MRS-J NEWS@Vol.18 No.1  February 2006


‘ Thermodynamics as Common Language in Materials Science c@p. 1
Dr. Harumi YOKOKAWA, Principal Research Scientist, Energy Technology Research Center, AIST
 Chemical thermodynamic properties can provide keys in understanding materials from various kinds of viewpoints. Experimental determination is, however, time consuming tasks so that many laboratories already disappeared in the experimental thermodynamics. Even so, they left a large number of the experimental thermodynamic functions for materials. This should be common properties to be used in an appropriate way. Attempts have been made to clarify the interface stability between dissimilar materials with great successes. Recently, further attempts have been made to bridge the bulk thermodynamic properties related to phase equilibria and the defect chemical properties which are essential in understanding microscopic behavior. This attempt is also leading some interesting success. It is hoped that bulk thermodynamics will be again targeted by those people who are working in nano-materials for further development of materials science.

‘ The 16th MRS-J Symposium cp.2
@In Ochanimizu,Tokyo, in December 9-11, 2005, more than 1000 scientists of all disciplines attended the MRS-J Symposium, which has been held at the Nihon University's Ochanomizu campus. Seventeen symposia with 651 oral and poster presentations highlighted advances in the basic research and applications of advanced materials.

‘ IUMRS Somiya Award 2005 cp.5
@Professors Zenji Horita of Kyushu Univ. and Terence G. Langdon of Univ. of Southern California were honoured the IUMRS Somiya Award in 2005 for their collaboration on severe plastic deformation as a means of processing materials.