McMaster hosts Advanced Materials Week

default-hero-image

BY Faculty of Engineering

June 18, 2007

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/steel.jpg” caption=”Advanced Materials Week will explore the next generation of materials that will be used in a wide variety of products. Photo courtesy of the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. “]First there was stone, wood and animal bones. Then people discovered how to make bronze, iron and pottery. Next came rubber, plastics and polymers. Today, we manufacture a vast array of materials from advanced metal alloys to silicon and ceramics.

More than 200 of the best materials researchers and students from across Canada will be gathering at McMaster University from June 18 to 22 to discuss developments of the next generation of materials.

These materials will be used to manufacture vehicles, alternative energy sources such as solar cells, photonics, instrumentation and an endless array of products, some not yet imagined. Nanotechnology will play a pivotal role in these developments as will the growing concern for environmental sustainability.

“This week provides an important opportunity to share information in all areas of materials research, particularly in light of rapidly increasing rates of discovery and society's changing needs and priorities,” explains Gianluigi Botton, conference chair, professor of materials science and engineering at McMaster, and Canada Research Chair in Microscopy of Nanoscale Materials. “It is also an important event for graduate students working in materials science and engineering, allowing them to advance their studies and develop contacts in the field.”

Billed as Advanced Materials Week, highlights will include:

  • D.K.C. MacDonald Memorial Lecture: Microstructure, Architecture and Component: The Art and Science of Changing Scales with Yves Brechet, professor at INPG Grenoble, June 21, 6 p.m., Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery (MDCL)
  • 5th Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research Advanced Materials Workshop, June 18 and 19, MDCL and John Hodgins Engineering Building (JHE)
  • 6th International Workshop on Alloying Elements Effects in Migrating Interfaces, June 18 and 19, MDCL and JHE
  • 19th Canadian Materials Science Conference, June 20 to 22, MDCL
  • Presentation of the Canadian Metal Physics Award, Canadian Metal Chemistry Award and student research awards, June 20, 9 a.m., MDCL)
  • Poster session: MUSC, CIBC Hall, June 20, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
  • Tours and demonstrations of facilities all week.

    Several initiatives have recently been undertaken at McMaster to expand its involvement with materials research and development. This includes the establishment of the GMC Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion, the Initiative for Automotive Manufacturing Innovation, the Light Metal Casting Research Centre and the relocation of CANMET to the McMaster Innovation Park. They join several centres and institutes already established at the University in complementary areas.

    Advanced Materials Week is being organized by the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. Conference sponsors include GM Canada, Novelis and Zeiss.