Wear of Materials, PhD training and superconductors
Surface Ventures
Not-for-profit providing world-class surface science webinars for academics and industry professionals
In partnership with the 24th International Conference on Wear of Materials.
Hello all,
Hope you've all had a great couple of weeks. I've been thinking about the training I received as a PhD student and how my supervisors guided me to become the researcher I am today. I felt I was well prepared for the next stage in my career. It's been such a learning experience having students of my own and seeing the other side of the coin. I only hope I can do as good of a job in guiding my students and helping them succeed.
Research highlights: Highly cited
The search for room-temperature superconductors has been ongoing for a number of years. With applications ranging from scientific instrumentation to power generation devices and magnetic levitation, a material capable of operating in less extreme conditions could revolutionise the world. A recent nature paper by Dasenbrock-Gammon et al. gave evidence of near ambient superconductivity but there are still many investigations to be undertaken on this material. Surface engineering can play a key role in creating superconducting elements for applications such as quantum computers. "Substrate surface engineering for high-quality silicon/aluminum superconducting resonators" by Earnest et al. shows the importance of surface treatments to the resonator's performance.
Research Resources: Podcasts
Everyone has their regular podcasts. I often favour topics such as weird history or obscure facts but until this week I hadn't looked at the materials science offerings. I'd highly recommend the Materialism Podcast and It's a Material World.
Interesting Infographics
The infographic has evolved a great deal over the past 300 years. Explore this interactive infographic from info we trust on the emergence of various graph types.
From our Partner
Registration is now open for the?24th International Conference on Wear of Materials?which will take place in majestic Banff, Alberta, Canada from 16-20 April 2023. Register here.
The?24th International Conference on Wear of Materials?is a prestigious, long-established conference which provides a unique international forum for researchers and practicing engineers from different disciplines to interact and exchange their latest results.?
The conference will focus on advances in the understanding of both the fundamental and applied aspects of wear and friction of materials. It is unique for its paper submission process with full peer review in collaboration with the Elsevier journal?Wear?to ensure the technical quality of presentations.
This edition of the conference will include special sessions for wear and related topics in transportation, renewable energy, biotribology, tool wear, and surface engineering for wear reduction.?
The conference will feature keynotes from Robert Carpick, Christian Greiner, Andre McDonald and Kathryn Wahl. Peter J. Blau will deliver a dinner speech on the history of Wear of Materials and its Future in the Information Age.
The latest and upcoming from Surface Ventures
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Notable and quotable
“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” – Neils Bohr?
What we’re reading
Neils Bohr's quote is applicable to many areas of science but with the trend towards multi-disciplinary research, the landscape is changing. A recent editorial in Nature has called for a reform in PhD training to meet society's expectations and I can't help but agree. If some students are emerging without the skillset to succeed, the system must change. Though almost 10 years old, this Guardian article on the changes in academia noted by Professor Peter Higgs comes to mind. Academia has certainly changed greatly since the 60s as described by Professor Higgs and it feels like productivity is expected to be much higher. It seems only fair that we prepare the next generation of researchers accordingly.
An app a day
The Surface Engineering Association is a trade association dedicated to supporting and representing the surface engineering industry. Their website is a great resource but they also have iOS and Android apps featuring their registered members and their services.
The lighter side of the internet
In honour of Pi Day this week, here's a slightly unsettling maths comic from xkcd.
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Curated By Dr Samuel McMaster
Event Manager – Surface Ventures