Newsbulletins December 2007 Newsbulletin  | The Australian Ceramic SocietyNewsbulletin - Volume 22, Number 2, December 2007 |
| A Message from the EditorWelcome to the first edition of the new look Australian Ceramic Societies NewsBulletin. We hope you enjoy our new format and should you have any feedback or comments please send them through. We also encourage all members to become involved with the Society. If you have any stories, experiences, reports, or thoughts that you'd like to share with the other members, please feel free to e-mail them through. Hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas and a fabulous New Year. Cathy Inglis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch Reports
NSW Branch
Industrial and Environmental Nano-Pollution and Its Impact on Human Health
On August 30th, Dr Antonietta Gatti from The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, one of the oldest universities in the world gave a presentation to the ACS NSW Branch and other invited attendees. Her presentation was titled “Industrial and Environmental Nano-Pollution and Its Impact on Human Health” and held at UTS. The talk was attended by a large audience comprising members of industry and government departments as well UTS staff and students.
Her talk was particularly topical given the amount of activity in the nanotech area, which is only on in the increase. In fact there are numerous items and foods that we come into contact in everyday life that contain nanoparticles of generate nanoparticulates.
Western Australia
The WA Branch had a fairly quite year in the 2006/2007 financial year because of less than the expected number of activities and functions that were organized by the Society.
The Annual General Meeting of the WA Branch of the Australian Ceramic Society was held at Curtin University in conjunction with a talk presented by Dave Phillips on May 9th 2007. Dave gave a most interesting and entertaining presentation on his trip to South Africa.
During the AGM, all the executive members were re-elected un-opposed with an addition of two research students in the committee as follows:
- Branch President: Jim Low
- Branch Vice-President: John Parsons
- Branch Treasurer: Rob McConnell
- Branch Secretary: Ian Davies
- Councillors: Dave Phillips, Anand Sheth, Nobuo Tezuka, Weikong Pang
Three students from Curtin took part in the annual Student Presentation Night on Wednesday 29th November 2006. The prize was won by Ross Williams of Applied Physics. The 2006 Ceramics Prize from the WA Branch was awarded to Mr. Weikong Pang (PhD student).
Ross Williams receives the prize cheque from Jim Low.
About ten Branch members participated in the plant visit to Midland Bricks on May 4th at 12.30 pm. Everyone enjoyed the plant tour and hospitality provided by Midland Bricks. Special thanks go to Anand Sheth and Viney Trehan for organizing this tour.
Plant visit to Midland Bricks
Finally, the Christmas Function last year was held at a Thai Restaurant (The King & I) in St. Guildford on 8th December and the event was attended by several branch members and their partners. The Christmas function this year will be held at the famous C-Restaurant in Perth (Level 33, 44 St Georges Terrace Perth) on Saturday 8th December.
New Members
The Australian Ceramic Society would like to welcome the following people who have recently joined up.
Corporate Members
- Sigma-Aldrich - Gwen Govender-Hondros, Andrew Zybenko
- Scientific Solutions - Phil Harrip
- ATA Scientific - Bryn McDonagh
Ordinary Members
- Ron MacDonald - Silcom
- Richard Agar Wilson
- Dr Varghese Swarmy - Monash University
- Zaynab Aly - ansto
- Victoria Thorn - DSTO
- Anthony Farmer
- Prof. Cristina Leonelli - University of Modena
- John Rider - University of New South Wales
Student Members
- Max Burns – James Cook University
- Sarah Shucksmith – James Cook University
- Matt Batley – James Cook University
- Cameron Pisot – James Cook University
- Leigh Baxter – James Cook University
- Daniel Grobbelaar - – James Cook University
- Joshua Chow - University of Technology, Sydney
- Yuncang Li - - University of New South Wales
- Rajnish Singh - University of New South Wales
- Qiao Yu - University of New South Wales
- Cheng Ching-Jung - University of New South Wales
- Leigh Sheppard - University of New South Wales
Membership
Remember, the Australian Ceramic Society recently changed its membership rules so that now you only have to pay a once off joining fee, with no recurring annual fees. That's right, pay a low joining fee of AUD$50, and your in for life. And for people living in Australia, you can claim this as a tax deduction! For students, we let you join for free. It doesn't get any cheaper than that.
If you know someone who is involved in the ceramics industry, or has in interest in ceramics, please forward this newsbulletin to them and encourage them to join.
More details and membership forms are available on the Australian Ceramic Society web site.
