum industry has, over the years, been a big promoter of using an ICME (in-

tegrated computational materials engineering) approach for alloy development. However, it is only recently with the development of sophisticated multi-scale modeling capabilities that a quanti-tative understanding of physical mechanisms involved and their interactions are being generated. I consider the joint paper, “Quan-titative Prediction of Solute Strengthening in Aluminium Alloys,” published in Nature Materials (DOI:10.1038/NMAT2813) by re-searchers at Brown University and the GM Technical Center as a significant development in building up capabilities towards an

ICME approach to alloy development. The authors used a new computational approach to quantify solute-dislocation interaction at the nanoscale and related it to the macro-scale contribution of solute strengthening in aluminum alloys. I believe this work very clearly shows the capability to make quantitative predictions using ICME tools correlating microstructure with property with a minimum number of free parameters. This should spur similar activity in understanding other mechanisms at play for which we probably have a good feel, but no quantitative understanding. Fur-ther, developing relationships with processing variables is key, from an industrial point of view, to engineering new materials and has the potential to revolutionize the metal/materials manufacturing sector in general.

for the exchange of simulation results represent a major step toward success-ful future applications of ICME (inte-grated computational materials engi-neering). Such a standard facilitates in-formation exchange between software tools for numerous processes and also across the different length and time scales affecting both properties and life cycle of an engineering component. . . . This will substantially improve the understanding of individual processes by integrating the component history originating from preceding steps as an initial condition for the actual process. Eventually this will lead to optimized process and production scenarios and will allow effective tailoring of specific materials properties.

Patrice E.A. TurchiAdvanced Metallurgical Science and Engineering Group Leader,Condensed Matter and Materials DivisionLawrence Livermore National

Laboratory, USAMember-At-Large, Materials and Society Committee

Carbon, the fourth most abun-dant chemical element in the universe, enjoyed

a high moment of fame this past year when the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two scientists from the University of Manchester for their ground-breaking experiments on two-dimensional graphene. Despite this instant recognition, a lot of work had been done in recent years on this “simple” structure—a one-atom thick film of carbon—to reveal its intrigu-ing properties and promising appli-cations. . . . It should also be pointed out that—as with fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, buckyballs, and other forms of carbon—state-of-the-art modeling tools currently available are perfectly adequate to unravel the mysteries of graphene. This situation should make both experimentalists and theorists work hand in hand for more discover-ies. The exciting world of science may be flat after all. . . .

Yang WenPostdoctoral ResearcherUniversity of California,

San Diego, USAMember, Biomaterials Committee The mechanism of the structure of natural materials can be introduced to nanotechnique


and nanoengineering. Although the growth course of an organism is hard to imitate, comparatively, the structure of biological materials can give a good guide to engineering materials, especially to composite materials.

Stuart WrightSenior Applications ScientistEDAX-TSL, USA

Advances in detectors and computer processing have greatly improved many microstruc-ture characteriza-tion tools. This has not only enabled improvements in individual tech-niques, but has

also permitted a much greater integra-tion of complementary characterization techniques, providing materials scien-

tists with a more complete picture of a material microstructure and its state. Such information will help scientists further the development of advanced materials and provide guidance in pro-cessing materials to meet the require-ments of more demanding applications.

Ying YangMaterials ScientistCompuTherm LLC, USA

In a paper appearing in Science (Bai et al., “Efficient Annealing of Radiation Dam-age Near Grain Boundaries via Interstitial Emis-sion,” Science, 26 March 2010: Vol. 327 no. 5973 pp.

1631–1634), Los Alamos researchers, with the use of computational simu-

lation methods, report a self-healing mechanism that may render nanomate-rials highly useful for nuclear applica-tions. They found that grain boundaries have a surprising “loading-unloading” effect. Upon irradiation, interstitials are loaded into the boundary, which then acts as a source, emitting interstitials to annihilate vacancies in the bulk. This unexpected recombination mechanism has a lower energy barrier than conven-tional vacancy diffusion and is efficient for annihilating immobile vacancies in the nearby bulk, resulting in self-heal-ing of the radiation-induced damage. . . . (These insights) provide new avenues for examination of the role of grain boundaries and engineered material interfaces of radiation-induced effects. Such efforts could eventually assist or accelerate the design of highly radia-tion-tolerant materials for the next gen-eration of nuclear energy applications.

