MRS 1998 Spring Meeting Encompasses Broad Spectnim of Materials Research

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MRS 1998 Spring Meeting Enci Broad Spectnim of Materials Research The 1998 MRS Spring Meeting was held in San Francisco at the downtown Marriott Hotel April 13-17, 1998. Comprising a record 32 technical symposia and with about 3,000 attendees, the meeting included several joint sessions between symposia, three major poster sessions, with nearly 500 posters, and several tutorials as well as the exhibit. The Meeting was chaired by John A. Emerson (SNL), Ronald Gibala (Univ. of Michigan), Caroline A. Ross (MIT), and Leo J. Schowalter (RPI). Parallel with symposia sessions and presentations, several events took place during the meeting. An NSF Seminar on Materials Research Support was held Tuesday evening to describe various materials-related programs. Senior NSF staff discussed ways for researchers to improve their chances for obtaining NSF funding. In addition to programs in specific sectors of materials science such as ceramics, metallurgy, polymers, solidstate chemistry, and condensed matter, the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities offers special assistance for noncore proposals. Attendees were encouraged to contact program officers for information

Anne M. Mayes, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the MRS Outstanding Young Investigator Award. She presented her award talk, "Tailoring Polymer Surfaces for Controlled Cell Behavior," in Symposium CC at the 1998 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco.

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on programs. In addition, an informal drop-in session was held for attendees to directly discuss NSF funding-related issues with personnel. See also MRS Bulletin, March 1998, page 67 for a report on the NSF presence at the 1997 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston. Special Sessions and Awards

The plenary session held on Monday also included award presentations. The plenary speaker, John P. Lockwood, president and chair of Geohazards Consultants International, Inc., described his work with volcanoes. He said that volcanoes are the source of chemical elements found on the surface of the earth. He showed several photographs of erupting volcanoes and described two classes: red volcanoes that spew out lava, and the grey volcanoes, typically conical ones, that do not actually expel lava but rather emit high-temperature incandescent rocks and ash. Lockwood also described current worldwide efforts to control lava flow following an eruption. One of his recent projects was as consultant to Dante's Peak, a movie about a volcanic eruption. While showing two video clips from the movie, he talked about the issues involved in the production. He mentioned that overall the movie was realistic and faithfully represented volcanic science. The Outstanding Young Investigator (OYI) award was presented to Anne M. Mayes, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. In Symposium CC, Mayes presented her award talk "Tailoring Polymer Surfaces for Controlled Cell Behavior" to an overflowing room. Polymer scaffolds are currently under deve