The project involves two periods of industrial residence in two different companies working on projects of current concern. One company makes ferrites and would like help defining the raw material and processing variables that have the greatest impact on product quality. The second company is scaling up a process for making a high temperature superconductor from development to prototype pilot plant level. They anticipate problems associated with changing scale and would like help defining the processing parameters that are most likely to affect the reproducibility of product properties. The primary activity at both companies will be working on the relationship between processing and product properties. Such investigations require extensive analysis of particle size, shape and distribution, characteristics after forming before thermal treatment, phase and microstructure development, final composition and morphology, and product properties. The intensive interaction with industry will allow an upgrading of the educational curriculum that subsequent teaching about ceramics can be related to actual experiences in the real world. While allowing the investigator to identify promising research topics in industry. In addition, the familiarity with these companies and their product lines will make it possible to pursue research appropriate to establishment of long-term relationships.
