More than 6100 people attended the Materials Research Society (MRS) 2016 Fall Meeting and Exhibit held in Boston from November 27 through December 2. The Meeting featured 54 symposia, 247 exhibitors, and several tutorials and professional development seminars. The Meeting Chairs, Bernard Bewlay (GE Global Research), Silvija Gradečak (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Sarah Heilshorn (Stanford University), Ralph Splolenak (ETH Zürich), and T. Venky Venkatesan (National University of Singapore), compiled the symposia and organized them into nine topical areas: Broader Impact; Biomaterials and Soft Materials; Electrochemistry; Electronics, Magnetics, and Photonics; Energy and Sustainability; Mechanical Behavior and Failure Mechanisms of Materials; Nanomaterials; Proces-sing and Manufacturing; and Theory, Characterization, and Modeling.
To complement these sessions, tutorials were offered in several technical areas, and poster sessions were held during the evenings. A separate symposium was held on engaged learning of materials science and engineering, which was complemented by tutorials and workshops focused on education, diversity, and the use of social media. An international exhibit showcased products and services of interest to the materials community. In addition, several special events highlighted science outreach.
iMatSci—Innovation in Materials Science—was a three-day event held during the Meeting that provided a platform for technology leaders at universities, research labs, and startup companies to demonstrate the practical applications of innovative, materials-based technologies. The program is designed to showcase technologies that have not yet been productized, but where there is a working prototype or evidence of a repeatable process. It featured a keynote address by Dan Button, AIRY:3D, who has raised more than USD$100 million in financing for four materials science startups.
Symposium X—Frontiers of Materials Research featured lunchtime lectures aimed at a broad audience that provided attendees with an overview of leading-edge topics. Presenters included Alan Taub, University of Michigan, “Challenges to Reduce Weight in Transporta-tion Applications”; Steve Granick, IBS Center for Soft and Living Matter, and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, “Active Matter—Surprises and Research Opportuni-ties”; Bin Liu, National University of Singapore, “Aggregation-Induced Emission—Materials and Biomedical Applications”; and Nicola Spaldin, ETH Zürich, “Multiferroics—Past, Present, and Future.”
The Career Fair included recruiters and on-site interviews, career development sessions, resume critiques, mock interviews, and networking opportunities. Related workshops included How to Qualify for a Green Card and Preparing for Your Next Job Interview.
2016 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting Symposium Support
ACS Energy Letters | ACS Publications
Advanced Structural and Chemical Imaging | SpringerMaterials
Applied Diamond
Applied Physics Reviews | AIP Publishing
Arios Ltd.
Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments Company
Binghamton University, The State University of New York
Bio-Logic, USA
Brandeis University, MRSEC
Carat Systems
Cell Press
Cividec Instrumentation GmbH
Cline Innovations
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL)
Cordouan Technologies
CrysTec GmbH
FEI, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Fine Abrasive Taiwan
Fraunhofer USA Inc., Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies
Gatan
GE Global Research
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
Hokkaido University, Faculty of Engineering
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
JC Nabity Lithography Systems
JEOL USA, Inc.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics | IOP Publishing
Kyoto University
Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy | SpringerMaterials
MDC Vacuum Products, LLC
Medtronic
Microwave Enterprises, LTD
MilliporeSigma (Sigma-Aldrich Materials Science)
Montanuniversitaet Leoben
Nano (a natureresearch solution) | SpringerNature
Nanoscribe GmbH
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Science Foundation
Nature Energy | Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
New Diamond Technology
Nion Company
NOVALED GmbH
nSynergies
Opton Limited
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Plassys-Bestek
Quantum Design, Inc.
Seki Diamond
Society for Archaeological Sciences
SpringerMaterials
The Elizabeth and Richard Henes Center for Quantum Phenomena, Michigan Technological University
Thorlabs
U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
UniEnergy Technologies, LLC.
University of Massachusetts Amherst,Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing
Wuxi MNT Micro and Nanotech Co., Ltd.
XGLab
Zeon Corporation
The MRS Government Affairs Committee held a focus group to solicit feedback on the current policy of the Society. There was also a Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship Program Information Session, Materials Voice, and government agency presentations that featured information on funding opportunities for materials research, congressional fellowships, and overviews of materials research topics of current interest to various agencies.
The Public Outreach Center offered exciting hands-on activities, demonstrations, and information areas and seminars to engage future materials scientists and engineers. New to the 2016 Fall Meeting was Speed Coaching with the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, and a Focus on Sustainability—Incorporating Sustainability Principles into Your Research Seminar, which taught attendees how to incorporate sustainability principles in a more comprehensive way while considering real-world applications.
The Public Outreach Committee and MRS Foundation provided various workshops and seminars to engage the membership and encourage involvement in professional development outreach activities. There was an ABET Information and Evaluator Retraining Session, student-organized events, a Women in Materials Science & Engineering Breakfast, and seminars on public speaking and communications, Essentials of Getting Your Work Published, and a professional development workshop.
These presentations and more from the 2016 MRS Fall Meeting are available through the MRS OnDemand® video capture as well as news coverage of the Meeting in Meeting Scene ® and on MRS TV. Further information can be accessed at www.mrs.org/fall2016 .