ASM publishes breaking industry news articles to our web site every day! Below are the top news items of the week; view the full-text articles and more headline news online.

Li-Batteries Store Solar Energy in Large Scale European Project
PRNewswire-FirstCall
Saft, Conergy, and Tenesol have announced the launch of SOLION, a Franco-German project that will introduce large lithium-ion batteries into PV systems on the largest scale ever tested in Europe. Lithium-ion technology is required in order to meet the need for 20 years' battery life in demanding environmental conditions.

Flame-Retardant V-0 Silicone Sponge
PRNewswire
The Composites Division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation (SGPPL) introduces COHRlastic R10400 M, a high-consistency rubber, closed-cell, silicone sponge that improves on liquid silicone rubber products in virtually all areas of mechanical performance while still meeting the crucial UL 94 V-0 standard for flame retardance.

Canadian Nanotechnology Center Helps Turn Ideas into Real Products
PRNewswire
The Alberta Centre for Advanced Microsystems and nanotechnology Products will support the province's growing nanotechnology sector in three critical areas of commercialization: packaging and assembly, business and product development, and marketing.

Lincoln Electric Upgrades Indalco Alloys Aluminum Wire Rod Mill
PRNewswire-FirstCall
The Lincoln Electric Company announced today the successful completion of the modernization of the Continuous Cast Aluminum Rod Mill at its Canadian subsidiary, Indalco Alloys Inc., the world's only fully integrated aluminum welding wire producer.

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Ford Motor Company’s fleet of 30 fuel cell vehicles has exceeded expectations of the company’s hydrogen research engineers by accumulating more than 865,000 real world miles without significant maintenance issues since the fleet’s launch three years ago. The Ford Focus Fuel Cell test vehicles also have earned accolades from the company’s global fleet partners for outstanding durability, reliability and capability.
Learn more.

High power-density tunable polymers and polymer ceramic nanocomposites are being developed as electric storage materials for capacitors at Penn State University. Researchers found that by altering the amounts of the various chemical components of the polymer, they could tune the dielectric property and energy density. Properly tuned polymer capacitors could replace batteries.
Learn more.

Idaho National Laboratory researchers have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources. The technology is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials. The nanoantennas are tiny gold squares or spirals set in a specially treated form of polyethylene to target mid-infrared rays.
Learn more.

National Materials Advisory Board Dissemination Series
Managing Materials for a 21st Century Military
Robert Latiff – SAIC
This report begins with the historical context of the National Defense Stockpile. It then presents a discussion of raw-materials and minerals supply, an examination of changing defense planning and materials needs, an analysis of modern tools used to manage materials supply chains, and an assessment of current operational practices of the NDS.
Learn more.

Integrated Computational Materials Engineering: A Transformational Discipline for Improved Competitiveness and National Security
Tresa Pollock - University of Michigan John Allison – Ford Motor Company
This report provides a vision for integrated computational materials engineering (ICME), a review of case studies and lessons learned, an analysis of technological barriers, and an evaluation of ways to overcome cultural and organizational challenges to develop the discipline.
Learn more.

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NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY Metals, Polymers, Ceramics Test/Characterization Process Technology Emerging Technology Global Business Energy Trends

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Birthplace of the Stars

NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope scientists have aimed Hubble to take a snapshot of a dazzling region of celestial birth and renewal. It lies about 170,000 light-years away near the Tarantula nebula. Red shows emission from sulfur atoms, green from glowing hydrogen, and blue from glowing oxygen. For more images and videos, click here.

Sharing the ASM Experience at MS&T

Dianne Chong, Ph.D., FASM
President – ASM International
Director – Materials & Process Technology
The Boeing Company – Commercial Airplanes

There are 38,000 members of ASM International and every one of us has his or her own reasons for attending the 95th Annual Meeting of the Society next month in Pittsburgh.

In a series called “Faces of ASM,” five of our colleagues have joined me to describe why they’re going to attend the most important technical and social gathering of the year.

