TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEW TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ENCOMPASSES PRODUCT METALLURGY AND APPLICATIONS . . .
. . . With a Focus on Nontraditional Programming

TMS INVITES USERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIRD WEB SURVEY . . .
. . . To Determine Future Direction of On-Line Resources

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Systems Designed for Materials Science and Optimized for Digital Imaging

HOW TO . . .
. . . Find Technical Resources through TMS

WASHINGTON NEWS FROM THE FEDERATION OF MATERIALS SOCIETIES
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm" Report Resonates on Capitol Hill

ATTENDEES PLAN FOR 2006 TMS ANNUAL MEETING . . .
. . . With Registration, Housing, Visa Information, and Preliminary Technical Program

TOP TEN . . .
. . . Programming Highlights from the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting

STUDENTS DISCUSS RESEARCH AT 2006 TMS ANNUAL MEETING EXHIBIT
Students Display Their Work during the Exhibit's Opening Reception

SOHN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM SOLICITS PAPERS . . .
. . . On Materials and Metals Processing

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. . . With a Focus on Nontraditional Programming

Not all TMS members can attend the society's annual conferences. That's why the new TMS Product Metallurgy and Applications Committee plans to focus on nontraditional programming such as web casts and DVD training sessions, as well as conference programming. Announced at MS&T '05, this new committee is sponsored by the society's Structural Materials Division and will include members from the primary materials and metals production industries as well as from end-use industries such as auto and aerospace producers. Application-driven work, such as product development and inter-disciplinary problem solving, will be the primary focus.

Todd Osman, chair of the committee and technical manager at the United States Steel Corporation, hopes this group can reach out to members who cannot typically attend TMS meetings through nontraditional programming venues, but the committee is also planning to offer traditional presentations at TMS conferences. The group plans to present its first symposium at the MS&T '07 conference in Detroit, Michigan.

The committee is now seeking participation and ideas from new members. For more information, write to techcteliaison@tms.org.

. . . To Determine Future Direction of On-Line Resources

Throughout the year, TMS has presented web users with a series of surveys to assist the society in formulating a strategy for future on-line initiatives. Web users can take advantage of another opportunity to voice their opinions by filling out the newest web survey, now available through the TMS web site. The survey is brief (11 questions) and anonymous (respondents are asked general demographic questions, but no name or contact information).

Participants are asked to let the society know the types of technologies they would like to see in on-line resources like the Technical Questions@TMS web site (but they need not have visited the Technical Questions site to participate in the survey). General comments on the TMS web site and other electronic initiatives are also welcome—and encouraged. The information gathered through this and previous surveys will be used by the TMS Information Technology Committee to set the course of the society's future web development efforts.

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Nikon has made a clear and meaningful commitment to the materials science industry to provide the finest microscope and vision systems available for materials science use. This commitment is supported by the continuing introduction of specially engineered, quality products that only a company with Nikon's experience and superior optics can produce. Nikon's unique ability to maintain total control over its optics production from start to finish is crucial to their unparalleled quality. In turn, Nikon is able to offer the industry such superior advances as CF® Infinity Optics, CFI60™ technology, and the most versatile digital imaging systems on the market. For more information, go to www.nikonusa.com.

. . . Find Technical Resources through TMS

In 2003, TMS launched an on-line resource center designed to help web users find answers to common materials science and engineering questions: the Technical Questions@TMS web site. Since that time, TMS has gradually expanded the site's content to include specialized technical information on aluminum, metal-matrix composites, nanotechnology, and superalloys. Visitors can browse the available information to gain a broad overview of the various technologies or to find the answer to a specific technical question.

To use these extensive resources, visit the home page of the Technical Questions@TMS web site. From there, select the area of technical interest that best describes your information need. (If the technology you seek is not included on the site—and you would like to see it included—let TMS know through the web survey described in the previous article.) Next, select a more specific topic from the drop-down list at the top of the page. This will lead to a number of resources on the topic, in the form of frequently asked questions, technical summaries, recommended readings, learning opportunities, and web links. If, after searching the available information, you do not find the information you seek, you can submit a specific technical question to the subject matter expert. These materials professionals, who have extensive backgrounds and experience in their subject areas, have compiled all of the information on the site and will typically respond to any queries within 48 hours.

"Rising Above the Gathering Storm" Report Resonates on Capitol Hill

A new report by the National Academies is gathering unprecedented attention in Washington, ranging from House and Senate committee hearings to caucus briefings to drafting of legislation, and inspiring columns in leading newspapers. Titled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Future," the report emerged from a blue-ribbon panel chaired by Norman Augustine, retired chair and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, in response to a request from key Senators and Representatives.