Australian Ceramic Society News
 | Scientific Solutions Goes Green The management of Scientific Solutions is proud to announce they have “Gone Green”, introducing sound environmental management practices to reduce their environmental overall impact. They have made undertaken an assessment of energy, water and waste, and from that identify opportunities to improve Scientific Solutions environmental business performance and with the view of reaching Carbon neutrality. Changes have been made to the working structure within the company to implement these opportunities. Managing Director, Phil Harrip, believes we have certain responsibilities in all areas, not just the Science Industry – environmental sensitivity is one such area. |
 | Launch of the 5th Site in the AZo-Network AZoOptics.com (http://www.AZoOptics.com) is the latest AZoNetwork online knowledge base that is intended to provide the global optics, photonics, semiconductor, science, design and engineering community with a continuously updating resource for all the information they need to make an informed decision on selecting an "Optics or Photonics" solution. |
 | Vapour Sorption Analyser Released in Australia and New Zealand Water sorption measurement has traditionally been either slow and laborious, or costly and limited to small quantities of material. The Hydrosorb 1000 is the latest innovation in water sorption characterization and overcomes these limitations. It offers fully automated, rapid measurement of adsorption and desorption water isotherms including BET surface area calculations and heats of adsorption at a price which is just a fraction of the alternative gravimetric methods and is available in Australian and New Zealand through Scientific Solutions. |
 | Chris Berndt Elected to Thermal Spray Hall of Fame Prof. Christopher C. Berndt, Professor of Surface and Interface Engineering at James Cook University, School of Engineering, Townsville QLD, Australia, has been inducted into the Thermal Spray Hall of Fame. He was cited for outstanding contributions to the science and technology of thermal spray, and for leadership in promoting thermal spray technology. |
 | Lou Vance Elected as a Member of the World Academy of Ceramics It is with pleasure that we announce Lou Vance’s election as an Academician in the prestigious World Academy of Ceramics, where he joins around 250 of the world’s leading ceramists. The other Academicians from Australia are Richard Hannink, Mike Murray, Keith Reeve and Mike Swain. |
| Australian Ceramics Society Introduce Honorary Fellow Membership The Australian Ceramic Society, a leading materials community specializing in ceramic materials and related technologies have ratified a new membership level for professionals who excelled in their respective areas. The new membership status of Honorary Fellow was approved at the Federal Council meeting held on September 6th, 2007. |
If you or your company is a member of the Australian Ceramic Society and you have relevant news stories, please send them to Newsbulletin@austceram.com
Ceramic Industry News
- High Fluid Concretes Make a Sensible Choice
- SCHOTT Solar Inaugurate Solar Module Plant
- World's Smallest Microwave Oven Created by NIST Researchers
- Diamond Anvils Used to View Oxide Glass Structures Under Pressure
- Two New Fast Scanning Raman Technologies from Horiba Jobin Yvon
- Hydrogen Fuel Cells become More Viable Thanks to New Hydrogen Storage Materials
- Superconductors and Insulators Share Electronic Similarities
- Corning Technology Wins Pioneers in Miniaturisation Prize
- Mineral Analysis Solutions Provider Again Ranked in Australia's 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies
- Understanding Fuel Cell Failure Improves Durability
- Global ceramic tiles market to reach 66.7 billion square feet by 2010, according to new report by global industry analysts, inc.
- Sigma-Aldrich Receives Double Accreditation for Competence of Reference Material Producers
- Bolt Technical Ceramics Offers High Performance Ceramics Thermal Protective Tubes from Morgan Advanced Ceramics
- Single-Crystal Piezoelectric Material with Superior Dielectric and Electro-Mechanical Properties from Morgan Electro Ceramics
- Morgan Advanced Ceramics Produces Revolutionary Scratch-Resistant Coating for Luxury Mobile Phones
- New Ceramic Components from Morgan Advanced Ceramics Helps Semiconductor Wafer Manufacturers to Make Productivity Gains
- Bolt Technical Ceramics from Morgan Advanced Ceramics Offers Fused Silica Rollers with Outstanding mechanical and Surface Properties
- SGL Group Expands Carbon Fiber Production Capacity
- October Marks Conclusion of Major Seven-Stop Countrywide Tour by Pilkington
- $107 Million Body Armor Order for Ceradyne
- Saint-Gobain to Build a Float Glass Plant in Egypt
- UK's Leading Manufacturer of Sialons and Silicon Nitride Ceramics Launch New Web Site
- Hyundai's FCEV Triumph's at Fuel Cell Challenge
- FDA Clears Silicon Nitride Spinal Implants
- Dow Corning Awarded $4.2 Million to Develop Semiconducting Silicon Carbide Materials
- Self-Levelling Nano Compound for Renovating Floors
- New Varistors Eliminate Risks of Fire or Explosions
Have you seen any press releases that relate to the ceramics industry? If so, send us a link to Newsbulletin@austceram.com
Letter from Phillip Robinson - A Life Member
I include a photo which I hope you will find appropriate for the cover of your next Newsbulletin. It is not one of your usual images of cutting edge technology, which are excellent, but this photo shows another side of ceramics which exhibits the skills and knowledge of an ancient craft going back hundreds of years. It is called Maiolica, and had its origins in the Western Mediterranean/ North African region and spread eventually to Italy.
