Serving the Entire Materials Community
- PDF / 104,740 Bytes
- 2 Pages / 586.8 x 783 pts Page_size
- 105 Downloads / 218 Views
Serving the Entire Materials Community MRS has adopted the goal of serving 25,000 members by 2015. It is our obligation to solve the materials problems that threaten the well-being of our species. Energy availability is one such global challenge that requires the full intellectual engagement of the world’s materials community. In 2005, the Materials Research Society adopted a goal to attain a membership of 25,000 by 2015, doubling in 10 years, to help do our part. This challenging goal is mandatory to meet science policy goals. MRS now has grown to a record 14,100 members, and we have been growing by 5% per year. Since doubling requires 7% growth over 10 years, the proposed target is reasonable. The MRS database has 80,000 names of members, past-members, and other professionals who could benefit by membership. Therefore our membership represents one-fifth of the total U.S.-centered pool. Considering the size of other societies based in the United States, it is reasonable (and challenging) to aspire to one-third of the pool, but how fast? Consider the global pool. There are 13 adhering bodies to the International Union of Materials Research Societies totaling 56,000 members in 2006 and growing rapidly. With the exception of the venerable European-MRS, these younger IUMRS societies serve perhaps one-tenth of their respective pools. Hence, there are ~500,000 professionals involved in the global materials research and development effort. Now consider the timeline for just one global issue, energy. We have only 50 years to implement a sustainable energy portfolio.* For a given technology, say solar, studies have identified a half-dozen Nobel-level materials challenges.† If the future portfolio consists of ~10 technologies and conservation measures, we need a Nobel-level materials breakthrough every year for the next half century! Even Newton stood “on the shoulders of giants”; by his Powers-of-Ten Rule (i.e., for every 10 good ideas, one is pursued; for every 10 ideas pursued, …), the global pool of 500,000 materials R&D people might be enough to meet energy research needs. Since energy is not the *Statement made by 2007 MRS Spring Meeting plenary speaker Nathan S. Lewis (California Institute of Technology)—see http//:nsl.caltech.edu/energy.html and 2004 MRS Fall Meeting Symposium X speaker Richard E. Smalley (Rice University)—see MRS Bulletin 30 (6) (June 2005) p. 412. †See Department of Energy Web site www.er.doe.gov/bes/reports/list.html.
“MRS helps researchers work more effectively.”
only global problem—potable water is another—doubling the pool of materials researchers by 2050 is prudent. MRS helps researchers work more effectively. Our products are networking and dissemination of information. Because our members represent the world’s top research institutions and
come predominantly from industrialized nations who consume more energy per capita than others—and the United States consumes twice that again—we have a greater obligation. With the year 2050 only six thesis generations away, doubling our membership by
Data Loading...
