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P & GA HOME General information on the Public & Governmental Affairs Center [MORE] WIRED TO WASHINGTON A tool to send advocacy letters to local and national politicians [MORE] CONGRESSIONAL VISIT DAYS Learn more about this annual event in Washington D.C. [MORE] NEWS AND NOTES View recent articles related to the P & GA [MORE] READING ROOM News articles on global materials-related activities [MORE] FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES List of funding sources for materials-related projects [MORE] MATERIAL AGENCIES List of public and private agencies concerned with P&GA initiatives [MORE] P & GA COMMITTEE HOME Info about the committee and how to join [MORE]

SPOTLIGHT DOWNLOADS Webcast: “Introductory Remarks and Overview on “Accelerating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation for Global Competitiveness”, Kevin Hemker, Johns Hopkins University, and TMS Public and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Webcast: “Computational Materials Science for Innovation ”, James B. Roberto, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Webcast: “Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME): The Next Big Thing”, by John Allison, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Michigan

P & GA Congressional Visit Days 2005 Summary

The following summarizes the 2005 Congressional visit held on May 10 and 11th, 2005, in Washington D.C. To see more of the 2005 activities, visit the TMS 2005 CVD Photo Gallery.

The TMS delegation included eight professional TMS members, three TMS staff members, and twenty students. The group met with 41 U.S. senators, representatives, and staffers in Washington, D.C.

TMS Conducts Congressional Briefing on Nanomaterials
In conjunction with the CVD events, TMS led a nanomaterials briefing that provided background information on nanomaterials for members of Congress and their staffs. The briefing was part of the FMS Materials Information Luncheon series.

The briefing “Nanomaterials: Making It Real by Materials Science and Engineering” was moderated by Iver Anderson, the chair of the TMS Public & Governmental Affairs Committee. Following introductory comments by Representatives Rush Holt and Judy Biggert, co-chairs of the Congressional Research and Development Caucus, presentations were made by Mark Kryder of Seagate Corporation, Keith Blakely of NanoDynamics, and Carl Koch of North Carolina State University.

These presentations laid out the industrial technology base of the nanomaterials challenge and described the fundamental materials research directions that must be pursued to enable nanomaterials to be developed for commercial use.

Student Participation Raises Enthusiasm
Twenty TMS student members added a new dynamic to CVD activities in 2005. Prior to this, only TMS professional members had been meeting with members of Congress to discuss the plight of the materials science and engineering community.

“I can tell you that there was real value to having the students involved,” said Kevin Hemker, faculty advisor to students from Johns Hopkins University and two-time CVD participant. “In the meetings that we had, it was great for me to be able to emphasize the need for investments in basic science and then to be able to turn the floor over to the students, who exuded excitement and interest in science and articulated the need for government-funded undergraduate and graduate level research opportunities.”

Student members came from Drexel University, Johns Hopkins University, Iowa State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Tennessee. Their travel and registration costs were funded in part by the TMS Foundation.

Former TMS President Presents Award to Congressional Science and Technology Advocate
At a reception held in conjunction with CVD, 2003 TMS President Dan Thoma of Los Alamos National Laboratory presented the 2005 George E. Brown, Jr. Award to Jeff Bingaman, a senator from Thoma’s home state of New Mexico. Bingaman shared the award, which honors effective advocacy for federal investment in science, engineering, and technology, with Vernon Ehlers, a representative from Michigan.

The 2005 TMS Delegation to Congressional Visits Day included 20 students, two student advisors, six additional professional members, and three TMS staff members.

 
(Photo by Mattox Photography)