The work shown in the photo is by Margot Stephens (mentioned in my article in Newsbulletin April 2006). She worked with potters in the region where Maiolica is still made in Italy before returning to Mudgee, where she established herself as a clay sculptor. I became acquainted with her through a problem she was having with a local clay body. While having excavations done on a rocky hillside where she lives in an old tram, she thought the clay dug up might have possibilities for her ceramics.
The result of all this was her desire to make platters in the Maiolica tradition. She wasn’t a thrower, so I developed a method suited to her equipment and resources, for pressing them in plaster moulds in a press using a hydraulic jack in a welded frame (which she made herself). After months of often disastrous failures, a body was developed using her clay with additions of grog and silica to adjust the thermal expansion to suit the very low temperature glaze essential for the pigments used in the decoration. The porosity of the biscuit had to be high to give a thick glaze layer essential to mask the red coloured biscuit, and the biscuit had to have sufficient strength to be practical. The high silica addition made the large platters prone to dunting on cooling. Balancing all of these sometimes opposing requirements was difficult, but eventually we obtained a successful result, shown recently at an outstanding exhibition at Mudgee’s High Valley gallery with fellow potter Kaye Rice, which was intended as a tribute to my help to Mudgee potters.
As I am now 93 and intend returning to Sydney to live, I wished to have a reminder of the whole experience for my remaining years, so I commissioned a platter by Margot, which is shown in the photo.
The platter requires some explanation. Margot has a daughter aged 5, who I have known since birth. As mentioned, they live in an old tram surrounded by virgin bush. The daughter has grown up with bush animals and insects which are her toys and friends and are in her thoughts every day. Sometimes when Margot and I were having long technical discussions, her daughter would be sitting in her lap dreaming. The platter shows her with a faraway expression, and its border shows some of the creepies and crawlies that could be in her mind.
The photo does not fully reveal the extreme skills required for using this medium. Unlike porcelain painting on a fully fired surface using enamel colours, Maiolica involves painting on a raw glaze surface. Delicate changes in the colours of the pigments are produced by controlled mingling of with the opaque glaze. During glaze firing, unless very carefully controlled, gases escaping from the pores in the body caused by the temperature increase can erupt and destroy definition of outline at the critical point where the melting glaze tends to seal the surface. Very careful cooling is also required when firing is done in small studio kilns.
In Margot’s work the brushwork is outstanding in it’s delicacy and the facial expressions beautifully portrayed. The work would be a credit to a portrait painted on canvas so on the surface she uses, the result is all the more worthy of acclaim.
I must apologise for the length of this explanation of the accompanying photo, but I feel this work deserves recognition in the vast field of ceramics.
(This inspiring letter was sent to us from Phillip Robinson and has been reproduced in full)
Conference Reports
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - Moscow
Dan Perera of ANSTO, as the Chief Scientific Investigator for Australia, attended a meeting in Moscow, 10-14 September 2007 organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on “Behaviour of Cementitious Materials in Long Term Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Waste”. IAEA organises CRPs to tackle important radioactive related problems occurring in member countries. Under this CRP 20 individual projects from 17 countries were selected. Countries participating in the CRP are, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, India, Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, China, Spain and Australia.
Materials Science & Technology '07 - Detroit
Report on joint American Ceramic Society/Association for Iron&Steel Technology/ASM International/The Minerals, Metals&Materials Society [Materials Science & Technology ’07] meeting, Detroit, MI, SA, 16-20 Sept. 2007. This event was attended by Lou Vance of Ansto who reports on the conference and Cameron Chai form AZoM who reports on the trade exhibition.
MRS Fall Meeting -Boston
Although I can only report on the trade exhibition as I didn't attend any of the paper presentations, I have to say from the outset, Boston is a beautiful city and a great venue for a conference, with elements of architecture that blend the ultra modern with those of days gone by, with the buzz of a city whose team had just won the "World Series" of baseball.