Theo LehnerManager Business Development, Rönnskär Smelter, Boliden Mineral AB Guest Professor, Division of

Established Materials Technologies CommunityMaterials Technology@TMS link: http://materialstechnology.tms.org/EST/article.aspx?articleID=3795

Process Metallurgy, Luleå University of Technology, SwedenMember, Pyrometallurgy Committee

Pyrometallurgy made significant contributions this past year to address-ing the global challenge of effectively and safely managing electronic waste. Smelters in Sweden, Belgium, Ger-

many, Canada, South Korea, and Japan have announced heavy investments in adding e-scrap capacities, emphasizing environmental, health, and safety per-formance. This is particularly signifi-cant during times of hardship with all-time low treatment charges on concen-trates, and in times of uncertainty with forthcoming increasing energy prices and CO

2 taxes.

André PhillionAssistant Professor, Okanagan School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Canada JOM Advisor, Solidification Committee

The use of computed x-ray microto-mography to investigate solidification

structures has be-come more wide-spread. Although the technique has been around for a number of years, there were a great many articles pub-lished this year

in the field, as well as important ad-vancements made in our understand-ing of solidification microstructure and dendritic growth, as-cast porosity, and semi-solid deformation.

Mark R. StoudtMaterials Research Engineer, Center for Automotive LightweightingNational Institute of Standards and Technology, USAChair, Shaping and Forming Committee Over the past decade, the need to improve fuel economy via reduction in gross vehi-

cle weight has escalated the demand for new lightweight materials throughout the transportation industry. The materials developed in response to this need present many substantial challenges, especially the lack of reliable property data to use in predictive models. In light of this, there is renewed focus on the materials challenges that are facing the transportation sector. The Shaping and Forming Commit-tee recently sponsored three highly successful symposia that spot-lighted specific challenges within the automotive and the aerospace communities. Each symposium revealed insightful approaches for

solving the broad-based materials design, characterization, and modeling issues from rep-resentatives from the industrial, academic, and government research communities. From my perspective, there is considerable long-range impact potential from these events. The sponsorship of these symposia promoted broad-based interaction between sev-eral TMS technical committees, including ICME, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, and Materials Characterization. The diverse technical backgrounds within the memberships of these committees will continue to identify key obstacles and facilitate their solutions. In ad-dition, these symposia brought attention to the shear magnitude of this challenge, reinforc-ing the fact that no individual facet of the materials community can solve a challenge such as this single-handedly.


Wilhelmus H. SillekensResearch ScientistTNO Science & Industry, NetherlandsChair, Magnesium Committee

An important development in magne-sium technology is the implantation of magnesium alloy stents in a clinical study in Europe on bioresorbable drug-eluting coro-nary stents. A fa-vorable outcome

of this study will be a positive signal to biomedical companies that this is a viable route for the development of re-sorbable implants, as well as related ap-plications, such as orthopedic devices. This will trigger further research and de-velopment efforts to bring magnesium-based implants to practical application.

Garry WarrenProfessor, Metallurgical & Materials EngineeringUniversity of Alabama, USATMS Vice President

Over the past year, TMS has spon-sored some really exciting program-ming centered around “sustainability,” a huge portion of which includes ener-gy usage and recycling. In an August JOM review of the 2010 Materials and Society Symposium, the organizers stated that thermodynamics, mass and heat transfer, fluid flow, and process design are “disciplines at the corner-stone of measuring sustainability.” I think they are also key to achieving sustainability. These are precisely the tools that extractive and process engi-neers employ daily in many different industries and processes. What’s new and exciting, but also challenging, is that the materials we process are evolving from ores and minerals to in-clude new recycling feedstock such as electronic waste, cars, cans, and con-sumer products of many varieties.

Yuyuan ZhaoReader in Materials EngineeringUniversity of Liverpool, U.K.Member, Composite Materials Committee

Recent developments in composite materials have been incremental rather than revolutionary, so it is not easy to name a single development that can be highlighted as a significant break-through. My personal choice, though, would be materials for badminton racquets. One of my hobbies is play-ing badminton and I have followed the interesting developments in racquet materials in the last few years. The top range racquets have adopted many new technologies, incorporating car-bon nanotubes, fullerene particles or nanoscale air bubbles in the frames. They also now feature ingenious shock absorption technology and are tailored to give the correct balance of stiffness and mass distribution to suit individual player preferences for a combination of power and control. Thanks to these developments, the maximum speed of a smashed shuttlecock has exceeded 420 km/h!

