Inaugural Orton Workshop Organized by Ohio State's Orton Chair

Developing materials that can withstand high temperature and extreme environments is a requirement to advance hypersonic travel and other aerospace applications. As such, Professor Perena Gouma, Director of the Advanced Ceramics Research Laboratory and professor with a dual appointment in Materials Science and Engineering & Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is the ideal person to consult when the topics collide. Dr. Gouma spent time organizing the first Orton Workshop this summer. The topic of the two-day, invitation-only event organized by Ohio State's Orton Chair and the Orton Ceramic Foundation that was held in Columbus in June was High Temperature Ceramics for Extreme Environments and was well very attended by a diverse group of researchers across industry, government and universities.

Experts from funding agencies supporting Ceramics research; thought leaders from academia with expertise spanning materials processing, characterization, and modeling; as well as R&D leaders from key (aviation-related) industries gathered together to evaluate the state-of-the-art in this field and to address key questions that 

are meant to move the research and development efforts forward fast.

Keynote speaker, Lynnette Madsen of the National Science Foundation, began the formal presentations by speaking about Fundamental Research in Materials for Extreme Conditions. The speaker lineup included other renowned advanced materials experts who presented on processing, characterization and modeling of microstructure, properties and behaviors of ceramic monoliths and composites in extreme conditions, which is the basis of safe, efficient and productive hypersonic travel.

Speakers at the Orton Workshop

In light of hypersonic travel and aerospace applications, materials developed will also find commercial applications where high temperature and abrasion result in refractory degradation. The design, characterization, testing and scale-up (including net shape) of high temperature composites with ceramic reinforcements and/or matrices will provide new opportunities to advance aerospace and extreme environment applications.

Participants were treated to a private tour of Ohio State's Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS), who hosts one of the largest concentrations of electron and ion beam analytical microscopy instruments in any North American institution.

The next Orton Workshop in the series is currently being organized and will involve a closely related topic.