They represent not only the technical diversity of our membership, but also many levels of experience within our society, from Emerging Professionals to 30-year members. Our backgrounds are different, but all agree that MS&T brings value to our jobs and our careers.

“I went to my first MS&T last year and it was so good that I’m attending again this year. You’re definitely going to meet someone who shares your technical interests.”

Jaret Frafjord
Y-12 National Security Complex
“I’ve given presentations and afterward someone will say, ‘Can you do that kind of work for us?’ You can’t create that kind of opportunity just sitting at your desk.”

Richard D. Sisson, Jr., Ph.D., FASM
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
“Like ASM, our roots are steel but there’s so much more to us than steel alone. The real value of MS&T isn’t something you can get from a book.”

Riad I. Asfahani, FASM
U.S. Steel Corporation
“Since 2000, I’ve only missed one ASM Annual Meeting, so you could say that MS&T has become part of the way I work. I wouldn’t be where I am without it.”

Emily Kinser
IBM
“In the old days, towns had a commons in the middle where you could gather to talk and solve problems. For ASM members, that commons is MS&T.”

Iver Anderson, FASM
Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University
MS&T isn’t just a conference, it’s a confluence. Where else can you reach such a diverse and knowledgeable group of colleagues in a short period of time?

"As my former boss used to say, ASM is our heritage. It’s part of what we are. If you want to take part in the conversation, there’s no better place than at MS&T."

Visit asmcommunity.asminternational.org/content/Events/mst/ today to register for the 95th ASM Annual Meeting, to be held at MS&T in Pittsburgh, Oct. 5-9. I look forward to seeing you there!

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Technical Program
MS&T’08 addresses eight diverse themes to cover the breadth of materials science and engineering.

• ELECTRONIC and MAGNETIC MATERIALS
• ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ISSUES
• FUNDAMENTALS and CHARACTERIZATION
• IRON AND STEEL
• MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS
• NANOTECHNOLOGY
• PROCESSING and PRODUCT MANUFACTURING
• SPECIAL TOPICS

Learn more.

The technical conference and exposition brings together worldwide experts and promotes the technical and practical engineering of shape memory and superelastic alloys. Learn more.

There’s a better way to control distortion and stress. Our heat treating experts will show you how. Learn more.

ASM-Indian Institute of Metals Seeks 2009 Visiting Lecturers

Qualified lecturers:
• Are ASM members who visit India
• Have experience with delivering technical presentations of interest to government, industrial or academic organizations
• Can lecture on current technological conditions in India
• Will be available between April 1 and December 31, 2009
• Have definite travel plans to and from India using own funds

Award carries with it an $800 honorarium to be used for travel expenses within India during their visit and a certificate of recognition to be presented at the ASM Leadership Awards Luncheon scheduled for October 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA during MS&T’09.

Deadline for application is February 1, 2009. For more information, contact Carole Chesla at 440/338-5151 ext. 5330

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New!
Pearson’s Crystal Data CD-ROM, Crystal Structure Database for Inorganic Compounds 2008/2009 Update
Edited by: Pierre Villars and Karin Cenzual, 2008

The most comprehensive database available for alloys, intermetallics and inorganics.

The updated CD includes 165,000 structural data sets (including atom coordinates and displacement parameters, when determined), 100,000 compounds, 22,600 prototypes and 50,000 publications. Also included in the CD are active links to ASM’s Alloy Phase Diagram Center, Landolt-Börnstein, Springer and original references.

To find out more information on the update,
please contact Denise Smith at 440.338.5409.
Learn more.

Visit the ASM store.

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Engineer (Materials)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Los Angeles

This position will provide technical support in the area of industrial metallurgy. Responsibilities include providing direction on welding and machining processes as they relate to water industry infrastructure, conducting metallurgical failure analysis on water industry infrastructure appurtenances, and evaluating corrosion and generate corrosion data used to make repair or replacement decisions.
Learn more.

Visit the ASM Career Center.

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