The XII International Symposium on Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis is hosted by University of Texas at Brownsville at South Padre Island, TX, October 21-24, 2013. Graduate students will have an opportunity to present their research results and to interact with experts from academia, government agencies, and industry across the United States and from abroad. The "off-the-record" format presentation and discussion led by the topic experts also offers the exchange of the emerging ideas of the field. The proposed funding is to provide support for registration for both GRS and GRC to student presenters.
The purpose of this grant was to support student participation at the XII International Symposium on Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis (SHS), which was hosted by the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and held in South Padre Island, Texas, USA on October 21-24, 2013. This meeting is a forum where combustion researchers from academia, the federal government, and industry gather to discuss the newest developments and research in combustion science and technology. The aim of the Symposium was to overview the global trends and recent achievements in the field of SHS of advanced materials and to demonstrate the broader impact of this direction for scientific and industrial communities worldwide. This symposium was served as an excellent platform to allow well-established researchers and young scientists and students from different countries to discuss fundamentals and innovative techniques to advance combustion synthesis of materials in fundamental and applied areas. The symposium technical program and complete symposium proceedings book are available in the symposium webpage http://nano.phys.utb.edu/shs.html. The following 12 students were supported with this travel grant to participate in the symposium and present there reserch results: 1. Tyler Trevino (Hispanic, University of Texas at Brownsville), presentation title: "Pressure enhancement in Al-I2O5 nanoenergetic thermite"; 2. Anna Kuklina (University of Texas at Brownsville), presentation title: "Integration of pGLO transformation of Bacteria and nano structured thermites for bio agent defeat systems" 3. Machado Marco (Hispanic, University of Texas El Paso) presentation title: "Nanocomposite and mechanically alloyed reactive materials as energetic additives in oxygen generators"; 4. Eric Miklaszewski (Purdue University), presentation title: "Combustion characteristics of condensed phase reactives in microscale metal channels"; 5. Ani Abraham (New Jersey Institute of Technology), presentation title: "Metal-based reactive materials with biocidal reaction products"; 6. David Garza (Hispanic, University of Texas Pan American), presentation title: "Synthesis and electrochemical performance of nanostructured LiCoO2"; 7. Deglado Armando (Hispanic, University of Texas El Paso), presentation title: "Combustion and SHS Compaction of Lunar Regolith Mixed with Magnesium"; 8. Kelsey Meeks (Texas Tech University), presentation title: "Combustion Characterisation of Blade Cast Magnesium and manganese dioxide"; 9. Mike Grapes (Johns Hopkins University), presentation title: "Evidence for an amorphous intermediate phase in the rapid solid-stat formation of NiAl" 10. Rayon Williams (New Jersey Institute of Technology), presentation title: "Multistep reaction model for ignition of nanocomposite thermites with different compositions"; 11. Shangir Siddique (University of Texas at Brownsville), presentation title: Preparation and characterization of YFe2O4 by Solution Combustion Synthesis"; 12. Ed Alvaro (Hispanic, University of Texas at Brownsville), presentation title: "Decomposition Features of ammonium nitrate with dextran". Intellectual Merit: The symposium shows that extensive research carried out during the last years and numerous presentations had emphasized combustion capabilities for materials improvement, energy saving, and environmental protection. The importance of industrialization of the combustion process has also become evident. All of these topics have been the subjects of thorough discussion at biennial international symposiums. In view of the increasing role of combustion in achieving efficiency, this symposium brings researchers from across the World to present and discuss relevant concepts and technologies. The symposium provides numerous opportunities for networking among the participants, thus promoting the generation of novel experimental and modeling ideas, striking of new collaborations, and advancement of innovative combustion concepts. Broader Impacts: This symposium was very fulfilling scientifically and there were 2 concurrent sessions each day complemented with two large poster sessions. The symposium technical program was included 5 plenary talks and 14 invited key lectures. There were a total of 74 oral presentations and 92 poster presentations. Participants discussed the ideas on novel SHS-based approaches and technologies to enable more effective applications of combustion in various industrial fields. The symposium topics covered a broad area of combustion including: SHS of micron, submicron- and nano- materials; Nanoenergetic materials and processes; Combustion of multilayered nano-structures; Bio-materials and coatings; Combustion theory and modeling; Packing geometry in nano- and micro- scale; Sintering and consolidation; Space applications and Industrialization. Special session was devoted in Memory of professor A.G. Merzhanov, where scientists from different countries expressed their memories and great honor to the founding of SHS process. The rationale for the funding request was the strong impact that participation in such meetings makes on student education. The all-invited-speaker format of the meeting allows students to gain an insight into technology trends as well as to rapidly educate themselves in a broad array of combustion topics. The students had a fruitful discussions and networking with leaders in the field during regular breaks between sessions.