If you have attended a conference or trade exhibition related to ceramics have some thoughts you would like to share with members of the Australian Ceramic Society, please end your report to Newsbulletin@austceram.com
Upcoming Events
ANBF invites Australian companies and research organisations seeking to partner, collaborate and export their technology into the dynamic international nanotechnology market to join the ANBF led Delegation to "nano tech 2008" - the world's largest nanotechnology expo and conference. The "nano tech 2008" Australian Delegation Program is supported by ANBF and the Australian Government through the Australian Office of Nanotechnology (AON); Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR). Australian Delegation Program is FREE for ANBF Members.
Contact: enquiries@anbf.com.au
Masonry is a proven traditional building material that is still widely used because of its aesthetic appeal, strength, durability and other desirable properties.
However, with the advent of new materials and building systems, sustainability considerations and the increasing costs of labour, the use of masonry will decline unless it can be shown that it is also a material for the future.
This conference will explore these issues in the context of research and building practice and will aim to establish strategies for meeting the challenges.
The International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2008 is the most significant Australian event focused on this important field of research. ICONN 2008 will feature a new stream dedicated to commercialisation of nanotechnology, including case studies of start-ups; how to take a product from discovery to market; capital raising; IP; regulatory issues and more.
ANBF Member Benefit: $300 discount on ICONN 2008 Full Registration.
Contact: iconn08@eventplanners.com.au
The 2008 MRS Spring Meeting will feature 41 technical symposia in five topical clusters, an international exhibit highlighting products and services of interest to the materials community, and much more.
Contact: info@mrs.org
Full Frontal will present the Tile and Stone event, featuring exciting displays, comprehensive seminars, new products and technologies, a radical buyer's guide that will be an invaluable resource for every visitor and exhibitor. Plus a new and revolutionary 'product link' that will connect exhibitors and visitors post show. During the later part of 2007 we will release news about exciting interactive exhibits, an architects reception, a keynote breakfast, our Full Frontal project awards and amazing rewards for award winners.
With support from leading Australian and international tile associations Full Frontal Tile and Stone Expo will present a wide variety of ceramic, natural stone and agglomerate products including the latest international award winning materials produced by major manufacturers. We will not be too diversified. Our focus is set squarely on promotion of tile and stone as contemporary 'green' materials, which boast favourable life cycle analysis characteristics and highly valued sustainability.
Contact: info@fullfrontalexpo.com
The Materials Research Society (MRS) and Chinese Materials Research Society (C-MRS) announce a new joint international conference and exhibit—MRS International Materials Research Conference. (We invite you to listen to this interview with Meeting Chair Eric Garfunkel from Azom.com, in which he provides an excellent preview of this unique event.)
Join us for this premier 4-day event, as leading researchers from around the world meet in China to share ideas … further dialog … and forge new interdisciplinary partnerships in these exciting and expanding fields of materials research. Please view the links at left for more information on Keynote Speaker Alan Heeger, Exhibit plans, the Program Schedule, Registration, Lodging, Tours, and about Chongqing itself.
Contact: info@mrs.org
This second edition will update the road map of ICC1 and look into the European situation with reference to diversification and complexity deriving from more than 25 Countries represented in the European Ceramic Society.
All the same, this event aims to privilege the links with the other realities in ceramics, like China, Korea and South-East Asia, Central and Southern America, in order to favour the participation of the Ceramic Societies of these Countries, in compliance with Statute of the International Ceramic Federation.
Contact: icc2@icc2.org
ICEM is a biennial conference run under the umbrella of the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS) of which Australia is an adhering body.
This major interdisciplinary materials conference is expected to attract around 1500 participants and is organized around 20 topical symposia within the following thematic areas:
- Semiconductor Processing and Devices
- Nanomaterials, Nano structures, Nanophotonics and Nanoelectronics
- Energy
- Properties and Characterisation
- Thin Films, Surface and Functional Materials for Specific Applications
- Education and Networks.
The conference will include plenary lectures from Nobel Laureates and internationally renowned scientists, as well as about 150 invited oral presentations from international experts in materials areas covered by the individual symposia.
Contact: helen@materialsaustralia.com.au
A special session on "Biominerals and Biomaterials" will be organized as part of this conference. This meeting is held once every four years and focuses on several issues of interest to many mineralogists, e.g., analytical techniques and instrumentation, advanced materials, and environmental and medical mineralogy -- in addition to our own theme of biominerals and biomaterials.