The research and development fo-cus of composite materials is no longer simply to increase specific strength and stiffness. Properties can range from fracture toughness, to damage detec-tion, to self healing. Composites with customized hierarchical structures have great potential for further devel-opments.

Carolyn DuranRamp and EHS Manager, Fab Materials OperationIntel Corporation, USAMember, Accreditation Committee

I believe that 2010 was a paradigm shift with respect to our focus on en-

ergy and the en-vironment. In my home state of Or-egon, hybrid and electric cars are no longer anoma-lies. Solar power is becoming more pervasive as com-

munities organize to enable cost effec-tive implementation of solar solutions for individual homeowners. These are great examples of how engineering and science can improve the quality of life for the future, and my hope is that this

Materials Education CommunityMaterials Technology@TMS link: http://materialstechnology.tms.org/edu/article.aspx?articleID=3796

continued focus will provide visible innovations that encourage students to enter our fields. . . . The bottom line is that we not only need to improve our educational systems so that future engi-neers and scientists have the tools they need for the future, but we also need to focus on filling the pipeline by encour-aging today’s top students to embark on a future of innovation and technology.

Biman GhoshMaterials Scientist

Rockwell Automation, USA Member, Accreditation Committee In response to President Barack Obama’s request to leading business

leaders to initiate a program focused on improving student participation and performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the “Change the Equation” initiative was launched in September 2010. . . . “Change the Equation” gives shape to the “Educate to Innovate” campaign launched by the President in 2009 and has huge potential for its focus on girls and students of color—the population segments that need the highest atten-tion to accomplish comprehensive and sustainable advancement in all STEM fields. In conjunction with proposed recruitment and training of 100,000 teachers in STEM, “Change the Equa-tion” could pave the path for preparing female and minority students, while in-spiring the entire student population to pursue STEM careers. This will fulfill the human capital need of the nation


in STEM and bridge the gap that has widened over the years due to lack of a coherent strategy and vision in K–12 STEM education.

Mary C. JuhasAssociate Dean for Diversity & Outreach, College of EngineeringClinical Associate Professor, Materials Science and EngineeringThe Ohio State University, USAChair, Women in Science Committee

The interest and energy surround-ing TMS’s newly formed Women in Materials Sci-ence and Engi-neering Commit-tee (WIMSEC) has been amaz-ing. There is en-

gagement by women and men across government, academia, and a variety

Gabrielle GaustadAssistant Professor, Golisano Institute for SustainabilityRochester Institute of Technology, USAVice Chair, Women in Science Committee One of the most significant developments in both materials research and education is the enhanced consideration of life cycle and sustainability issues. Next-generation

materials for renewable energy production and storage are an ex-tremely active research topic and a newer focus area for TMS. De-materialization, eco-inspired material selection, energy-efficient manufacturing and extraction, and development of recycling technologies are all materials research realms with recent intensi-fied interest. On the education side, programs focused wholly on sustainability have been springing up rapidly and many current discipline-specific programs have made concerted efforts to work principles of industrial ecology and life cycle design into their curricula.

Being both integrative and multi-disciplinary is the key challenge in these efforts, while also having the largest potential for positive ramifications in the future. Sustain-ability issues are often defined as spanning economic, environmental, and social spaces—research in sustainable materials consumption and design will require a new generation of engineers who are equipped to work in these other disciplines. Materials engineers and scientists are no strangers to the challenge of multi-disciplinary work. Who better to solve these complex sustainability issues than those with a fundamental understanding of the relationships between structure, processing, and properties?

of industry sectors, and WIMSEC’s membership and “friends” span all ages, geographic locations, public, and private entities. The committee has very quickly identified some major issues that needed to be addressed, an example being the paucity of women who hold or are nominated for TMS awards. The committee members are also eager to form alliances with other technical societies to strengthen our position and extend our reach. The work of the WIMSEC volunteers will have an impact on the urgent need to engage those who have been tradition-ally underrepresented in the profession of materials science and engineering. . . . The 2010 National Academies of Science report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5, gives a com-pelling argument for why this needs to be done.

