PACRIM12 with GOMD brings together 1,200 for ceramic and glass science conference

“It appears all the hard work over past couple years by the symposia organizers and ACerS staff has come to fruition. The success of PACRIM12 is reflected in high quality technical sessions, diverse topical areas, and record number of attendees. My sincere thanks to all the people who have participated to make this possible,” says PACRIM12 organizer, Dileep Singh.

Singh and his army of organizers had much to celebrate at the conference luau on Thursday. PACRIM12 drew a record number of attendees—nearly 1,200—to give 1,400 presentations and 250 posters.

With attendees coming from 44 countries, the international character of the conference could be heard everywhere.

In fact, only about 40% of attendees hail from the United States—a testimony to the truly international nature of the field of materials science, and ceramic and glass science in particular. The conference closes Friday at noon.

The Glass and Optical Materials Division continued its tradition of holding its annual meeting with ACerS-hosted PACRIMs, which led to a strong technical program balanced between ceramic and glass topics.

GOMD’s program included its prestigious award lectures, which take place all week. S.K. Sundarum organized the GOMD technical meeting.

Besides the extensive technical program, the conference provided opportunities for other activities, such as a “town hall” meeting conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, a publishing workshop for young professionals, a meeting for representatives of the Pac Rim societies—and surely much more!

The Hilton Waikoloa Resort is quite large with stunning ocean views. This island was formed by volcano activity, and the surrounding area is a desolate lava-scape that one imagines might be what the moon looks like.

Several observatories have been built atop the inactive volcano of Mauna Kea. Several glass scientists here at GOMD told me they worked on the Gemini observatory and some will have the opportunity to visit while here.

Mauna Loa, located on the other side of the island, is still an active volcano, and proved an irresistible opportunity for many to visit one of Nature’s furnaces and see materials science in action.

The images below give you a flavor of the early part of the meeting. In addition, a number of students will be reporting on their PACRIM–GOMD experiences through CTT. And, keep an eye on ACerS Flickr page for more images from PACRIM12.

PACRIM13 will take place October 27–31, 2019, in Okinawa, Japan.

The Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technology is a biennial conference held in collaboration with the ceramic societies of the Pacific Rim countries—The American Ceramic Society, The Ceramic Society of Japan, The Chinese Ceramic Society, The Korean Ceramic Society, and the Australian Ceramic Society.