Dr. Alan Needleman, TEES Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, chaired the program committee for the 2016 annual conference of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST). The program was held in Dallas and the theme was challenges and opportunities in materials science and engineering in the 21st century.
Founded in 2004 and with 260-plus members, TAMEST is composed of the Texas-based members of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the state’s Nobel Laureates. TAMEST brought the state’s top scientific, academic and corporate minds together to further position Texas as a national research leader.
This year’s event marked the 10th anniversary of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards. Established in 2006 to recognize the state’s most promising young researchers, the O’Donnell Awards have honored a total of 44 individuals for their achievements in medicine, engineering and science.
Following welcoming remarks by Kenneth Arnold, TAMEST’s 2015 president and Dr. C.D. Mote Jr., president of National Academy of Engineering, Needleman, a member of National Academy of Engineering, introduced the program.
“The 2016 TAMEST Annual Conference highlighted recent developments in materials science and engineering that are and will be leading to qualitative changes in the way products are manufactured, in the way medicine is practiced and the way energy is provided to our society,” said Needleman. “It provided a window into materials science and engineering developments that will affect how we will live and how we will do business in 21st century Texas.”
The program highlighted advances in the fundamental understanding of the behavior of materials and in transitioning that understanding into products and processes that people can use to meet 21st century grand challenges in health care, in providing energy, in improving environmental quality and in providing a robust economy.
There were presentations by individuals whose work is defining the frontiers of materials science and engineering on new manufacturing technologies, novel materials system design and performance, on earth and in space, materials for sustainable energy, advances in biomaterials, including drug delivery and tissue engineering, and computational modeling that is making the virtual design of materials an emerging possibility.
Texas A&M attendees associated with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering included Dr. Dimitris C. Lagoudas, associate vice chancellor for engineering research and University Distinguished Professor, Dr. Ibrahim Karaman, head and Chevron Professor I in materials science and engineering and Dr. Amine Benzerga, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and an affiliated faculty member in materials science and engineering.