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Voting Underway for World’s Greatest Materials Moments
Warrendale, PA, September 26: Voting for the world’s greatest moments in
materials science and engineering history has begun via an online survey at
http://www.materialmoments.org/survey.html, developed by JOM, the journal of
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The top ten materials moments
will be spotlighted at the TMS 2007 Annual Meeting & Exhibition, to be held at
the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Florida, February
25–March 1.
Professionals in the
materials field as well as the general public may vote for their top ten moments
from a list of 100 nominees. The deadline for voting is December 1, 2006. The
list includes moments such as smelted copper being observed in a fire pit in
8000 BC, which brought about the birth of extractive metallurgy; French chemist
Count Hilaire de Chardonnet building the first commercial rayon plant in 1891,
which enabled commercial production of synthetic fibers; the invention of the
transistor by John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William Shockley, which
created the building block for modern electronics; and Don Eigler spelling out
“IBM” at the nano-level by manipulating xenon atoms, which demonstrated the idea
of bottoms-up manufacture.
Visit http://www.materialmoments.org
for all 100 nominees as well as an explanation of the methodology used to
compile the list.
“As I read through the list of 100, I am in awe of the impact materials have had
on our world. All aspects of our quality of life have either been enabled by, or
certainly facilitated by, these accomplishments,” said Diran Apelian, 2007 vice
president of TMS. “On a personal level, I feel proud to be part of this
community. Each of these moments shines in its own way; however, together, these
moments create an amazing and beautiful tapestry proclaiming the wonders of
human innovation.”
“Reading through the list
of 100 Great Material Moments provides a concise history of the entire materials
field,” said Warren Hunt, executive director of TMS. “As we look through the
moments, there are a lot of things that we enjoy today that have their
foundations in developments that took place years ago. As a society, the
foundations of TMS date back many years. For both the materials profession and
TMS, our future is built on our past.”
JOM is presenting the
greatest materials moments in commemoration of TMS’s 50th anniversary in 2007 as
a member society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and
Petroleum Engineers (AIME). The announcement of the top ten materials moments at
the society’s annual meeting will inaugurate three days of plenary sessions
covering the last 50 years of technological progress and the future direction of
materials.
“As a society dedicated to
the service of the materials science and engineering community, it is important
for TMS to reminisce on the glorious past of the profession,” said Brajendra
Mishra, 2006 TMS president. “I believe it is vital to remind ourselves of those
marvelous moments in metals and materials invention that will undoubtedly shape
the future of mankind. What better time to do it than on the 50th anniversary of
TMS?”
JOM, the member journal of TMS, has long enjoyed opportunities to highlight the
role of materials in society. On its pages, readers have found descriptions of
such ancient processes as Damascus steel making and lost-wax casting.
Unforgettable moments in history—the collapse of the World Trade Center towers,
the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and the sinking of the Titanic, for
example —have also been explored from a materials science perspective. Thus, it
is fitting for JOM to honor TMS on its 50th anniversary by considering the top
100 moments that have shaped materials science.
“We wanted to do something
that would draw attention to the materials science and engineering community
fromthe general public and that would generate lively discussion and debate
within the materials community itself,” said James J. Robinson, editor of JOM.
“Trying to identify the most significant moments in the world’s most significant
enabling technology seemed an apt initiative considering the journal’s
reputation for exploring more than current materials developments.”
TMS 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. The
TMS 2007 Annual Meeting will feature technical programming in the topical areas
of light metals; extraction, processing, structure and properties; and emerging
materials. Nearly 50 symposia are scheduled as well as workshops, short courses
and networking events. Last year, some 3,800 materials professionals from
industry, academia and government attended this interdisciplinary conference;
more than 40% traveled from outside the United States.
For additional details on
the TMS annual meeting and exhibition, visit
http://www.tms.org/annualmeeting.html.
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