Its recommendations include increasing America's talent pool by improving K-12 science and math education through teacher scholarships, grants, and programs to engage retired scientists and engineers as teachers; strengthening the nation's commitment to long-term basic research; taking steps in visa and other programs to "make the United States the most attractive setting in which to study and perform research so that we can develop, recruit, and retain the best and brightest students, scientists and engineers from within the U.S. and throughout the world" and "ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world to innovate, invest in downstream activities such as manufacturing and marketing, and create high-paying jobs that are based on innovation by modernizing the patent system, realigning tax policies to encourage innovation, and ensuring affordable broadband access."

Specific action steps include increasing the federal investment in long-term basic research by 10 percent a year over the next seven years, and creating an entity similar to the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) within the Department of Energy to support "out-of-the-box" transformational generic energy research. This "ARPA-E" proposal met with some skepticism in the Congressional committees where hearings were held, but in general the Senate Energy Committee and House Science Committee heaped praise on the report and pledged to take up its recommendations.

House Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said, "The overarching message of the report is simple and clear, and it's one the Congress had better heed. . . . If the United States rests on its withering laurels in this competitive world, we will witness the slow erosion of our pre-eminence, our security, and our standard of living. . . . While Congress turns its attention to fixing the immediate problems caused by the literal storms that have hit our coasts, we can't skimp on the funds needed to address the 'gathering storm' described so starkly in the report."

. . . With Registration, Housing, Visa Information, and Preliminary Technical Program

The resources are now available for materials scientists and engineers to plan their trips to the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting, to be held March 12–16 in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to on-line housing and registration forms, potential attendees can now view the preliminary technical program for the meeting through the on-line TMS Personal Conference Scheduler (PCS). In the months leading up to the meeting, PCS will present up-to-date plans for the conference program, allowing attendees to create a schedule of events featuring the presentations and symposia that interest them most. A print version of the technical program will appear in the November issue of JOM as well.

For international members from countries that require a visa to enter the United States, the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting web site also offers an Official Visa Invitation Letter that these individuals can use in applying for a visa to attend the event. (Please note that the process of obtaining a visa may take several months and that the letter does not guarantee that a visa will be issued. Attendees from these countries are encouraged to begin the process of obtaining a visa early in order to receive it in time for the meeting.)

For more information, watch your mail in the coming months for the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting Advance Mailer.

. . . Programming Highlights from the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting

With the release of the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting preliminary technical program in the upcoming November issue of JOM, a sneak preview of some of the most intriguing programming plans for the conference seems in order. So as not to show favoritism to any particular technology (since TMS members—and the symposia they develop—hail from a wide variety of backgrounds), this list is arranged in alphabetical order, counting down from Nickel to Aluminum.

10. A Century of Nickel Alloy Innovation: recognizing the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Monel metal

9. Materials Characterization symposia: covering all materials in all dimensions

8. Light Metals: aluminum, magnesium, and titanium from primary processing to end-use applications

7. Lead-Free Solder symposium and related workshop: a timely topic with significant commercial implications

6. Eight Honorary Symposia: recognizing the outstanding contributions and impact of members of our profession

5. Furnace Systems Technology Workshop: an exhibit floor program with a strong commercial focus

4. Extractive Processing and Recycling: technology and environment meet

3. Nano, Bio, and Energy Materials: the "big three" of emerging materials technologies

2. Computational Modeling: of structure, processing, and properties

1. Aluminum Fabrication Plenary Session: hearing from the leaders of the industry

Students Display Their Work during the Exhibit's Opening Reception

Students who attend TMS meetings are generally given one piece of advice: Network. The redesigned student poster competition offers students the perfect opportunity to put this advice in action. As part of the 2006 student poster competition, students will be encouraged to discuss the research presented in their posters during the opening reception of the 2006 TMS Annual Meeting Exhibit. As meeting attendees enjoy complimentary food and drink from the reception, they can review student posters and discuss the research with students who are on hand to answer questions about their work.

For 2006, the TMS student poster competition has undergone significant revision compared to prior years. In addition to the 90-minute exhibit hall session, the contest has also been expanded to include more awards—and more prize money—to students. The competition offers $500 cash prizes from each of the five TMS technical divisions, as well as a $2,500 prize for the overall best poster. This year's competition is sponsored by the five technical divisions and funded by the TMS Foundation.

To participate in the poster competition, students must submit a poster by December 31. Students can submit applications through the on-line TMS conference management system CMS-plus. Students should select the "Student Technical Division Poster Contest" option from the list of 2006 TMS Annual Meeting symposia in CMS-Plus. In order to submit an abstract, the user must be logged in to the system. Members of the Material Advantage program can log in to CMS-Plus using their member number as the username and their birth date as the password.

