The American Ceramic Society, in collaboration with the Ceramic Society of Japan and the European Ceramic Society, will host the 1st International Congress on Ceramics, to be held in Toronto, Canada from June 25 through 29, 2006. The Congress is designed to facilitate discussion and planning concerning major issues that face the ceramic and glass industry, culminating in the development of a historic technological roadmap for ceramics. NSF funds support travel and registration fees for up to twenty undergraduate and graduate students to attend the 1st International Congress. Students attending this Congress will have an extraordinary opportunity to present their ideas to an international audience and network with industrial, national laboratory, and university participants from around the world. Experiences at this international forum are expected to influence students by demonstrating the importance of a global network for scientific interchange and research and development. The resulting "Global Roadmap for Ceramics" may also motivate new career directions and opportunities. TECHNICAL DETAILS Each participating student will write a paper entitled "The Future of Ceramics" and present this work at the Congress's poster session. The Congress will offer students the prospect of learning the state-of-the art developments in ceramics and glass. More importantly, students will hear from critical members of the industrial and academic sectors what their vision is for the ceramic materials and applications of the future. Since the "Global Roadmap for Ceramics" will be one of the tangible outcomes of the meeting, students will be at an advantage in using this roadmap both to enhance their research and to inspire research direction.