Jonn NebbeChief MetallurgistEaton Corporation, USAMember, Accreditation CommitteeMember, Professional Registration Committee

The position that the United States has allowed itself to fall into regard-ing rare earth ma-terials is (a most significant de-velopment). The materials educa-tion community needs to take the

lead on encouraging students to focus on the extraction, processing, and most importantly, recycling of these valuable materials in a green and economical way. Also, development of alternative materials to minimize the use of rare earth materials should be actively en-couraged at the research level.

Henry WhiteTechnical Market ManagerHaynes International, USAVice Chairman, Professional Registration Committee

The most significant development related to materi-als education in 2010 was the re-cord number of candidates who took the Metal-lurgical & Mate-rials Professional Engineering (PE)

Licensing Examination. I applaud the college and university materials sci-ence and engineering programs for promoting the discipline and designing curricula that will prepare students for professional career opportunities.

Carl M. CadyStaff Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USAJOM Advisor and Past Chair, Nuclear Materials Committee

Materials and Society CommunityMaterials Technology@TMS link: http://materialstechnology.tms.org/mas/article.aspx?articleID=3794

Stopping and Range of Ions in Mat-ter (SRIM) is a nuclear materials soft-ware program that receives more than 700 citations per year and is, in my opinion, the most important computa-tional tool in nuclear materials. It al-lows for the simple calculation of dam-age levels, ion ranges, sputtered atoms, and many other quantities relevant to

irradiation of materials. The most recent update to SRIM, re-leased in February 2010, adds new nu-clear stopping powers and interatomic potentials and substantially improves the overall accuracy of calculations. While it’s not a completely new piece of software, I feel that the significant improvements to SRIM have had the


greatest impact of any development over the past year, as SRIM has such a broad user base and is integral to such a wide variety of nuclear materials-re-lated research. (Also contributing to this response is Alex Perez-Berquist, post doctoral researcher, Los Alamos.)

Arjan CiftjaResearch ScientistSINTEF Materials and Chemistry, NorwayMember, Recycling and Environmental Technologies Committee Elkem Solar officially opened its fac-

tory this year for the production of solar-grade silicon with significantly less consumption of energy than required by tradi-tional technology. (The company)

manufactures high-purity solar grade silicon by using a metallurgical smelting and refining process that is carried out in five stages: (i) metallurgical silicon is produced from quartz in a smelting fur-nace; (ii) molten silicon is mixed with slag in order to extract impurities; (iii) a chemical refining process removes me-tallic impurities from silicon in a solid form; (iv) a directional solidification process pushes out impurities, which are then removed in the post-treatment process; (v) surface washing and cutting complete the process. This development will make silicon-based photovoltaic energy more competitive and the new energy-saving production process will enable development of a renewable energy source with no greenhouse gas emissions.

Animesh JhaChair in Applied Materials Science, Institute for Materials ResearchUniversity of Leeds, U.K.Member, Energy Committee

Availability of rare earth (RE) materials, as well as research on al-ternative sources of RE and RE re-cycling, is very im-portant for meeting demand in energy

transduction and generation. Cur-rently, RE elements are supplied from China, where the domestic market for these materials is growing rapidly. For this reason, RE resources outside of China must be developed.

Diana Lados Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Integrative Materials Design CenterWorcester Polytechnic Institute, USAMember-At-Large, Materials and Society Committee

We really don’t need to look very far to see one of last year’s most important devel-opments related to “Materials and Society.” It is right here within TMS—We have been and are do-

ing it! A most significant accomplish-ment this year, in my opinion, is rais-

ing the consciousness of the materials science and engineering (MSE) com-munity of the critical sustainability issues facing our world and the role played by materials in addressing them. A key contributor to this is TMS’s leadership and commitment in establishing the Materials and Society Committee and creating a forum for materials scientists and engineers to come together and discuss, deliber-ate, and converge on solution paths for sustainable development in the 21st century. . . . Also, very important and directly related to this mission, is TMS’s joint energy initiative with the U.S. Department of Energy on “Link-ing Transformational Materials and Processing for an Energy Efficient and Low-Carbon Economy.” This will complement our vision and efforts with funding opportunities to support critical materials research and devel-opment. Our “big job” has just start-ed, and much more needs to be done in the coming years. We have started

