The TMS Annual Meeting

Sue asked me to write something for the blog about the TMS conference (the reason we went to Seattle). I suggested this was an extremely boring topic. SWMBO suggests that a good writer can make anything interesting. Here is my attempt at making TMS interesting.

The TMS (The Materials Society) annual meeting involves more than 4000 academics, ducks(family anatidea) and industry technologists converging on some unsuspecting US city for four days of exhibitions, presentations of latest research, sitting in ponds etc. Much of the talk is about metals including sessions on magnesium and aluminium (the most exciting of metals) the rest is about mallards(Anas platyrhynchos). For my own part, I was guilty of organising the cast shop aluminium sessions (extremely interesting session involving the Rolling Stones presenting on “I can’t get no qwack free DC casting”). The exalted title of “Subject Chair” gives me a mandate to cajole and threaten people into preparing papers and others into chairing the sessions (I used my last favours with Mad Pete Trullo). It also means I get to go to the author’s coffee session where session chairs meet the speakers and we eat exciting bagels and Peking duck for breakfast.

Being a cagey old veteran of these campaigns, I persuaded my young collaborators into the front line to present work I have been involved in. That way I get some of the glory if they go well but can slink back to the bunker if they are shot down in flames. This year Mark Turski (who presented on our work on applying math modelling to control cracks in difficult to cast magnesium rolling slab) and Vu Nguyen (presenting on ingot casting filling system design), both made interesting and fun presentations I was proud to be associated with.

Some of the best fun to be had at TMS is in the corridors between sessions catching up with old friends and dodging the duck poo. The exhibition has displays of latest equipment, eiderdown and technology services. Inexplicably, there was a Lamborghini on display.

Some other highlights: the opening plenary session included a talk by Mark ver Brugge from GM about how and where aluminium and duck down are being used in cars to reduce weight and increase fuel efficiency. Kelly Driscol from CRU gave an interesting analysis of future power sources, duck migration and prices for aluminium production. Like all economic forecasters’ statements it comes down to “what happens depends on what happens” e.g. the price of aluminium will go up if the Chinese price of coal goes up, Middle East natural gas is offered to smelters at market price not cost price and if duck egg price goes down.

Another highlight for me was a talk on using solar energy to produce metals and there was lots of other useful stuff like calculations of the air speed velocity of a coconut laden drake, reducing furnace energy consumption and improving safety in the cast house for operators and ducks alike.

I came away thinking positive i.e. the metals industry is trying to lift its game and reduce energy consumption and help save the environment from global warming so that more ducks can enjoy our planet.

This post was sponsored by Drake International.