. . . On Materials and Metals Processing

The Sohn International Symposium, which will serve as the 2006 TMS Fall Extraction & Processing meeting, has issued a call for papers on advanced processing of metals and materials. The symposium is designed to honor the work of H.Y. Sohn, professor of metallurgical engineering at the University of Utah. Sponsored by TMS and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, the Sohn International Symposium has received cosponsorship support from approximately 80 additional international organizations. The conference will be held August 27–31 in San Diego, California, at the Catamaran Resort.

Abstracts are solicited on advanced metals and materials processing in the three topical areas of principles, technologies, and industrial practice. For more details on the type of abstracts being requested, see the published call for papers, now available in portable document format.

Abstracts are due by November 15, 2005. Abstracts of approximately 250 words must be submitted electronically through CMS-Plus (the on-line TMS conference management system). For questions regarding abstract submission, contact Christina Raabe, TMS technical programming manager, at raabe@tms.org.

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ABOUT e-NEWS

TMS e-News is a monthly e-mailed newsletter that provides information on The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society's membership, meetings, publications, and other activities of interest.

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News Editor:
Kelly Roncone

EDITORS' CHOICE

The editors of TMS publications select the must-read papers from the latest editions:

OCTOBER JOM: "End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in China: Now and the Future" by Ming Chen
The volume of in-use vehicles in China will reach 32 million by the end of 2006 and the volume of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) will be more than 1.5 million by the end of 2005. In 2001, China passed a law regulating the disposal and recycling of ELVs. Progress has been slow, with the rate of ELV dismantling just 10% at the beginning of 2004. However, a pilot industrial demonstration of ELV dismantling and disposal was established in Shanghai in 2005. In addition, Shanghai Volkswagen established a modern engine remanufacturing plant aiming at its after-sales market. This article reviews the ELV policy, law, and administration system in China; the ELV dismantling industry; the challenges and opportunities of ELV recycling; and the state-of-the-art of remanufacturing of ELVs in China. [READ]

OCTOBER JOM: "Analyzing Furnace-Lining Integrity Using Nodal Wear Model" by R. Parra, L.F. Verdeja, M.F. Barbés, C. Goñi, and V. Bazán
The Nodal Wear Model was developed to systematize the analysis of corrosion phenomena on refractory and ceramic materials that come in contact with corrosive fluids in furnace linings. The model is based on the determination of the thermal field in the furnace lining using a finite-element-method grid in which a second grid is defined to represent the surface of the lining that is attacked by the molten phases. Using a control equation for the wear-corrosion thermal-activated phenomena, a modification of the geometry is introduced and a new geometry is defined to restart the calculation. [READ]

OCTOBER JOM: "A Thermodynamic Investigation into Reactive-Metal Melting-Furnace Explosions" by Steven C. Evans and David F. McLaughlin
Western Zirconium, a plant in the Nuclear Fuels Business Unit of Westinghouse Electric Company, recently embarked on a significant safety-centered improvement to its vacuum-arc remelting (VAR) process. The improvement involved the relocation of the control room and installation of a programmable logic controller control strategy for the VAR furnaces. A critical consideration for the control strategy involved the implementation of the correct response to a breach in the water containment system that would allow water to contact the molten reactive metal in the furnace. Western Zirconium performed a random sampling of reactive metal melters in the United States to ascertain and evaluate the range of industry responses. In order to develop a better understanding and evaluate the responses, Western Zirconium, in conjunction with the Westinghouse Science and Technology Department, evaluated the thermodynamics involved in the reactions of molten reactive metals with water. [READ]

OCTOBER JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS: "The Correlation between Stress Relaxation and Steady-State Creep of Eutectic Sn-Pb" by W.H. Bang, K.H. Oh, J.P. Jung, J.W. Morris, Jr., and Fay Hua
This paper surveys and compares creep and stress relaxation data on fine-grained eutectic Sn-Pb. It examines the consistency of the available data on this extensively studied solder material and studies whether stress relaxation offers a reasonable alternative to the more laborious conventional creep tests. The data survey reveals systematic differences between the creep behavior of material that is grain-refined by cold work and recrystallization ("recrystallized") and that refined by rapid solidification ("quenched"). [READ]