Contact: alisonm@ausimm.com.au
MS&T’08… The leading forum addressing structure, properties, processing and performance across the materials community brought to you by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, The American Ceramic Society, ASM International and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology.
Contact: mmahan@ceramics.org
Material Matters
Sigma-Aldrich have an on line publication Material Matters™ and the new Organic Electronics issue is now available electronically at www.sigmaaldrich.com/materialmatters
This issue features mini-reviews (with corresponding product selection tables) for five major R&D topics in organic electronics:
- Materials for Organic Thin Film Transistors
- New Conducting and Semiconducting Polymers for Plastic Electronics
- Functionalized Fullerenes (PCBM Library) for Organic Photovoltaics
- High-Efficiency Organic Light Emitting Devices (OLEDs)
- Light-Emitting Polymers
Also with this issue, Sigma-Aldrich are introducing a new regular feature called "Your Materials Matter". Inside every issue Sigma-Aldrich will present a new product for materials research introduced following a customer's suggestion. Send your product suggestions to matsci@sial.com!
HAVE YOU MISSED AN ISSUE? Go to the website to view and download back issues or order FREE printed copies.
Contact:
Ilya Koltover, Ph.D.
Sigma-Aldrich, Materials Science
matsci@sial.com
Ceramic Images
Have you got recently taken some pictures while traveling relating to ceramics?
Has your company produced an interesting ceramic component that they'd like to promote?
Do you have some interesting ceramic images, micrographs or even graphs that you'd like to share with the other ACS members?
High-tech, low-tech, artistic, send them in and to Newsbulletin@austceram.com and we'll post them in the next issue if we think they are suitable. Don't forget to tell us a little bit about your photo/s!
To get the ball rolling how about these?
Terracotta Warriors - Xi'an, China
Cameron Chai. ACS Federal Vice President took these while on holidays in China recently:
Producing replica terracotta warriors, both miniature and full size, in Xi'an.
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We will get some more images of the real terracotta warriors for next issue with some editorial to accompany them about, what is often referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World.
This image was taken will touring a Feng Shui museum while on the same trip to China. Not sure how much truth there is to this claim to fame.
Ceramic Videos
OK, for those of you with a couple of spare minutes, here are some ceramic related videos that you may or may not find interesting with varying degrees of technical merit.
- Ceramic knives
- Electromagnetic capacitance flow meter with alumina lining
- Craft ceramics in Vietnam
- Refractory removal form a kiln in Ecuador
- A cement plant in Turkey
- 3D infrared visualisation of cement kiln
- Tour of a general shale brick plant
- DIY brick cleaning
If you have a video that you would like to share, please e-mail Newsbulletin@austceram.com
Australian Ceramic Society Contacts
Federal Council
President | D. Perera |
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Vice President | C. Chai |
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Secretary | J. Low |
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Treasurer | J. Sellar |
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Councillors | R. Bowman | C. Inglis |
| L. Vance | M. Stuart |
| P. Walls | R. Stead |
M. Carter | C. Berndt | |
| K. Gross |
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Australian Ceramic Society
c/- Department of Applied Physics
Curtin University
GPO Box U1987
Perth, WA 6846
Australia
Tel. +61 8 9266 7544
Fax. +61 8 9266 2377
Branch Committees
| NSW | Victoria | WA |
President | C. Inglis | J. Sellar | J. Low |
Vice President | C.Chai | M. Curtis | J. Parsons |
Secretary | M. Hoffman | M. Sussex | I. Davies |
Treasurer | A. Taylor | S. Zsembery | R. McConnell |
Councillors | I. Stewart | R. Bowman | D. Phillips |
Newsbulletin Contacts
Editor - Cathy Inglis, Austral Brick - newsbulletin@austceram.com
Assistant Editor - Phil Morey, Austral Brick - phil.morey@australbrick.com.au
Contributing Editor - Jeff Sellar, Monash University - jeff.seller@eng.monash.edu.au
Contributing Editor - Dave Phillips, Curtin University - D.Phillips@info.curtin.edu.au
Newsbulletin Production - Cameron Chai, AZoM.com - cameronchai@azom.com
Feedback
Tell us what you thought of the new version of the Australian Ceramic Society Newsbulletin. We'd love to hear from you, the members about what you liked, what you didn't like, what you'd like to see and any other ideas you might have that would help us improve the newsbulletin. And remember, you too can submit content for the next issue.
Feel free to tell us bout your research project, the company you work for, or if you have a technical question, let us know and we'll ask the mebers to see if we can get you and answer.
Please send all feedback to newsbulletin@austceram.com.
Legals
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