AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY

hot between pieces, and additional cost
is saved by eliminating job-specific mold
forms.
The new approach allows for more
precise control of the process. Rist says,
“While the conventional process relies a
great deal on trial and error, we simulate
the process and the material behavior
on a computer. We then compare the
outcome with the results from physical
tests so we can identify and implement
the most favorable process conditions.”
The Fraunhofer team has demonstrated
the process on sheets of glass
measuring approximately one meter
square, a size that should be big enough
for Gehry and other creative designers
to work with.
Visit http://www.fraunhofer.de n
NSF releases more info on
Materials Genome Initiative
funding plans
During his plenary presentation at
MS&T’11, NSF director Subra Suresh
mentioned several times that additional
information would be forthcoming
in regard to funding opportunities for
the high-priority Materials Genome
Initiate. In particular, Suresh alerted
the audience to the imminent release
of an NSF “Dear Colleague Letter” on
the topic.
The letter, “Designing Materials
to Revolutionize and Engineer our
Future,” has now been sent out and
posted on the NSF website.
Part of the emphasis in the DMREF
letter, signed by Edward Seidel and
Thomas Peterson, for the Mathematical
and Physical Sciences and Engineering
Directorates, respectively, is a call
for developing common toolsets,
which can be used across the entire
materials discovery-to-deployment
continuum. Seidel and Peterson specifically
mention in the letter that the
NSF is looking for tools that integrate
“advanced computational methods with
data-enabled scientific discovery and
innovative experimental techniques
in such a manner as to revolutionize
American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 90, No. 9 | www.ceramics.org
NSF director Subra Suresh (above) reported
during the MS&T’11 plenary session
that the agency would be moving quickly
to get out information about MGI funding
opportunities. The Designing Materials
to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future
“Dear Colleague” letter is the first such
announcement.
our approach to materials research and
engineering.”
The overarching goal of the DMREF
program is to have multiple breakthroughs
in developing and engineering
materials to specified functions or properties
from first principles.
Some of the particular points of
interests discussed in the letter are
• “Activities that accelerate materials
discovery and development by building
the fundamental knowledge base
needed to progress towards designing
and making a material with a specific
and desired function or property from
first principles;”
• “Proposals that seek to advance
fundamental materials understanding
across length and time scales to
elucidate the effects of microstructure,
surfaces, and coatings on the properties
and performance of engineering materials.
The ultimate goal is to enable
control of material properties through
design via the establishment of the
interrelationships between constitution,
processing, structure, properties, performance
and process control;”
(Credit: Peter Wray; ACerS.)
• Bridging, collaborative research
“and iterative process where computation
guides experiments and theory,
while experiments and theory advance
computation;” and
• Designs that address the “recyclability
and sustainability of materials.”
NSF is also encouraging collaborations
with industry, national laboratories,
engineering partners or other
organizations.
Seidel and Peterson make a point
of noting that DMREF is not a standalone
program and will work sideby-side
with two other programs: the
Grant Opportunities for Academic
Liaison with Industry and the Software
Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation.
The window for submitting DMREF
proposals to the NSF is Jan. 15, 2012–
Feb. 15, 2012.
Visit www.nsf.gov n
The Refractories Institute fires
up scholarship program
Do you know a student (undergrad
or graduate) who could use $5,000 and
likes hot stuff?
The member
companies of
The Refractories
Institute have
established an academic
scholarship
program for the
2012-2013 academic
year to support qualified students
enrolled in degree programs who have
exhibited an interest in refractory manufacturing
through course work or other
activities, and who might be considering
a career in the refractory industry.
TRI will award a limited number
of scholarships based on academic
merit and the applicant’s demonstrated
experience and interest in the field
of refractories. Scholarships will be
awarded in the form of one-time grants
of $5,000 each, based on the review of
applications and the judgment of the
TRI Scholarship Committee and board
of directors. Previous TRI Scholarship
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