OCTOBER JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS: "A Parametric Approach for Assessment of Thermomechanical Performance of Sn-Based Solder Joints" by K.N. Subramanian
Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) behavior of tin-based solder joints depends on several material-, process-, and service-related parameters. Although several focused studies have been conducted on such solder joints, incorporation of the roles of the above parameters and their relative importance for a comprehensive assessment of TMF behavior has not materialized so far due to the complexities involved. This paper suggests a simple parametric approach for the lifetime/reliability prediction of Sn-based solder joints incorporating findings from studies related to material and service issues. [READ]

OCTOBER JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS: "The Joint Strength and Microstructure of Fluxless Au/Sn Solders in InP-Based Laser Diode Packages" by M.T. Sheen, Y.H. Ho, C.L. Wang, K.C. Hsieh, and W.H. Cheng
The joint strength and microstructure of fluxless Au/Sn solders in InP-based laser-diode packages after thermal-aging testing were studied experimentally and numerically. Specimens were aged at 150°C for up to 64 days. The joint strength decreased as aging time increased. The microstructure and fracture surface of the Au/Sn solder joints showed that the joint strength decrease was caused by both the enlargement of the initial voids and an increase in the number of voids as the aging time increased. [READ]

OCTOBER MMTA: "Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A" by Various
One of the strengths of Metallurgical and Materials Transactions (MMT) is its breadth of coverage in the field of metallurgy and materials science and engineering. We have avoided the tendency of some journals to focus only on such specific topics as composites or nanomaterials. These topics are indeed included in our journal, but they are not the only ones covered. This month's issue of MMTA is a good example of our breadth of coverage. We have thirty three articles that span the following twelve different topic areas of our journal: alloy phases, transformations, mechanical behavior, physical chemistry, environment, welding and joining, surface treatment, solidification, materials processing, composite materials, light metals, and electronic, magnetic, and optical materials. So when you next pick up our journal take a look at the many topics that are included and read a few that are outside your specific interest area. In the parlance of the day, this is an opportunity for "life-long learning." [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Novel Dry Nanopowder Processing for Producing Nanoporous Materials" by H. Abe, I. Abe, K. Sato, and M. Naito
This paper describes a novel process for making high-performance, low-cost thermal insulators. The paper was presented at the Materials Science and Technology 2005 (MS&T '05) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 25-28, 2005. [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Production of Submicron-Sized Nanostructured Metallic Powder" by Leon Shaw and Hong Luo
This paper, from the MS&T '05 conference, depicts a new approach for producing submicron-sized metallic powders that could have applications in microelectronics as additives for conductive pastes. [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Effect of Various Amount of Al₂O₃ Addition on the Flexural Strength, Fracture Toughness and Hardness of c-ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ Composites used as an Electrolyte for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell" by S. Tekeli and M. Guru
Fracture strength, fracture toughness and hardness of cubic zirconia with the addition of aluminum oxide for applications of the solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte have been investigated by in this article presented at MS&T '05. [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Microstructure and Properties of Titanium Alloys Synthesized from Hydrogenated Titanium Powders" by O.M. Ivasishin, D.G. Savvakin, I.S. Bielov, V.S. Moxson, V.A. Duz, R. Davies, and C. Lavender
This article details a low-cost process for producing titanium alloys. This paper was presented at the MS&T '05 conference. [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Comparison of Porous Structural Ceramics and Porous Polymers Fabricated using Biological Agents and Nano Particles" by N. Manjooran, E. Hartsell, and G. Pickrell
Using biological agents (such as fungi and bacteria), the authors have successfully produced porous ceramics and polymers with desired pore size and shapes. This paper, from the MS&T '05 conference, describes their findings. [READ]

Science and Technology of Powder Materials: Synthesis, Consolidation and Properties: "Influence of Post-aging on the Microstructure and Properties of Sm2(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)17 Magnets" by Q. Zheng, S. Xia, A. Dozier, T. Zhai, M.P. Effgen, and J. Whilhite
Through optimized post-aging treatments, magnets with simultaneous improvements in the remanence and coercivity have been generated by the authors as described in this article from the MS&T '05 conference. [READ]

Programs, on-line registration, and more:

2006 TMS ANNUAL MEETING
San Antonio, TX
March 12-16, 2006

2006 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS CONF.
University Park, PA
June 28-30, 2006

2006 DEVICE RESEARCH CONF.
University Park, PA
June 26-28, 2006

2006 SOHN INT'L SYMPOSIUM
Abstracts Due: Nov. 15
San Diego, CA
Aug. 27-31, 2006

MS&T '06
Abstracts Due: Mar. 15
Cincinnati, OH
Oct. 15-19, 2006

2007 TMS ANNUAL MEETING
Orlando, FL
Feb. 25-Mar. 1, 2007

MS&T '07
Detriot, MI
Sept. 16-19, 2007

NEWSWIRES