Oladele A. Ogunseitan Professor, Public Health and Social EcologyUniversity of California, Irvine, USAMember-At-Large, Materials and Society Committee Two significant materials developments in 2010 together show why the work of TMS,

and the Materials and Society Committee in particular, is infinitely challenging. As it were, one is a material of the future, brimming with hope and optimism, and the other is a material of the past, surrounded by confusion and uncertainty. First, it is hard to beat the awarding of this year’s Nobel Prize to those who have worked hard to make graphene almost a household word, even though there is currently no consumer product manu-factured with it. But the promise of graphene, an isolated atomic plane of graphite, captures the imagination. The possibilities seem endless, with potential applications in sensors, integrated circuits,

flexible digital display touch screens, and solar panels. Second, plastics generated more news and controversy than any other group of ma-terials in 2010. Additives such as Bisphenol-A, Phthalates, and brominated flame retar-dants continue to generate interest in public health due to their potential toxicity. Activists and legislators are surrounded by inconclusive research, fueling uncertainty about safety and regulatory issues. The excitement of societies worldwide that greeted the introduc-tion of plastics into widespread consumer products nearly fifty years ago has not waned, but the concerns for environmental quality and human health is spreading more rapidly than innovation in new plastic constituents. In 2011 and beyond, research into graphene will intensify, boosted by the Nobel Prize recognition and the opportunities to invent new mass-produced consumer products. The hope is that this excitement is tempered by caution to avoid the societal problems that have gripped the introduction of plastics. Care to test for toxicity and other potentially adverse impacts throughout graphene’s material and product life cycles is essential. For plastics, we will continue to see products labeled “BPA-free,” but material science re-search to reformulate plastics without compromising their place in popular consumer products will intensify, as will public education to make informed choices. Legislators will also continue to hear from their constituencies: “What have you done lately to ensure the safety and effectiveness of materials widely distributed in society?”

the engine, the transmission is in gear, and the GPS is programmed! Getting the fuel, or the resources, is the next important step to get us to where we need to go. The future of materials and our society is very promising and exciting.

James D. McGuffin-CawleyArthur S. Holden Professor of Engineering and Chair,Department of Materials Science and EngineeringCase Western Reserve University, USAMember-At-Large, Materials and Society Committee

The questionable availability of rare earth ele-ments has re-ceived prominent coverage in media such as the New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Wall Street Jour-nal. This stems

from the fact that these elements il-lustrate the connection of engineering materials to quality of life, the oppor-tunity to push technology in new di-rections, and national economies. As-pirations for new so-called renewable energy sources and advanced energy storage devices cannot be realized without access to certain materials. This particular case also highlights the global interdependence of indus-trial economies in the United States, Europe, and Japan regarding access to mineral-based resources, as well as

the critical role that materials science and engineering plays.

It is both my hope and expectation that the situation with rare earths can catalyze a broader set of questions about the geographic, social, and political implications of the distribu-tion of raw materials as related to key manufacturing and other materials-intensive industries. The prospect for the future of a broad array of materi-als is actually quite similar to that of the rare earths. . . . These forces will affect the priorities of both materials education and materials research in the coming decade.

Kotaro OguraProfessor EmeritusYamaguchi University, JapanMember, Energy Committee The U.S. Department of Energy

decided to es-tablish the Joint Center for Arti-ficial Photosyn-thesis (JCAP) in 2010. JCAP will develop an effec-tive solar energy-to-chemical fuel

conversion system in which fuels are generated directly from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water in a man-ner analogous to the natural system. The process of the artificial photo-synthesis would be made practicable with the affordable and earth-abun-dant materials. This would lead to a paradigm shift in terms of an energy source independent of fossil fuel.

Xiaochuan LuScientistPacific Northwest National Laboratory, USAMember, Energy Conversion and Storage Committee

The Pacific Northwest National Lab-oratory (PNNL) recently announced the

development of a flat sodium-nickel chloride battery that has potential to improve the per-formance and cost of energy storage. The sodium bat-tery itself is less

expensive than a lithium-ion battery, while delivering comparable power. The planar design can improve the so-dium battery performance and allow it to work at lower temperatures, eventu-ally making it more safe and durable. The battery is an attractive option for delivering renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, to the grid.

In addition to offering features such as “Member Views of Materials News 2010,” Materials Technology@TMS updates its materials news stories on a regular basis, provides easy access to information of interest to each technical community, and offers an opportunity for online networking and discussion with other materials scientists and engi-neers from throughout the world. Go to http://materialstechnology.tms.org/TE-Chome.aspx to access these and other resources.Lynne Robinson is the news writer for Materials Technology@TMS.

member views of materials news 2010

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